Some critics have complained that 50 Shades lacks the eroticism of the original book by EL James, as it contains no full-frontal nudity, nor any actual orgasms from its lead protagonist – Anastasia Steele. Maybe Sam Taylor-Johnson should have taken more inspiration from these bad boys… So here’s a list of the most X-rated, sauciest films to have hit cinemas worldwide:
Caligula (1979)
Caligula is a biographical film focusing on the rise and fall of the Roman Emperor Caligula. Caligula was the first ever motion picture to feature both established actors and pornographic scenes, and found itself on the end of some very unfriendly reviews, most of which deemed it worthless and trashy. The film’s release was controversial; it met with legal issues and controversies over its violent and sexual content. Although reviews were overwhelmingly negative, Caligula is considered to be a cult classic and its political content was considered to have significant merit.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
A New York City doctor, married to an art curator, pushes himself on a harrowing and dangerous night-long odyssey of sexual and moral discovery after his wife admits that she once almost cheated on him. Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 American erotic thriller film loosely based upon Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella Dream Story. The film was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It was his last film, as he died six days after showing his final cut to Warner Brothers studios. Reviewer James Berardinelli stated that it was arguably one of Kubrick’s best films. Writing for The New York Times, reviewer Janet Maslin commented: “This is a dead-serious film about sexual yearnings, one that flirts with ridicule yet sustains its fundamental eeriness and gravity throughout. The dreamlike intensity of previous Kubrick visions is in full force here.”
Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
Mexican drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos. The film tells a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys who take a road trip with a woman in her late twenties. Y Tu Mamá También won the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice Film Festival. It was also a runner-up at the National Society of Film Critics Awards for Best Picture and Best Director and earned a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the 2003 Academy Awards. Alfonso Cuarón directed this Mexican box-office smash hit about a pair of randy upper-class buddies which sparked some controversy for its frank depiction of drug use and sexual exploration
Shortbus (2006)
The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colourful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by various underground NYC gatherings that took place in the early 2000s. According to Mitchell, the film attempts to “employ sex in new cinematic ways because it’s too interesting to leave to porn.”
9 Songs (2004)
9 Songs is a 2004 British art romantic drama film written and directed by Michael Winterbottom. In London, England, love blooms between an American college student, named Lisa, and a British glaciologist, named Matt, where over the next few months, in between attending rock concerts, the two lovers have intense sexual encounters. The film was controversial on its original release because of its sexual content, which included unsimulated footage of the two leads having sexual intercourse and performing oral sex as well as a scene of ejaculation. The film was showcased at the Cannes Film Festival. Derek Malcolm of The Guardian praised the film: “9 Songs looks like a porn movie, but it feels like a love story. The sex is used as a metaphor for the rest of the couple’s relationship. And it is shot with Winterbottom’s customary sensitivity.”
