Updated | 12 May, 2024
“Blue is the Warmest Color” (2013)
A French romantic drama film known for its explicit lesbian sex scenes.
“9 Songs” (2004)
A British art film that features real sex scenes between the two leads.
“Eyes Wide Shut” (1999)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this film explores sexual obsession and features several intense and erotic scenes. Stanley Kubrick’s last film, starring real couple Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, included several sex scenes (real and fantasy) as well as an orgy scene that had to be altered to earn an R rating for the American release.
“Last Tango in Paris” (1972)
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, this controversial film stars Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider in a story of a brief, intense affair. The Franco-Italian romance starring Marlon Brando centered on a couple that conducts an anonymous sexual relationship in an unfurnished apartment in Paris. The film’s portrayal of sexual violence (and the use of butter as a lubricant) sparked controversy, even earning a TIME cover story.
“The Dreamers” (2003)
Set against the backdrop of the 1968 Paris student riots, this film explores sexual experimentation and features explicit scenes.
“Secretary” (2002)
A romantic comedy-drama film exploring BDSM themes.
Risky Business (1983)
Tom Cruise burst onto the movie scene by having s*x on an abandoned Chicago “L” train with a call girl as a high schooler in this movie.
9 1/ 2 Weeks (1986)
This Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger film featured BDSM long before Fifty Shades ever did. Some of the scenes border on assault, and at one point the couple even has sex after stabbing another man in the buttocks.
Henry & June (1990)
Henry & June was the first film to receive an NC-17 rating from the MPAA (which had recently replaced an X rating). The movie was based on the real-life sexual relationships among Anais Nin, famed author Henry Miller, and his wife June Miller.
Basic Instinct (1992)
Sharon Stone’s infamous leg-crossing scene has gone down in cinema history as one of the most provocative shots ever filmed.
Boogie Nights (1997)
Back when he was still widely known as underwear model Marky Mark, Mark Wahlberg took on the role of a porn star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s matter-of-fact look at the mechanics of porn.
Y Tu Mama También (2001)
Two friends spontaneously decide to engage in a sexual relationship with an older woman while on a road trip.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
In 2005, Brokeback Mountain was one of the first mainstream motion pictures to feature a love story and sex scenes between two gay characters played by two famous actors, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Black Swan (2010)
Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her Black Swan role, but what created the most buzz was a hallucinatory sex scene between her and Mila Kunis and a botched-masturbation sequence.
Nymphomaniac : Vol. I (2013)
The two-part Lars von Trier movie about a self-described nymphomaniac was released in two formats: the original hardcore version, and an edited softcore one. While some dismissed it as porn, most critics embraced the film as an engaging exploration of a woman’s sexuality. A man named Seligman finds a fainted wounded woman in an alley and he brings her home. She tells him that her name is Joe and that she is nymphomaniac. Joe tells her life and sexual experiences with hundreds of men since she was a young teenager while Seligman tells about his hobbies, such as fly fishing, reading about Fibonacci numbers or listening to organ music.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)
The continuation of Joe’s sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adulthood, obsessions and what led to her being in Seligman’s care.
Gone Girl (2014)
Just a few months before Fifty Shades of Grey‘s release, Gone Girl shocked audiences with a brutal and bloody sex scene.
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Audiences are curious how the popular book filled with BDSM will translate to the big screen. Fandango reports that it has sold more pre-sale tickets for Fifty Shades of Grey than any other R-rated film.
Intimacy (2001)
A failed London musician meets once a week with a woman for a series of intense sexual encounters to get away from the realities of life. But when he begins inquiring about her, it puts their relationship at risk.
Pola X (1999)
A young writer becomes intrigued with a mysterious dark-haired woman who claims to be his long-lost sister, starting an unusual relationship with her and prompting a downward spiral involving his domineering mother and lovely fiancée.
Director: Leos Carax | Stars: Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve, Delphine Chuillot
Twentynine Palms (2003)
David, an American photographer, and his Russian girlfriend Katia are scouting locations for a photo shoot. During the day, they drive through some of the wildest, most bizarre desert landscapes, but their luck begins to run out.
Director: Bruno Dumont | Stars: Yekaterina Golubeva, David Wissak
Anatomy of Hell (2004)
A woman employs a gay man to spend four nights at her house to watch her when she’s “unwatchable”.
Director: Catherine Breillat | Stars: Amira Casar, Rocco Siffredi, Alexandre Belin, Manuel Taglang.
Don’t Look Down (2008)
A sexy Spanish siren named Elvira, schools a young man in Tantric lovemaking.
Director: Eliseo Subiela | Stars: Antonella Costa, Leandro Stivelman, Hugo Arana, Mónica Galán
Now & Later (2011)
Angela an illegal immigrant living in Los Angeles stumbles across Bill, a disgraced banker on the run.Through sex, conversation ranging from politics to philosophy, and other worldly pleasures, Angela introduces Bill to another worldview.
Director: Philippe Diaz | Stars: Keller Wortham, Shari Solanis, Luis Fernandez-Gil, Adrian Quiñonez
Desire (2011)
In a social context deteriorated by a countrywide economic crisis, the life of several people will be turned upside down after they meet Cecile, a character who symbolizes desire.
Director: Laurent Bouhnik | Stars: Déborah Révy, Hélène Zimmer, Gowan Didi, Johnny Amaro
Baise-moi (2000)
Two young women, marginalised by society, go on a destructive tour of sex and violence. Breaking norms and killing men – and shattering the complacency of polite cinema audiences.
Directors: Virginie Despentes, Coralie Trinh Thi | Stars: Raffaëla Anderson, Karen Lancaume, Céline Beugnot, Adama Niane
Diary of a Nymphomaniac (2008)
A chronicle of the life of a middle-class French girl’s sexual adventures, her then fall into prostitution, and her ultimate redemption.
Director: Christian Molina | Stars: Belén Fabra, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Llum Barrera, Geraldine Chaplin
Original Sin (2001)
A woman, along with her lover, plans to con a rich man by marrying him, earning his trust, and then running away with all his money. Everything goes as planned until she falls in love with him.
Love ( 2015 )
Murphy is an American living in Paris who enters a highly sexually and emotionally charged relationship with Electra. Unaware of the effect it will have on their relationship, they invite their pretty neighbor into their bed.
Caligula ( 1979 )
A dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome. We see his ambition, his scheming, his perversion and decadence, his brutality and his lunacy.
Expats ( 2023–2024 )
A look at the personal and professional lives of a tight-knit group of expatriates living in Hong Kong.
All Ladies Do It (1992)
After five years of marriage, Diana discovers the joys of adultery, claiming that she can save her failing relationship through betrayal.
Californication ( 2007–2014 )
A writer tries to juggle his career, his relationship with his daughter and his ex-girlfriend, as well as his appetite for beautiful women.
Queen of Hearts ( 2019 )
A successful lawyer jeopardizes her career and threatens to tear her family apart after engaging in an affair with her teenage stepson.
Antichrist ( 2009 )
While a married couple (Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg) is having sex, their infant son in a nearby room falls out a window to his death. She becomes distraught and is hospitalized, but her husband, who is a psychiatrist, attempts to treat her. Deciding that she needs to face her fears, he takes her to a cabin in the woods where she spent a previous summer with the boy. Once they are there, she becomes more unhinged and starts perpetrating sexual violence on her husband and herself.
Hotel Desire ( 2011 )
A young single mother drops her son of at the bus stop to visit his dad in Paris. After being late for work, she almost gets fired. At the end of her duties she gets into a tricky situation which she handles, with the advice her colleague gave her.
Grand Jeté ( 2022 )
In order to concentrate on her career, a ballet teacher lives estranged from her young son, who grew up with her mother. When she meets him again after years, an affection develops that goes far beyond maternal love.
Love Machine ( 2016 )
Director Pavel Ruminov wanted to break up with his girlfriend. But she had a different opinion on the matter and refused to leave the flat, insisting their story was not over yet.
Romance ( 1999 )
Director Pavel Ruminov wanted to break up with his girlfriend. But she had a different opinion on the matter and refused to leave the flat, insisting their story was not over yet.
Lust, Caution ( 2007 )
During World War II era, a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.
Vernost ( 2019 )
During World War II era, a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.