The first nude scene in Soviet cinema appeared as late as 1972. The scene depicted female anti-aircraft gunners relaxing in a banya (Russian sauna) in Stanislav Rostotsky’s epic war drama ‘The Dawns Here Are Quiet’. The scene smashed through that taboo, miraculously surviving the final cut.
The actresses themselves met the news of the nude scene with shock. “It’s one thing when only the director sees you - he seemed to be a sort of adult uncle figure for us, as was the cameraman. But there were so many young guys during shooting! Getting undressed in front of them was more than we could handle”, the ladies recalled.
The film crew had to be smart about how they navigated the situation. Rostotsky “swore” that only he and the cameraman would be on set for the scene. However, the moment Olga Ostroumova, who was 25 at the time, took her clothes off and bolted for the banya, she immediately saw the familiar face of a young man from the crew.
There were a lot of setbacks later on because of the sauna scene. The first test screening, management demanded that everything be removed. But the director managed to defend it, using the argument that “everyone is nude at the banya”.
The real issue was the Soviet audience, who had never witnessed such daring acts, treating the scene as too provocative for their tastes. Letters were sent to the studio: “The movie is of course great, but how can I sit next to my husband at the cinema when there are naked chicks on screen!”
By the way, there was another scene featuring the naked ladies sunbathing in the nude. But, since one doesn’t technically have to be nude to catch some rays, it was easily thrown out.
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