(Nus Masculins, 1954, dir. Franรงois Reichenbach)
Welcome to another installment of our Dicks in Flicks series, where we explore the history and impact of full-frontal male nudity in film. This series looks at how the choice to reveal male nudity on screen reflects and challenges societal norms and beliefs about masculinity.
For this special Pride edition, we asked Andrew Proctor, the mind behind the Queer Frame Archive, to share his insights on the history of male full-frontal nudity in early queer cinema. In this piece, he examines rare instances of such nudity in these films.
From the erotic and artful “Un Chant d’Amour” by Jean Genet to the serene and visually stunning “Nus Masculins” by Franรงois Reichenbach, Andrew uncovers the significance and influence of these groundbreaking films.
Full-Frontal Obscurity
Full-frontal male nudity is a rarity these days, but before roughly the 1970s, it was borderline nonexistent. Justin LaLiberty, the director and curator of Cinematheque and the Director of Operations for distribution at Vinegar Syndrome, curates a list of over one thousand films that feature full-frontal male nudity.
As of June 4, 2024 not one film in that list was made before 1965. That’s not entirely surprising, due to several factors like legal bans and restrictions on the creation and distribution of such materials labeled “obscene,” lack of preservation efforts of created films, the cost of procuring filming equipment, and films being simply lost to time, forever collecting dust in someone’s abandoned attic.
Two films from this dark age, however, thankfully survive to this day. Un Chant d’Amour and Nus Masculins, both created in the 1950s in France, show the male form in all of its glory and pleasure and exist on a silent continuum of homosexual influences in cinema.
One prisoner tosses another a small bouquet of flowers in a repetitive act with the other prisoner never managing to catch it.
๎Un Chant dสผAmour, 1950, dir. Jean Genet)
Un Chant d’Amour
Un Chant d’Amour (A Song of Love) is a short film written and directed by Jean Genet in 1950 and first publicly screened in 1954. It follows men in prison as they masturbate and yearn for release and human connection, and the prison officer who voyeuristically watches them. It is both incredibly homoerotic in its framing and explicitly homosexual in its acts.
The first image of a penis we get is an erect one from the prisoner that yearns for his younger neighbor in the cell next door.
Stills from Un Chant dสผAmour, 1950, dir. Jean Genet
When the jail officer makes his rounds, he spies on each prisoner. Some donสผt notice, others enjoy his eyes watching them stroke.
The warden himself begins to pleasure himself while watching these men masturbate, but an anger, perhaps a jealously, washes over him and he beats one of the men with his guard belt. But the man continues his homosexual yearning.
Interspersed throughout the film, complementing the artful motif of attempted love with the bouquet of flowers, are abstract montages of nude men, their bodies pressing against each other and in various positions.
These visuals emphasize the sensual aspect of homosexual love, highlighting body acceptance, physical touch, and the idea of bodily passion and connection.
Prior to this film, Jean Cocteau, another gay French filmmaker, made Le Sang dสผun Poรจte (The Blood of a Poet) (1930), the first film in his Orpheus Trilogy. Although thereสผs is no full-frontal nudity in that film, the subject framing, abstract elements, and story structure can be seen in Un Chant dสผAmour.
After this film, Derek Jarman, was influenced by this film and it is quite evident in his film Sebastiane (1976). Sebastiane follows pre-sainthood Saint Sebastiane in a dream-like and very homosexual journey with Roman soldiers as heสผs berated, harassed, fought, and tortured. Character-wise, like the prison guard in Un Chant dสผAmour, so too is there a Roman guard whose jealousy, anger, and homosexual desires define his relationship with Sebastiane. And structurally and artistically, there are similar abstract and dream-like portrayals of nude male embrace.
Two nude Roman soldiers embrace and touch each other sensually in a body of water.
๎(Sebastiane, 1976, dir. Derek Jarman)
Nus Masculins
Nus Masculins, 1954, dir. Franรงois Reichenbach
Nus Masculins (Nude Men) is another short film and was made in 1954 by Franรงois Reichenbach (and partially filmed in NYC). Despite Reichenbach not being a homosexual, this film is overtly queer.
The film is a visual diary, filming men in various states of undress, in various locations, in mostly unconnected scenes. In stark contrast to the claustrophobic carceral setting of Un Chant dสผun Amour, Nus Masculins shows us wide open spaces, the serenity of nature, and in full, beautiful color too.
In terms of full-frontal nudity, Reichenbach captures several men nude, all of them sensually framed and placed in nature. He continuously pairs nature โ the beach, a garden, a forest โ with nudity and nude male bonding, emphasizing its harmony with nature and the naturalness of such activities.
Complementing this further is his comparison to nude male statues, bringing to mind the historicity and artful beauty that the nude male form and nude male bonding can entail and has entailed.
Iสผm not personally familiar with any known influence this film may have had on future films, nor do I see any artistic comparisons to future films, but that doesnสผt mean there arenสผt any. What does come to mind, however, is its similarity in terms of staging to the works of Bob Mizer and Herbert List, who photographed and filmed the male form in nature as well.
Stills from Nus Masculins, 1954, dir. Franรงois Reichenbach
Finishing Thoughts
Iสผm glad both of these films were made and still exist and can be seen, albeit if you know where to look. I am glad that there is a small connection between gay filmmakers and artists in these obscure films, whose influence can be felt and appreciated decades later. And I hope one day that more of our history can be uncovered and learned from this era.
About the Author
Andrew Proctor is a post-production artist with a rich background in film editing. His expertise spans assistant editing, transcoding, color correction & grading, and media management. Andrew has honed his skills at notable institutions like Paramount Pictures, CNBC, Filmhub, and Goldcrest Post NY. He has collaborated with clients like Kidz Bop, WIFVNE, CreatorsTV, and Extra Crispy.
Andrew holds a BA in Broadcasting and Visual Media from Seton Hall University and an MFA in Post-Production from Brooklyn College’s Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema.
Founded on December 23, 2022, he launched the Queer Frame Archive, an online catalog dedicated to chronicling queer representation in early cinema.
Website: ajppost.com
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