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

History of Sex in Cinema:
The Greatest and Most Influential
Sexual Films and Scenes
(Illustrated)

Part 48

Introduction: In the following illustrated compilation are some of the most significant films in the history of sex on the screen. The influential film milestones and their memorable sexual/erotic scenes are thoroughly described. Including portrayals of sex and/or nudity, these films were often considered quite erotic, groundbreaking, unique and/or controversial at the time. The following listing of these influential, memorable and classic sex scenes and films takes into account all of the available surveys of this type of material, and attempts to provide an informed, detailed, unranked, chronological (by film title) grouping of the most influential and groundbreaking films and scenes. Some of the most notorious (or infamous) films are quite mediocre, usually made as an excuse to display nudity or eroticism of a star performer.

Key to Icon Symbol:

- Milestone Films With Scenes That Were Especially Notorious, Infamous, Controversial, or Scandalous

History of Sex in Cinema: Greatest and Most Influential Erotic / Sexual Films and Scenes (chronological order, by film title) - Part 48 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 \| Part 51 \| Part 52 \| Part 53 \| Part 54 \| Part 55
Movie Title	Brief Scene Description	Example
Killing Me Softly (2002)	Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige's English-language film debut was this steamy, erotic thriller of sordid, obsessive, and dangerous attraction between American software and website-designer Alice Loudon (major star Heather Graham) in London, who engaged in heated and fiercely passionate love-making with seductive yet brooding celebrity mountain climber Adam (Joseph Fiennes) - eventually suspected of being a serial killer; she impulsively married him and then began fearing his violent tendencies, especially when he introduced bondage and displayed a fetish for erotic asphyxiation with a scarf, as she narrated: "I gave up all control. I let him decide when I could breathe and when I couldn't"; it was a direct-to-video release with various versions (depending on ratings)
Laurel Canyon (2002)	This R-rated film from writer/director Lisa Cholodenko featured Frances McDormand as a rock-music producer and a free-spirited hippie parent to recent Harvard med grad son Sam (Christian Bale); it included a threesome scene of her skinny-dipping with Sam's virtuous fiancee Alex (Kate Beckinsale) and musician Ian McKnight (Alessandro Nivola) - and sharing an open-mouthed female-to-female kiss in the pool and in the bedroom that marked the beginning of Alex's shedding of her inhibitions; in the film's opening sex scene, Alex and Sam were engaged in awkward love-making, consisting of Alex verbally providing specific instructions during his performance of oral sex - she ordered: "F--k me!" which then commenced, but was interrupted by a call from her future mother-in-law; she orgasmed, but all he could say was: "I'm OK" as he sat up unsatisfied
The Magdalene Sisters (2002, UK)	Director Peter Mullan's second feature film, a severe melodrama, was denounced by the Catholic League for its semi-historical depiction of religious and sexual repression in Ireland during the middle of the 20th century; it told a barbaric story of three Irish girls, treated as slaves, who were considered immoral, or impure (for being flirtatious, or for being raped or becoming pregnant) - they were brutalized, sexually humiliated, and lectured on the evils of the flesh by a group of nuns and priests in the prison-like confines of Magdalene Sanctuary; its most notorious scene showed a lineup of naked girls who were inspected and compared by various bodily criteria (the hairiest, the one with the smallest breasts or biggest rear-end, etc.)
My Name is Tanino (2002, It.)	In this coming-of-age comedy set during a sunny Sicilian summer, Rachel McAdams (in her feature film debut) portrayed the character of Sally Garfield, a young American tourist who became acquainted with Italian boy Tanino (Corrado Fortuna) during her visit - the film included topless beach swimming scenes (and some stylish photography as the camera dipped underwater and provided a gigantic closeup) with equally unclothed Melissa (Meredith Ostorm); she would soon become more notable (and covered up) in films such as The Notebook (2004), Mean Girls (2004), Wedding Crashers (2005) and Red Eye (2005)
New Best Friend (2002)	Controversy swirled around director Adrian Lyne's re-making of Lolita (1997) with 17 year-old blonde starlet Dominique Swain as the title character - a tempting nymphet nicknamed 'Lolita' - because of the under-aged actress' sex scenes with co-star Jeremy Irons; now five years later, Swain starred in this cheaply-titillating, sexy teen thriller by director Zoe Clarke-Williams - actually made in 1999 and kept on the studio's shelf. It was a cross between All About Eve (1950) and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) in which Swain was featured as a liberated, hedonistic, North Carolina 'Colby University' sorority party girl - a bi-sexual named Sidney Barrett, who had liaisons with both aspiring, frumpy lower-class college girl Alicia Glazer (Mia Kirschner) - who underwent an amazing social transformation with a make-over, and bulimic African-American artist Julianne Livingston (Rachel True). The film's poorly-executed, silly plot about possible attempted murder, told in flashback after Alicia overdosed and was hospitalized in a drug-induced coma, included requisite lipstick lesbianism (lingering kissing scenes, including one at a party: "What? Is everyone a lesbian now?") and gratuitous lesbianism with minimal nudity, solely for lurid purposes
The Other Side of the Bed (2002, Sp.) (aka El Otro lado de la cama)	This R-rated raucous and sexy romantic comedy/musical, directed by Emilio Martinez-Lazaro, was a big hit in Spain and the winner of six Goya awards (the country's Oscars); it told the bed-hopping story of two couples and their infidelities: Javier (Ernesto Alterio) was paired with Sonia (Paz Vega), but was also having a secretive affair with his best friend Pedro's ex (Natalia Verbeke) -- while Sonia was hooked up with the heartbroken Pedro (Guillermo Toledo)
Secretary (2002)	Director Steven Shainberg's independent film - a kinky comedy/drama of forbidden love told about repressed passion in the character of nervous, repressed, troubled, self-mutilating and reclusive office worker Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal); she was recently released from a mental hospital - and then served as a personal assistant/secretary to intense, offbeat, and imperious lawyer-boss E. Edward Grey (James Spader) in a kinky sado-masochistic, power relationship; he demonstrated control over her life by appealing to her vulnerable, masochistic and submissive tendencies through various mind-games and physical humiliations (i.e., a slave-like dog collar, or pretending that she was a horse with a saddle on her back and carrot in her mouth); during one love-making scene, the obsessive-compulsive Grey stated: "Look, we can't do this 24 hours a day, seven days a week" with Lee's reply: "Why not?"; in another scene, he had Lee lean over a desk as he spanked her to punish her for a small typo error marked with his thick red pen; in the film's final scene, after Lee had proven her love and devotion and staged a marathon 'last stand' at his desk, Grey relented and admitted his love for her; she was carried to a hidden room in his law office where he removed her wedding dress (she had walked out during a wedding dress fitting in preparation for marrying childhood friend Peter (Jeremy Davies)), bathed her in a cast-iron tub, and then made love to her on a bed of grass; the film won the Sundance Special Jury Prize for Originality
Secret Things (2002, Fr.) (aka Choses Secretes)	Director Jean-Claude Brisseau's cynical, adult-themed tale told about French exotic stripper Nathalie (Coralie Revel) who embarked on a campaign of man-baiting vengeance with inexperienced new friend/bartender Sandrine (Sabrina Seyvecou); in one memorable scene before finding a male victim to manipulate in a Parisian brokerage house, Nathalie commanded Sandrine about self-loving techniques with step-by-step instructions for sexual awakening under the covers; this very explicit French film, Cahier Du Cinema's 2002 selection for "Film of the Year", included group sex (in an orgy), lesbian sex, three-way sex, incest and masturbation
Sex is Comedy (2002, Fr.)	In militant feminist director Catherine Breillat's provocative, semi-autobiographical "film within a film" that had its North American premiere at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival, Anne Parillaud played the part of alter-ego French film-maker Jeanne; it was a fictional account of the making of the central, very raw sex scene from Breillat's earlier Fat Girl (2001); in this film, a young virgin Actress (Roxane Mesquida, who starred in Breillat's Fat Girl) was to be seduced by an older boy Actor (Gregoire Colin, who didn't appear in Fat Girl); the talkative film was about the director's difficulties with her two lead actors regarding their nervous reservations about being in a sex film together - especially when they both hated each other; she urged her performers (the male wore a prosthetic penis) to extend themselves for a more authentic and passionate performance: "Fear of being obscene makes one obscene...Emotion is never dirty or obscene -- it's grace" and "Words are lies, bodies are truth - I have to show the truth"
Sex With Strangers (2002)	This very explicit, unrated quasi-documentary about the alternative swinging lifestyle was from Joe and Harry Gantz - the producers of HBO's series "Taxicab Confessions" but this one was for Showtime; the psychodrama was filmed with grainy digital video, and basically followed three white trash exhibitionist couples (actually seven somewhat distasteful individuals) during a year's period; it was mostly a voyeuristic excuse to display on-screen nudity, sexual experimentation, various sexual acts, some traumatic jealousies and trust issues, and to vaguely question the idea of sex beyond marriage -- especially for female participants
Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002)	This low-budget, cheesy Jaws (1975) ripoff contained one of the most jaw-dropping, unsubtle, double-entendre pick-up lines ever heard in a film; beach patrolman Ben Carpenter (John Barrowman) spoke bluntly to paleontologist Cataline Stone (Jenny McShane): Cataline Stone: (sighing) I'm exhausted. Ben Carpenter: Yeah, me too. But you know I'm really wired. What do you say I... take you home and eat your pussy. In the next scene, they were seen at her place showering together and passionately kissing each other.
Spun (2002)	Music-video director Jonas Åkerlund's feature film debut was an arrogant, black tale of amoral behavior consisting of drugs, sex, and addiction in both unrated and R-versions (blurred) - including the ugly scenes with Chloe Hunter as stripper girlfriend April of drug-addled Ross (Jason Schwartzman), who has been absent-mindedly left spread-eagled, mouth-duct-taped and tied on the bed in a motel-like apartment for the entire film (a three-day period) - after a rough love-making bout and snorting drugs off her bare chest; also the tawdry film included cartoonish sequences that included animated semi-pornographic hard core sex, a scene of male masturbation in a sock, and an explicit bowel movement on the toilet (by Mena Suvari)
The Sweetest Thing (2002)	Director Roger Kumble's immature and vulgar, low-brow, gross-out, R-rated romantic sex comedy about young single women was typical of the new millenium - it was a cheap rip-off similar to There's Something About Mary (1998), also starring Cameron Diaz; with a script by Nancy Pimental (one of the writers of South Park), it included an unlikely degrading situation of innocent and naive Jane Burns (Selma Blair) getting her new well-endowed friend's genital piercing caught in her throat while performing fellatio on him (off-screen) in a stairwell - this attracted a huge audience of onlookers and the singing of "Relax" to extricate her; there was another outrageous extended song and dance scene in a Chinese restaurant about the size of men’s penises (titled "The Penis Song"); typical toilet humor included Christina Applegate as Courtney Rockcliffe attempting to pee in a grungy men's urinal
Swimfan (2002)	John Polson's watered-down PG-13 rated, inferior redo of Fatal Attraction (1987) and Basic Instinct (1992) was intended for the teenaged audience with actors who were supposedly high-school age but actually in their 20s; in the plot (the title referred to an Internet screen name), New Jersey high school student and swimmer Ben Cronin (Jesse Bradford) was tempted into having sex with blonde new girl Madison Bell (Erika Christensen) when she stripped down to a red bra and panties and then seduced him at the edge of a swimming pool after watching him do laps, although he had an adorable and loving girlfriend named Amy Miller (Shiri Appleby); during the teasing scene, she touched him underwater and commented about how he was not so little - and then proceeded to have thrashing-around sex with him; when she was soon rejected, this predictably set up the thriller aspect -- stalking, threats, and violence
Talk to Her (2002, Sp.) (aka Hable con ella)	This Spanish film - writer/director Pedro Almodovar's Oscar-winning Best Original Screenplay film (told in flashback), was about solitude, sickness, sacrifice and madness in the relationships of two strangers with their comatose would-be loves; it included scenes at El Bosque Clinic of daily attentive sponge baths which personal young male nurse Benigno Martin (Javier Camara) - unhealthy and obsessed - gave to voluptuous but long-comatose, classically-trained ballerina Alicia (Leonor Watling) following a car accident; and journalist Marco (Dario Grandinetti) attended to hospitalized, unconscious gored bullfighter Lydia (Rosario Flores); in one disturbing scene, Benigno had non-consensual intercourse with his comatose patient - making her pregnant and subsequently reawakening her due to the physical changes that occurred; there's also the telling of a disturbing dream sequence (a 7 minute B/W mock silent movie titled "The Shrinking Lover" within the film that was attended one evening by Benigno) in which Benigno found himself (metaphorically) as a shrunken scientist while trying to make love to a beautiful woman (Paz Vega); miniature in size, he agonized about not being able to satisfy her; after he explored all over her naked body, he entered into her vagina (simulated) (a return to the womb) for safety to escape being crushed by her giant body turning over onto him
Unfaithful (2002)	Classy soft-core film director Adrian Lyne's erotic drama, a reworking of La Femme Infidel, told about wayward and straying housewife Connie Sumner (Diane Lane) in various passionate, 'unfaithful' encounters with Frenchman rare bookdealer Paul Martel (Oliver Martinez) in NYC that threatened her marriage to husband Edward (Richard Gere); this film dealt with the disastrous consequences of a wild extra-marital affair, with its subsequent guilt, suspicion, and tragedy, although it also made adultery look sexy and exciting; there were many scenes of their trysts, including hasty sex against a creaky wooden wall in a restaurant's toilet stall during lunch with her married girlfriends (who noticed afterwards: "You have a button undone"), oral sex for her in a movie theatre, and a rear-entry love-making encounter in an apartment hallway; this film garnered an Oscar-nominated performance for Lane, probably for the non-sexual scene of her return-home train ride when she recollected every emotion (ranging from joy to guilt) of the sexual encounters on her face