Sex in Cinema: Greatest and Most Influential Erotic / Sexual Films and Scenes

Sex in Cinema: In the following collection, excerpted from the Mini-History of Sex in the Cinema at this site, here are some of the most significant milestones, and most influential and memorable sexual/erotic scenes and films on the big screen through cinematic history. Most of these films, with portrayals of sex and/or nudity, were considered quite erotic, groundbreaking, unique and/or controversial at the time.

Sex in Cinema: In the following collection, excerpted from the Mini-History of Sex in the Cinema at this site, here are some of the most significant milestones, and most influential and memorable sexual/erotic scenes and films on the big screen through cinematic history. Most of these films, with portrayals of sex and/or nudity, were considered quite erotic, groundbreaking, unique and/or controversial at the time. HISTORY OF SEX IN CINEMA - INDEX (chronological by film title) Intro \| Part 1 \| Part 2 \| Part 3 \| Part 4 \| Part 5 \| Part 6 \| Part 7 \| Part 8 \| Part 9 \| Part 10 \| Part 11 \| Part 12 \| Part 13 \| Part 14 \| Part 15 \| Part 16 \| Part 17 \| Part 18 \| Part 19 \| Part 20 \| Part 21 \| Part 22 \| Part 23 \| Part 24 \| Part 25 \| Part 26 \| Part 27 \| Part 28 \| Part 29 \| Part 30 \| Part 31 \| Part 32 \| Part 33 \| Part 34 \| Part 35 \| Part 36 \| Part 37 \| Part 38 \| Part 39 \| Part 40 \| Part 41 \| Part 42 \| Part 43 \| Part 44 \| Part 45 \| Part 46 \| Part 47 \| Part 48 \| Part 49 \| Part 50 \|
Sex in Cinema: Part 41 Greatest and Most Influential Erotic / Sexual Films and Scenes (chronological by film title) Milestone Films With Scenes That Were Especially Notorious, Infamous, Controversial, or Scandalous
Movie Title	Brief Scene Description	Example
Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996)	Director Tim Fywell's innovative biopic feature film from HBO displayed two conflicting sides of the split schizophrenic personality of young, love-seeking, tragic star Marilyn Monroe; the blonde bombshell was portrayed by two cast members: Ashley Judd (in the actress' earlier years as Norma Jean Dougherty) including a dream sequence of imagining herself naked in church as she walked up the center aisle, and Mira Sorvino (as the drugged-up actress Marilyn during her Hollywood sex star years) in a scene where she flashed her breasts by a swimming pool; in some scenes, Judd appeared as Marilyn's alter-ego by her side, especially as the star deteriorated due to drug addiction; the film included a recreation of the famous nude Playboy calendar shoot against a red backdrop
The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996)	Director Milos Forman's critically-acclaimed and provocative docudrama told the story of trashy adult Hustler magazine publisher/editor Larry Flynt (Best Actor-nominated Woody Harrelson) and his series of confrontations with the authorities over anti-pornography laws and his claim of First Amendment rights; he was portrayed as a womanizer and strip-club manager in Ohio, who became involved with (and later married) one of his dancer/strippers - bisexual and free-spirited Althea Leasure (pop singer Courtney Love in her first major acting role) seen performing an awkward strip routine; she boldly told Flynt: "You are not the only person who has slept with every woman in this club"; later she was part of a threesome lesbian scene and a hot-tub scene (which Flynt joined) where she proposed marriage; during a powerful speech before a gigantic backdrop of images of sex and violence/murder, Flynt asked why photographing sex and nudity was criminally pornographic, but violence and murder was not - he illustrated his point with famous Pulitzer Prize-winning photos of extreme violence and gore, and offered his thoughts on the free speech after his 1987 victory: ("...If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me, then it'll protect all of you -- 'cause I'm the worst..."); during one scene of a photo-shoot, the photographer and Flynt argued over whether to show the woman's vagina; the film's ending portrayed AIDS-stricken Althea dying from a drug overdose and/or drowning in a bathtub with a heartbroken Flynt embracing her; in the concluding frames, Flynt watched old videotapes on multiple monitors of his deceased Althea
The Pillow Book (1996, UK, Fr/Nether.)	Peter Greenaway's NC-17 rated erotic drama about sex, death and revenge told of a young girl named Nagiko (Vivian Wu as an adult) whose father gave her a special birthday gift every year -- a face-painted poem done by a calligrapher (Ken Ogata) while her aunt (Hideko Yoshida) read from the classic 10th century Japanese book of love called The Pillow Book; when she reached maturity and became a model, she realized she was still fond of having expressive verses inscribed on her naked body (calligraphy on skin) as a prelude for sex and erotic attraction from lovers who were expert calligraphers; when she met British expatriate and English translator Jerome (Ewan McGregor), he allowed her to write her manuscript on his skin, but he betrayed her trust by returning to his old lover (Yoshi Oida) - setting up the film's tragic conclusion; one of the film's most expressive images was one of the lovers bathing in a tub together; the film was noted for full-frontal male nudity and erotic scenes of the two lovers
Stealing Beauty (1996, It./UK/Fr.)	Bernardo Bertolucci's R-rated film was a sex-drenched character study with gorgeous cinematography and visually-stunning settings (in Tuscany, Italy); it starred lovely Liv Tyler (daughter of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler) as 19 year old American Lucy Harmon on vacation and grieving after the suicide of her poet mother - with some artist friends (including Donal McCann as sculptor Ian Grayson and Sinead Cusack as Diana Grayson) of her late mother, and also attempting to lose her virginity; although she rejected a former love named Niccolo (Roberto Zibetti), she found lyrical love and true romance with a young shepherd named Osvaldo (Ignazio Oliva) in a very gentle, non-explicit erotic scene before the glow of a nearby campfire; the film's director often objectified the seductively innocent actress in shooting her sexuality and rebelliousness as an erotic fantasy of his own, and featured hedonistic lifestyles and free-spirited nudity (also of Rachel Weisz) in his picture; the film had full frontal male and female nudity, sex, drug usage, and some bad language
Striptease (1996)	Director Andrew Bergman's R-rated feature film was one of the least unsexy of all films about the stripper profession and Florida political corruption involving star Burt Reynolds as sex-crazed Congressman David Dilbeck; it starred surgically-enhanced and in-shape Demi Moore as Florida mother Erin Grant 'reluctantly' earning $15,000 in six weeks as an Eager Beaver Club dancer-topless stripper, to raise funds for an appeal to win back her 7 year-old daughter lost in a custody battle with her ex-con husband Darrell (Robert Patrick); in one scene while standing on his coffee table, she stripped out of her black bra as the perverted Congressman promised: "Darlin', if you just come into Davie's life, good things will happen. You just don't know how much I worship you" - he also told her about his perverted obsession over her "fresh hot lint" obtained from her laundromat - confessing "I'm afraid I made love to it"; the video release of the film contained an additional two minutes of footage that was not in the theatrical version
2 Days in the Valley (1996)	This intricately-told episodic, Southern California crime caper melodrama by director John Herzfeld (his directorial debut film) was inspired by Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) and noted for its sexy scenes of gorgeous, statuesque blonde sexpot and hitman's girlfriend Helga Svelgen (future Oscar-winner Charlize Theron in her feature film debut); in one bedroom scene after a shower with wet hair, she appeared with a Basic Instinct style, open-legged, long-legged pose wearing lacy lingerie (a white teddy and silk robe) to entice sociopathic boyfriend Lee Woods (James Spader), who cooled things with ice cubes; the film was also memorable for her catfight with co-star Teri Hatcher (as ex-Olympic skier Becky Foxx) that led to her death on the street - earlier in the film she was pictured topless and dead in a faked photo to fool Roy Foxx (Peter Horton) into believing that she had been murdered
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)	This was the first in a PG-rated series of James Bond spoofs, with Mike Myers as a cryogenically frozen 60s spy who must battle the villainous Dr. Evil (Myers also); in one classic honeymoon scene which teasingly hid their private parts with strategically-placed objects, Austin Powers cavorted naked with Elizabeth Hurley as "shagadelic" Vanessa Kensington
Bliss (1997)	Writer/director Lance Young's directorial debut film was an honest and frank erotic drama from that explored sexuality; it told about an unfulfilled wife Maria (Sheryl Lee) and her troubled six-month marriage to repressed architect Joseph (Craig Sheffer) in which she continually faked orgasm due in part to her repressed history of sexual abuse; after their treatment by unlicensed, unconventional marriage counselor and tantric sex specialist Balthazar Vincenza (Terence Stamp), they learned how to find fulfillment, emotional bliss and become orgasmic (on various levels); the film initially earned an NC-17 rating from the MPAA
Boogie Nights (1997)	Director Paul Thomas Anderson's fact-based film was about the LA adult film industry in the late 70s and early 80s and the empty search for fame, wealth, and hard-core sex; it followed the story of well-endowed busboy Eddie Adams/'Dirk Diggler' (Mark Wahlberg) who became engaged as a young 17 year-old superstud in the porno film industry, under the direction of Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds); the nervous newcomer appeared in a starring role in his first hard-core film scene with maternalistic, red-headed lead actress Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) - who coupled unerotically with him on a desk (they had to pause mid-coitus for film adjustments); although she at first told him to "come on my tits, if you can, okay? Just pull it out and do it on my stomach and my tits, if you can", he climaxed inside of her and the crew missed the 'money shot'; also the film featured starlet Heather Graham giving an audition as a receptive and naked porn star Rollergirl (she claimed: "I never take my skates off"); this was an acclaimed film with three Oscar nominations (Best Supporting Actor and Actress, and Best Original Screenplay); the film ended with an impressive full-frontal screen view of Diggler's main claim to fame: his 13" penis (a prosthetic), as he viewed himself in a mirror and intoned: "I am a star. I'm a star, I'm a star, I'm a star. I am a big, bright, shining star. That's right!"
Breast Men (1997)	This dark comedy docu-drama first aired on HBO-cable TV in late 1997 with an attention-grabbing title - it was about the history and commercial exploitation of silicone breast enhancement surgery by a medical intern and Houston surgeon (David Schwimmer as Dr. Christopher Saunders and Chris Cooper as Dr. William Larson) who thought up the idea of boob jobs in the early 1960s; it showed Dow Corning's product development and how the two men were impacted by its consequences; the film was advertised with taglines: "They changed the shape of the 20th Century", and "Two young doctors with a dream of making it big...Really big!"; it included mostly non-sexual scenes of prospective clients showing their before (Gail Matthius) and after (Judith Hoag) breasts and commenting on their body image; the credits sequence showed even more examples; in one scene during Dr. Saunders' first pre-boob job consultation with his future wife Laura Pierson (Emily Procter), she asked: "So, what do ya think?" with his downplayed reply: "I think they're super"; later, she showed off her larger breasts - enhanced with CGI trick photography; in another slightly improbable scene, Dr. Saunders breast-massaged another gorgeous patient (Playboy TV's Night Calls co-host Tiffany Granath) by demonstrating a particular technique: ("Push in, lift up. OK? Then you want to massage them gently clockwise like this, and counter-clockwise like this (pause) everyday, several times a day, OK?") -- she became visibly turned on and when asked for questions, purred: "Yeah! Show me again"
Chasing Amy (1997)	This low-budget comedy-drama was an honest and appealing story of love between two New Jersey comic-book artists Holden McNeil and Alyssa Jones (Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams, writer/director Smith's offscreen girlfriend), one of whom was a lesbian-identified bi-sexual; in a scene in a dyke bar after performing on-stage, Alyssa began kissing an admiring platinum-blonde dyke wearing a tight white T-shirt from the audience named Kim (Carmen Llywelyn); Holden looked on in disbelief and his buddy Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) applauded and then said about the pairing ("Hot! Now that, my friend, is a shared moment"); as the two guys shared their table in the bar while the couple continued to kiss each other, Banky confessed: "When are we ever gonna get a chance to see this kind of s--t live without paying for it?"; later as their honest sexual banter (typical of the entire film) continued, Alyssa described to Banky how she could 'f--k' the other woman, explaining: "F--king is not limited to penetration, Banky. For me, it describes any sex when it's not totally about love. I don't love Kim, but I'll f--k her. I'm sure you don't love every girl you sleep with"; soon, Holden was pursuing Alyssa even after learning of her sexual leanings, professing in a long speech: "You are the epitome of everything I have ever looked for in another human being," and she responded to his heart-felt feelings and had sex; afterwards, she was regarded as a traitor by her lesbian friends, and critics of the controversial film felt that her 'conversion' to heterosexuality was director Kevin Smith's assertion that lesbianism was reversible; a roadblock to their gender-transcended relationship surfaced when Holden questioned her sexual past (one of wild experimentation), when he revealed his own sexual hang-ups, and when Banky's jealousy risked their own friendship; Holden's suggestion of a threesome (with Banky) was proposed as a solution, causing Alyssa to say no and leave him -- and they were all left to live their separate lives; one of the film's most memorable scenes was a parody of a similar scene in Jaws (1975), in which Banky and Alyssa revealed their sexual scars from past sexual encounters
Devil's Advocate (1997)	Taylor Hackford's sexy, supernatural suspense thriller proto-typical of the 90s was about aspiring attorney Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) and his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) from a small Southern town, who were plunged into a life of sex, money, and power after moving from Florida to Manhattan and coming under the tempting mentoring tutelage of diabolical law firm head John Milton (Al Pacino); it featured an hallucinatory scene of Lomax making love to his wife and to Milton's red-headed half-sister Christabella Adrioli (Connie Nielsen) at the same time; and also the scene of Lomax' troubled and agonized wife Mary Ann in a church confessing the reason for her bloodied body: "He did this to me" - meaning that Milton forced himself upon her; Milton further tempted and seduced Lomax with nude Christabella in his office in the fiery conclusion
Eight Days A Week (1997)	Early 90s ex-Mickey Mouse Club star Keri Russell (in her first major film role before starring in the WB series Felicity for four years) appeared in this teen romantic sex comedy by director Michael Davis - it signaled the trend toward American Pie type humor; Russell was featured as unattainable, gorgeous, girl-of-one's-dreams next-door-neighbor Erica, who was sought after by the socially-inept, love-struck nerdy neighbor Peter (Josh Schaefer); the film only found an audience after video release and after Russell's fame on the popular TV show serial; this film leered at the sexy Russell in many of the film's segments, including a wet tank top and cut-off shorts romp under a front lawn sprinkler, and during sunbathing in a skimpy bikini
The Fifth Element (1997, Fr./US)	Writer/director Luc Besson's science-fiction techno-thriller set in a futuristic NYC (2263 AD) was noted for its exceptional sets, visual effects and costume designs; actress/model Milla Jovovich played the role of an extra-terrestrial female named Leeloo who was the actual "Fifth Element" -- the human embodiment of love as a Perfect Being who would be involved in the plot to stop Evil from ultimately destroying Earth; in the memorable regeneration or body reconstruction scene in a NY laboratory, the Perfect Being was resurrected as a beautiful nude woman with orange hair; she wore a white cut-out costume and was teamed up with cab-driver Major Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) after literally diving off the multi-story Manhattan building into his vehicle
Flypaper (1997)	This eccentric, suspenseful comedy film, told with three separate story lines (copying Pulp Fiction (1994)) with an ensemble cast, included an entrapped fiancee, snakes, bondage, revenge, backstabbing over $1 million, and kidnapping; in one of the most unusual sex scenes ever filmed, kidnapped meth lab chemist/worker Dot (Lucy Liu) made love to snake farmer Jerry (James Wilder) in the bottom of an emptied swimming pool ("something that will make you feel immortal"), where writhing, poisonous rattlesnakes were kept and slithered around - his idea was to test a new anti-venom drug
The Full Monty (1997, UK)	Peter Cattaneo's fresh, highly-celebrated comedy was about an unlikely group of unemployed Yorkshire (Sheffield, England) steelworkers with not-so-perfect bodies who took to stripping as "Chippendale"-like dancers; the title meant to 'take it all off' and show everything (or the real thing)!; for its time, it was a buoyant, celebratory and enjoyable film with discreet nudity that displayed working-class blokes who stepped outside their stereotyped definition of masculinity -- especially the scene of them in line at the unemployment office when they spontaneously practiced their routine to the tune of Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" before the real show
In & Out (1997)	In this PG-13 rated comedy, gay celebrity gossip TV reporter/journalist Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck) had a prolonged same-sex kiss with outed bisexual Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline) - a high-school English teacher in a small Indiana town; he smelled out Howard's sexual proclivity by asking the question: "What's the name of Barbra Streisand's eighth album?''
Jack Frost (1997)	This below-par, straight-to-video serial killer horror comedy featured a unique and repulsive misogynistic scene of extremely bad taste - a giant demented snowman with violent murderous tendencies had just lethally injured aspiring actress Jill Metzner's (pre-American Pie Shannon Elizabeth in her feature film debut) boyfriend Tommy with an icicle to the forehead; then during Jill's hot bath, he added his own frozen form to her bath (hinted at by his floating phallic-shaped nose carrot), then re-formed himself and attacked/raped her with his carrot-nose; as she screamed, he pounded her head against the shower wall, and then as she collapsed dead on the floor, joked: "It looks like Christmas came a little early this year. Well, I hope it was good for you, honey"