Maybe I can eke 20 or more posts outta this thread.
Those saying that supposedly-"needless" nudity in a movie doesn't do ANYTHING are patently wrong, some of the time.
For example, a woman rolling back in bed in the morning after sex, exposing her breasts DOES to more than just titillate.
It is a character development point, in a similar way that kissing onscreen is - it shows to the audience the familiarity the actress has with the (usually) actor. Film is a visual medium, and therefore commonly uses visuals to get across character aspects such as these.
So I'll even tackle the supposedly-solely-gratuitous Halle Berry topless shot in Swordfish:
Stuff like that CAN be solely gratuitous, or it can :
*) establish how at-ease that character is with their body
*) show the character's dismissal of common sexual mores (showing she's a free, independant gal)
*) show how utterly little concern she has with the viewer's sexual advances
*) show how the actress is trying to seduce the actor. That simply wouldn't work if they didn't show the actress' breasts, when that actress trying to interest the actor is part of the plot.
For the record, I don't remember which of those cases might apply to Swordfish, because I was too distracted by Halle's beautemous tits.
