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Sex film

As the sexual conservatives used to warn us, once you allow one nude, a second (usually of the other sex) will soon join it leading to inevitable trouble. Beginning with the (albeit tentative) victory of nudity in film, this last decade has indeed for the first time raised the possibility of sexually explicit cinema as a mass phenomenon. Previously confined to brothels, stag parties, or illegal exhibitions, a series of court decisions in Scandinavia and America has now made public presentation of sex possible. -- Film As a Subversive Art (1974) - Amos Vogel

mainstream erotic film - pornographic film - sex comedy - sex education film - sex hygiene film - sex report films - sexploitation - sexy mondo film - simulated sex - unsimulated sex - softcore film

Soundtrack to
The Schulmadchen Report/Schoolgirl Report (1970) - Gert Wilden & Orchestra
[Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Intro

The story of sex in the movies is really two stories. For all practical purposes, they begin at the same moment - the invention of motion pictures - but take off running in parallel universes. One is the story of a very public debate over how much of the reality of human sexuality can be shown, discussed or even implied in movies meant for general audiences; the second is the story of an entire industry thriving along underground yet rarely even mentioned in polite company until the 1970s. -- David Hudson http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/adult1.jsp [Sept 2004]

In the US, these two strains (public/underground) collide in 1972 with Deep Throat.

Another defining moment in the history of sex in the movies is the advent of VCR technology in the mid eighties.

Sex film landmarks (UK)

  • 1955: The Garden of Eden becomes the first British film to get round nudity restrictions by claiming to be a naturism documentary
  • 1976: Pasolini's Salo, an art house film based on de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom, is refused a certificate. A shortened version is seized by police
  • 1988: Last Tango in Paris is passed uncut for video by the BBFC who now regard it as acceptable for viewing in the home --http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3725545.stm [Dec 2004]

    Sex in early film [...]

    The history of erotic films began with The Kiss (1896) and Douche après le bain (1897). The first erotic film star and also sex symbol was Theda Bara.

    See also blue movie, stag film.

    The story of sex in the movies is really two stories. For all practical purposes, they begin at the same moment - the invention of motion pictures - but take off running in parallel universes. One is the story of a very public debate over how much of the reality of human sexuality can be shown, discussed or even implied in movies meant for general audiences; the second is the story of an entire industry thriving along underground yet rarely even mentioned in polite company until the 1970s. --http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/adult1.jsp [Sept 2004]

    In the days before the film industry's stringent Hays Code was established and strictly enforced after 1934 to regulate "morally offensive" content, many silent and 'Pre-Code' taboo-breaking films contained adult-oriented material. In addition to nudity, sexuality and violence, they included candid depictions of drug use, prostitution, lawlessness, and religious blasphemy. --http://www.filmsite.org/sexualfilms.html [Sept 2004]

    see also Cecil B. DeMille, Erich von Stroheim

    Extase (1932): Though known primarily for its then daring and unprecedented nude scenes, the film effectively attacked still another taboo in its lingering portrayal of Hedy Lamarr's orgasm (seen in her face only) during cunnilingus. Amos Vogel, Film As a Subversive Art (1974)

    Brigitte Bardot in Et Dieu Créa la Femme (1956) - Roger Vadim

    By Year (1900-1999)

    Sex in film, theatrically released or with a clear connection to the mainstream. Sex in this list does not necessarily mean nudity nor eroticism. In short, films that tell something about our cultural morals via our sexual morals.

  • 1896
    The Kiss (1896) - William Heise
  • 1897
    Douche après le bain (1897) - Louis Lumière
  • 1898
  • 1899
  • 1900
  • 1901
  • 1902
  • 1903
  • 1904
  • 1905
  • 1906
  • 1907 El Sartorio (1907)
  • 1908
  • 1909
  • 1910 Am Abend (1910)
  • 1911
  • 1912
  • 1913
    Traffic in Souls (1913) - George Loane Tucker
  • 1914
    Damaged Goods (1914)
  • 1915
    A Fool There Was (1915) - Frank Powell
    A Free Ride (1915)
    Inspiration (1915) - George Platt
  • 1916
    The Sex Lure (1916)
  • 1917
    The Tiger Woman (1917), Cleopatra (1917) both starring Theda Bara
  • 1918
  • 1919
    Male and Female (1919) - Cecil B. DeMille
    Opium (1919) - Robert Dinesen
  • 1920
    The Tree of Knowledge (1920)
  • 1921

    The Sheik (1921) -starring Valentino
  • 1922
    Blood and Sand (1922) -starring Valentino
  • 1923
  • 1924
  • 1925
    The Merry Widow (1925) - Erich von Stroheim
  • 1926
    Son of the Sheik (1926) -starring Valentino
  • 1927
    It (1927) - Josef von Sternberg, Clarence G. Badger, Hula (1927) (both It and Hula starred Clara Bow
  • 1928
    Un Chien Andalou - Dali/Buñuel
    Pandora's Box (1928), starring Louise Brooks
  • 1929
    Haxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages) (1929) Benjamin Christensen
    Queen Kelly (1929) - Erich von Stroheim
  • 1930
    L'Age d'Or (1930) - Luis Bunuel
    The Blue Angel (1930) - Josef von Sternberg
    Madam Satan (1930) - Cecil B. De Mille
  • 1931
    Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931) - F.W. Murnau
  • 1932
    Extase (1932) - Gustav Machatý
  • 1933
    Queen Christina (1933) - starring Greta Garbo
    42nd Street (1933)
  • 1934
  • 1935
    The Devil is a Woman (1935) - Josef von Sternberg
  • 1936
  • 1937
    Damaged Goods (1937) - Phil Goldstone
  • 1938
  • 1939
  • 1940
  • 1941
  • 1942 Sex Hygiene (1942) - Otto Brower, John Ford
  • 1943
  • 1944
  • 1945
    Mom and Dad (1945) - William Beaudine
  • 1946
  • 1947
    Anger 1 (1947) - Kenneth Anger
  • 1948
  • 1949
  • 1950
    Un Chant d'Amour (1950) - Jean Genet
  • 1951
  • 1952
  • 1953
    Summer With Monika (1953) - Ingmar Bergman
  • 1954
  • 1955
    Garden of Eden (1955) - Max Nosseck
  • 1956
    ...And God Created Woman - (1956) Roger Vadim
  • 1957
    I Vampiri (1957) - Mario Bava, Riccardo Freda
  • 1958
  • 1959
    The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959) - Russ Meyer
  • 1960
    Peeping Tom (1960) - Michael Powell
    The Virgin Spring (1960) - Ingmar Bergman
  • 1961
    Victim (1961) - Basil Dearden
  • 1962
    Jules and Jim (1962) - François Truffaut
    Knife in the Water (1962) - Roman Polanski
    Lolita (1962) - Stanley Kubrick
  • 1963
    Flaming Creatures (1963) - Jack Smith
    Tystnaden/The Silence (1963) - Ingmar Bergman
    Contempt (1963) - Jean-Luc Godard
    The Servant (1963) - Joseph Losey
  • 1964
    Sexus (1964) - José Bénazéraf
    The Dirty Girls (1964) - Radley Metzger
  • 1965
    I, A Woman (1965) - Mac Ahlberg
    Repulsion (1965) - Roman Polanski
    Faster Pussycat Kill Kill (1965) - Russ Meyer
    The Alley Cats (1965) - Radley Metzger
  • 1966
    Persona (1966) - Ingmar Bergman
    Hugs and Kisses (1967) - Jonas Cornell
    Blow-Up (1966) - Michelangelo Antonioni
  • 1967
    Belle de Jour (1967) - Luis Buñuel
    Jag är nyfiken - en film i gult / I Am Curious ... Yellow/Blue (1967) - Vilgot Sjöman
  • 1968
    Teorema (1968) - Pier Paolo Pasolini
    Barbarella (1968) - Roger Vadim
    Histoires Extraordinaires aka Spirits of The Dead (1968) - Louis Malle, Roger Vadim, Federico Fellini
    If.... (1968) - Lindsay Anderson
    Therese und Isabell (1968) - Radley Metzger
  • 1969
    Easy Rider (1969) - Dennis Hopper
    Femina Ridens - The Frightened Woman (1969) - Piero Schivazappa
    The Libertine (1969) - Pasquale Festa Campanile
    Camille 2000 (1969) - Radley Metzger
    Kärlekens språk/Language of Love (1969) - Torgny Wickman
  • 1970
    Performance (1970) - Nicolas Roeg, Donald Cammell
    The Lickerish Quartet (1970) - Radley Metzger
    Trash (1970) - Paul Morrissey
    Women In Love (1970) - Ken Russell
    Pornography in Denmark (1970) - Alex de Renzy
    Why? (1970) Eberhardt and Phyllis Kronhausen
    Stille dage i Clichy/Quiet Days in Clichy (1970) - Jens Jorgen Thorsten
    Mona (1970) - Bill Osco
  • 1971
    A Clockwork Orange (1971) - Stanley Kubrick
    Klute (1971) - Alan J. Pakula
    The Devils (1971) - Ken Russell History of the Blue Movie (1971) - Alex de Renzy
  • 1972
    Deep Throat (1972) - Gerard Damiano
    The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) - Rainer Werner Fassbinder
    Deliverance (1972) - John Boorman
    Behind the Green Door (1972) - Mitchell Brothers
    Last Tango in Paris (1972) - Bernardo Bertolucci
    Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) - Woody Allen
    The Canterbury Tales (1972) - Pier Paolo Pasolini
  • 1973
    La Grande Bouffe (1973) - Marco Ferreri
    Score (1973) - Radley Metzger
    The Mother and the Whore (1973) - Jean Eustache
  • 1974
    Le Fantôme de la liberté - (1974) Luis Buñuel
    Going Places (1974) - Bertrand Blier
    The Night Porter (1974) - Liliana Cavani
    Wife To Be Sacrificed (1974) - Masaru Konuma
    Ilsa - She Wolf of the SS (1974) - Don Edmonds
    Caged Heat (1974) - Jonathan Demme
    Sweet Movie (1974) - Dusan Makavejev
    Emmanuelle (1974) - Just Jaeckin
    Il Fiore delle mille e una notte/Arabian Nights (1974) - Pier Paolo Pasolini
  • 1975
    The Story of O (1975) - Just Jaeckin
    The Image/The Punishment of Anne (1975) - Radley Metzger
    The First Nudie Musical (1975) - Mark Haggard, Bruce Kimmel
    Salo (1975) - Pier Paolo Pasolini
    The Beast (1975) - Walerian Borowczyk
  • 1976
    Ai No Corrida/In the Realm of the Senses (1976) - Nagisa Oshima
    Maitresse (1976) - Barbet Schroeder
    Je t'aime moi non plus (1976) - Serge Gainsbourg
    Ugly Dirty and Bad (1976) - Ettore Scola
    Inserts (1975)- John Byrum
  • 1977
    Bilitis (1977) - David Hamilton
    Una Giornata Particolare (1977) - Ettore Scola
    Outrageous (1977) - Richard Benner
  • 1978
    La Cage Aux Folles (1978) - Edouard Molinaro
    Pretty Baby (1978) - Louis Malle
  • 1979
    The Brood (1979)- David Cronenberg
    Caligula (1979) - Tinto Brass, Bob Guccione
  • 1980
    Dressed to Kill (1980) - Brian De Palma
    Spetters (1980) - Paul Verhoeven
  • 1981
    Beau Pere (1981) - Bertrand Blier
    Taxi Zum Klo (1981) - Frank Ripploh
    Pixote (1981) - Hector Babenco
    Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981) - Marco Ferreri
  • 1982
    Cafe Flesh (1982) - Stephen Sayadian
    Querelle (1982) - Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  • 1983
    Videodrome (1983) - David Cronenberg
    Woman in Flames (1983)
  • 1984
    Special Effects (1984) - Larry Cohen
    Tightrope (1984) - Richard Tuggle
    Crimes of Passion (1984) - Ken Russell
    The Company of Wolves (1984) - Neil Jordan
    Body Double (1984) - Brian De Palma
  • 1985
    Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) - Hector Babenco
    Tampopo (1985) - Juzo Itami
  • 1986
    Blue Velvet (1986) - David Lynch
    Betty Blue (1986) - Jean-Jacques Beineix
    Something Wild (1986) Jonathan Demme
    She's Gotta Have It (1986) - Spike Lee
    9 1/2 Weeks (1986) - Adrian Lyne
  • 1987
    Angel Heart (1987) - Alan Parker
  • 1988
    Story of Women (1988) - Claude Chabrol
    Tetsuo: The Ironman (1988) -- Shinya Tsukamoto
    Dangerous Liaisons (1988) - Stephen Frears
    Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) - Pedro Almodóvar
  • 1989
    The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989) - Peter Greenaway
    Mr. Hire (1989) - Patrice Leconte
    sex, lies, and videotape (1989) - Steven Soderbergh
  • 1990
    Henry & June (1990) - Philip Kaufman
    ¡Átame!/ Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990) - Pedro Almodóvar
  • 1991
    My Own Private Idaho (1991) - Gus Van Sant
  • 1992
    Bitter Moon (1992) - Roman Polanski
    Tokyo Decadence (1992) - Ryu Murakami
    Damage (1992) - Louis Malle Basic Instinct (1992) - Paul Verhoeven
  • 1993
    Boxing Helena (1993) - Jennifer Chambers Lynch
  • 1994
    The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) - Stephan Elliott
  • 1995
    Wild Side (1995-98) - Donald Cammell
  • 1996
    Bound (1996) - Larry Wachowski
  • 1997
    Conspirators of Pleasure (1997) - Jan Svankmajer
  • 1998
    Fucking Åmål/ Show Me Love (1998) - Lukas Moodysson
    L' Ennui (1998) - Cédric Kahn
  • 1999
    Romance (1999) - Catherine Breillat
    Eyes Wide Shut (1999) - Stanley Kubrick
  • 2000
    Baise-Moi (2000) - Coralie, Virginie Despentes
  • 2001
    Intimacy (2001) - Patrice Chéreau
    Lucía y el Sexo/Sex and Lucia (2001) - Julio Medem
    Y Tu Mama Tambien/And Your Mother Too (2001) - Alfonso Cuarón
    The Center of the World (2001) Wayne Wang
  • 2002
    Irréversible (2002) - Gaspar Noé
    Ken Park (2002) - Larry Clark, Edward Lachman
  • 2003
    In the Cut (2003) - Jane Campion
    The Dreamers (2003) - Bernardo Bertolucci
    Swimming Pool (2003) - François Ozon
  • 2004
    Ma Mère (2004) - Christophe Honoré

    Bibliography

    1. Hollis Alpert-Arthur Knight Playboy series (series, 20 issues), “Sex in the Cinema.” (1965-1969)

    2. Eros in the Cinema (1966) - Raymond Durgnat [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK] [...]

    3. Ado Kyrou, Amour - érotisme et cinéma, Le Terrain Vague, 1957 [...]

    4. Immoral Tales: European Sex & Horror Movies 1956-1984 - Cathal Tohill, Pete Tombs [Amazon US]
      "I urge you: learn how to look at 'bad' films, they are so often sublime." This remark by Ado Kyrou heads up the introduction to Immoral Tales, from which horror and exploitation film fans, especially Americans, can learn much indeed. Not so much a movie guide as an insightful critical overview of European sex/horror films (there is much overlap between the two genres), this book is elegantly organized into a sequence of essays proceeding from general themes (the history of horrific art, the surgical metaphor), to regional styles (Italian, German, French, Spanish), to individual directors (Jesus Franco, Jean Rollin, José Larraz, José Bénazéraf, Walerian Borowczyk, Alain Robbe-Grillet). The writing is intelligent, engaging, and packed with fascinating historical and technical details. The book includes plenty of photos and poster art (including many in color), a useful appendix covering miscellaneous actors and directors, an index, and a bibliography. Immoral Tales was a finalist for the 1995 Bram Stoker Award in Nonfiction.

    5. Necronomicon: The Journal of Horror & Erotic Cinema (1996) Andy Black [Amazon.com]
      Necronomicon: Book one continues the singular, thought-provoking exploration of transgressive cinema begun by the much-respected and acclaimed magazine of the same name. The transition to annual book format has allowed for even greater depth and diversity within the journal's trademarks of progressive critique and striking photographic content. Includes:
      * Jean Rollin: The surreal and the sapphic
      * Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Exploitation or modern fairytale?
      * Barbara Steele: Icon of S/M horror
      * Frightmare: Peter Walker's psycho-delirium classic
      * Marco Ferreri: Sadean cinema of excess
      * Deep Throat: Pornography as primitive spectacle
      * Dario Argento: Tortured looks and visual displeasure
      * Last Tango in Paris: Circles of sex and death
      * H P Lovecraft: Visions of crawling chaos
      * Witchfinder General: Michael Reeves' classic of visceral violence
      * Herschell G. Lewis: Compulsive tales and cannibal feasts
      * Evil Dead: From slapstick to splatshtick [...]

    6. Babylon Blue: An Illustrated History of Adult Cinema 1960-1998 - David Flint [Amazon US]
      Babylon Blue examines the '60s roots of global modern-day erotic cinema – from naturist films to the "nudie-cuties" of Russ Meyer – through to various incarnations of Europorn and hardcore, charting the rise, decline and resurrection of the genre since the early '70s. Finally, author David Flint, expertly chronicles the so-called New Porn Generation – the New Wave of adult movies, as epitomised by the stylist and sophisticated films of Andrew Blake, Michael Ninn and the Dark Brothers.

      Visually loaded with profuse and daring illustrations, Babylon Blue is the last word on sex cinema, featuring profiles of key directors, producers and performers, and detailed critiques of the finest adult movies of all time. The book contains interviews with sexploitation producer David Friedman, screenwriter Antonio Passolini, director Lindsay Honey and porn acress/producer Jane Hamilton, and includes a stunning eight-page full-colour section.

    7. Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood - Mark A. Vieira [Amazon US] [FR] [DE] [UK]
      Prudes and the faint-of-heart shield your eyes! The stunning Sin in Soft Focus contains some of the most breathtaking black-and-white stills ever taken, all from the debaucherous decade before the Hollywood production code was established. With chapters devoted to "The Warners Grit," "The MGM Gloss," and "The Paramount Glow," and to horror films, gangster movies, and the sexy scandal of Mae West, Mark A. Vieira illustrates the story of classic Hollywood's most delightfully lascivious period--brought to a stop when Joseph Breen began enforcing the puritanical production code of 1934.

      The text of this book is fascinating even for those familiar with the films of the era, but the mesmerizing photographs are what will keep readers glued to the pages. Oversized and abundant stills capture stars like Clara Bow, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, William Powell, Mae West, Joan Blondell, James Cagney, and Greta Garbo in striking clarity, dashing poses, and of course, shockingly revealing outfits. Voyeurs seeking more on this naughty era will also want to read Thomas Doherty's Pre-Code Hollywood. --Raphael Shargel --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

    8. X-Rated: Adult Movie Posters of the 60s and 70s (2004) - Tony Nourmand (Editor), Graham Marsh (Editor) [Amazon US] [FR] [DE] [UK]
      Sex sells! It's no secret that since moving pictures were invented, distributors and theater owners realized that nothing really promotes a movie better than blatantly sexual advertising. X-rated adult movies reached their peak in the 1960s and 70s, with films like Debbie Does Dallas and Deep Throat. While some films were hard-core and left nothing to the imagination, most enjoyed the art of innuendo, which is to say, you couldn't tell whether the participants who were getting it on were faking it--or doing it for real. Even though most of the adult movies of the 60s and 70s have faded into cinematic history--and their stars have retired into elderly care homes for the well-endowed (giving new meaning to the term "nursing home")--what remains, as a lasting legacy, are the posters. If the poster art in this book evokes those far-off days of suspender belts, stockings, and eye-popping, gravity-defying brassieres, not to mention outsize Y-fronts, then that alone is worth the cover price. It's practically cheaper than a movie these days, anyway. Featuring posters from such not-so classic films as The Love Robots, Call Girls of Frankfurt, Blackmailed Wives, The Pro Shop, Flesh Gordon, Kiss Me Mate, Space Thing, Slaves of the Sin-dicate, Girls That Do, Come Play With Me, Depraved!, Hot Lunch, Danish Pastries, Maid in Sweden, and Oh! so many more. --amazon.com

    9. Sex in Films (1974) Parker Tyler [Amazon.com]
      It's good to see this fascinating book still in print after all these years. I believe the original 1974 edition went up to 8 or 9 printings. Where Parker Tyler found his material is anyone's guess. Jammed-full of photographs from obscure and well-known films, both Hollywood produced and from foreign countries, this book is casually laid-out which makes it great for thumbing through. Everytime I open the pages I find new and interesting facts I didn't know. Each picture carries a short caption identifying the film and the book is divided into chapters of sexual preference or deviation, like "Bedroom and Bath", "The Bosom and the Bottom" and "The Gay Sexes." (Hollywood didn't miss a thing!) The chapters describe every era of filmmaking and the fight with censors, eventually bringing us to 70's and Black Exploitation Films. Highly Recommended! --Tom Hopkinson , amazon.com

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