Shooting in their undies?

Just watched this the other day for the first time and had those same thoughts. The only thing that I could think of is that they didn't want to get their clothes wet? Either that or the director choice de-clothe the actors was to symbolize some sort of sense of freedom... Just a couple wild guesses.

I thought it was supposed to have an 'emperor has no clothes' suggestion to it. An illustration of their overconfidence. From the start these guys have these huge Tony Montana egos and expectations when in reality, the way we see them, they're the lowest form of life, more trouble to kill than they're worth.

This is emphasized on the forementioned cover art. He's a dumb kid in his underwear, but when he has that gun, he thinks he's a giant over Italy.

I don't think that it had any special meaning. They took their clothes off simply because they were wading in water and probably swimming in it afterwards. Actually, I would have found it more inappropriate and strange if they had had their clothes on in that scene.

I agree with the other poster who said it represents or illustrates some sort of freedom. These were poor, insecure boys with low self-esteem that hit puberty. Having those guns all in a sudden allowed them to shed off their insecurities and gave them an (albeit false) sense of confidence, power and freedom. Which is nicely illustrated in this scene at the riverside where they expose themselves (to a decent extent; they're still wearing undies) and vent their angst and frustrations (by letting the guns rattle). It's like a way of shouting "we're not afraid of the world".

Moreover, it was a sort of beach; I figure it wouldn't be weird to see people take off their clothes in order to recreate there in underwear or swimming shorts.

~ Everyone is unique, except for me ~

LOL When I watched that scene, my first thought was a) they were just at a cattle holding area and had crap up to their knees and wanted to wash those clothes off in the water. You can actually see the cattle poo on their pants in those scenes, and b) they were high off of getting the guns, were excited and decided to take a dip in the ocean.

If you are familiar with that specific culture then you will know that getting stripped down is nothing odd and that taking a dip as a way to waste the day away is common.

I think they took off their clothes so that viewer could see their bodies. They were skinny kids, very young and innocent not strong and macho but they felt that getting into business with mafia was their way for better life. They were living in a ghetto, coolest guys in that place were those who were with the mafia, if you ever wanted to make something of yourself mafia was the way to go. What else is there. What was their father doing for a job, did we even see the father or was it just single mother. What kind of manly role models did those kids have, maybe just the mafia.

they were probably cooked in the usual 35C humid weather...?--it effectively added to the weirdness of the scene. i like the films' "roughness": the characters are frighteningly real and don't seem scripted, and the film's style has the effect of someone with a hidden camera moving through the story. very artistic "neighbourhood" design and council flats -- too bad it's a war zone.