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Even those who consider themselves experts in the subject will find a provocative treasure trove of images and anecdotes in “Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies.” Danny Wolf’s documentary is a breezy, open-eyed, and often encyclopedic compendium of all the ways the cinema has celebrated, exploited, and negotiated the power of the naked body. The film opens with a montage of actors and directors recalling the first movie they ever saw that had nudity in it, and that allows the film, in its early moments, to leap through some of Nudity’s Greatest Hits.

As it moves back in time, one of the documentary’s fascinations is the way it’s constantly juxtaposing big Hollywood movies and European art movies and softcore exploitation films and everything in between. That, of course, is just as it should be. Aesthetically, there’s a world of difference between “Vixen” and “The Virgin Spring,...

This week, “Parasite” received six Oscar nominations; this weekend, Neon will place Bong Joon Ho’s film in 843 theaters. Its widest release to date, concurrent with its introduction to home viewing, are timed to improve Oscar odds and maximize the already-stellar performance of the foreign-language arthouse movie.

Full credit goes to Neon cofounders Tom Quinn and Tim League for their smart strategies, but what’s also notable is the context of its success. By today’s standards, it’s a near miracle; at another time, it would have been just another job well done. Here’s some perspective on its achievement:

“Parasite” Defied 21st-Century Odds

The last major foreign-language hit was the French comedy “Intouchables,” at $10.2 million. Since “Amour” in 2012 ($6.7 million), only Wong Kar Wai’s “The Grandmaster” has even grossed $5 million (unless Netflix’s unreported “Roma” managed that; it likely came close). Recent successes like “Pain and Glory” ($4 million...

The Independent Film Channel will launch a new video-on-demand service featuring programming deemed too controversial to air on television. Scheduled to debut in September, Uncensored on Demand will make available a wide range of taboo films and documentaries, from the sexually frank Swedish import I Am Curious -- Yellow, which was seized by U.S. Customs in 1968, to Damned in the USA, a British examination of explicit artwork that was nearly blocked from Stateside theatrical distribution. For IFC, Uncensored opens a new front in its pursuit of independent, provocative programming. "We see it as a logical extension of IFC's mission and the perfect new product for the VOD space because its content is only appropriate for VOD," said Kathleen Dore, president of IFC Cos. "Frankly, these works have nowhere else to go." In addition, IFC will produce two- to three-minute programs that will precede each Uncensored offering that explain why it was once literally or figuratively banned.