Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing look at this artist's work
Review: This is a very interesting and enlightening look at Spencer Tunick and his work. It's incredible to see how he clearly has an idea of what the images should look like, but even as they're being constructed in front of the documentary camera it's difficult to see his vision -- it only becomes really clear when the final print is viewed. The documentary itself is "camcorder-gritty" and that works for the most part, but I would've liked more detail in places. This documentary is also a fun look at the widely-varied people of the United States. This is definitely a film I will recommend to others.
Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone
Review: This material is definitely worth a buy if nudity of both sexes doesnt offend you. I recently showed a friend of mine and he was freightened to death by seeeing nudity of both sexes on screen.
This film is not for everyone. If you enjoy seeing nudity as art and find it hilarious then add this dvd in your collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but do not watch if you offended by nudity
Review: This was a very interesting and different documentary.It is a diary-like account of a photographer who solicites and photographs people nude across the country in 48 states. He does not pay the models. Only offers a copy of their picture for posing. There are posings on individuals and also large groups in various settings. One picture was with 1,123 people in the group pose. It was an interesting approach to nude photograpgy. Worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: a captivating experience
Review: While good reviewing technique seems to suggest that ones should write a summary of the item being reviewed, it seems unlikely that you'd be here if you didn't know what Naked States is about, so, just this quick summary: Spencer Tunick road-trips through the contiguous 48 states photographing nudes in public, and this documentary follows him, his girlfriend, and occasional crew through the process. The result is, indeed, captivating. Tunick manages to take public nudity, an almost completely taboo subject, and make it accessible to a wide audience. This is no peep show for sexual gratification: it would be a waste of money and time, and devalue one of the most worthwhile aspects of the documentary and Tunick's work: the human body is beautiful, and fascinating, and both works manage to make the body something to be considered, and viewed as art, rather than something to be ashamed of, and run from. That said, if you or your viewing partners are easily embarassed by nudity, proceed with caution, as nearly every scene contains it. One interesting difficulty encountered in reviewing a 'docudrama' such as this is whether to focus on the documentary, or the underlying subject matter. I'm mostly writing about Spencer Tunick's work, i.e., the subject matter, but it's worth noting that the documentary quality is high, maintains the viewer's attention, and doesn't rely too heavily on the 'shocking' nature of the subject matter to surprise, but rather presents it in an even-handed way, and allows the viewer to go along for the ride. Other, minor, notes/gripes: the brief interviews with Tunick's girlfriend, who seems to comfort some (many?) of the females who are solicited to have their pictures taken nude, were too brief. She seems to occupy a tense space in this venture: Spencer as occasionally ego-driven, occasionally humble artist; she as foil, legitimacy, grounding device. Perhaps too much time was spent on a few major events/places (it seems that almost half the movie was spent in three places: the Phish concert, the nudist colony, and Burning Man.) Burning Man provided an interesting visual contrast, though: the documentary camera focused several times on the huge sign that reads "NO SPECTATORS", while we, as documentary viewers, are exactly that. It also provided an interesting glimpse into this rarely-reported festival in the Nevada desert, though this wasn't apprently a major purpose. As a photographer, I found the color, real-life models and their beautiful surroundings, and the edited-in, black-and-white final photographs of them to be a fascinating contrast. (Which goes to the eternal struggle of the photographer: how to make something stay real and vibrant in still-motion.) The additional, and much more raw, documentary included as a DVD extra was also interesting, and worthwhile viewing. It included nealry a start-to-finish photo shoot in Central Park's Strawberry Fields, and lots of gushy comments about how the model-particiapnts think John Lennon would've approved of Tunick's work. Overall: a VERY worthwhile view, which will make you think, and laugh, and give you plenty of conversation fodder. (I checked it out from the library, but I wouldn't have been disappointed had I paid for it.)
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