To mark the release of one of the most anticipated films of the year, we explore some of cinema’s sexiest films.
This week, the highly publicised screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey will finally be released in cinemas. With much speculation – and criticism – already attached to the much-anticipated film (as well as the novel on which it is based), we wonder what all the fuss is about.
Sex has been depicted on our cinema screens for decades with many films featuring more explicit, unorthodox and unsimilated sex than what is suggested in E.L. James’ erotic tome. Films like I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) and Last Tango in Paris (1972) feature full frontal nudity, whilst others like Belle de Jour (1967) and 9 1Ž2 Weeks (1986) explore the notion of sadomasochism, a major theme in Fifty Shades of Grey.
Prompting our curiosity, we decided to conjure up our top 10 films that we believe to be sexier than Fifty Shades of Grey: some explicit, some romantic and some that are just good old-fashioned fun.
And God Created Woman (1956) Dir. Roger Vadim
‘If I were your husband or your father I’d give you a good spanking.’
This X-rated film made Brigitte Bardot an overnight sensation. She was the biggest sex kitten on the planet even outdoing the likes of Marilyn Monroe. And God Created Woman is a French drama that follows a sexually liberal 20-year-old who catches the attention of every man she passes. Bardot was married to her director at the time, Roger Vadim, who later married Jane Fonda and also had relationships with the likes of Catherine Deneuve. Although Bardot prances around naked for a lot of the film, it is best remembered for the scene that saw its leading lady dance like a wild animal. Releasing all of her inhibitions, the film demonstrated something that French cinema had never seen before. This scene ended with a climax that we’re pretty sure signifies something other than dancing.
Don’t Look Now (1973) Dir. Nicholas Roeg
‘Nothing is what it seems.’
Don’t Look Now is a film more associated with the horror genre than the erotic drama. After John and Laura Baxter (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) tragically lose their young daughter at the start of the film, the couple struggle to continue on with their lives in Venice. However, despite its morbid subject matter, the film features one of British cinema’s most iconic sex scenes. The sequence sees its leading couple embrace one another through tender and adoring lovemaking. The scene was so realistic that rumours alluded to the possibility that the sex between the actors was unsimulated. The scene itself cuts between the pair getting ready to dine out and, having lost their child, suggesting that the couple may have possibly created another.
An Officer and A Gentleman (1982) Dir. Taylor Hackford
‘You can kick me outta here but I ain’t quitting!
This film examines love in an unconventional way and examines the reality of a relationship; they are hard and you have to work at it. If anything, this is the sexiest thing about An Officer and a Gentleman. Richard Gere stars as Zack Mayo, a Navy student who meets adoring factor worker Paula (Debra Winger). The film includes erotic sex scenes but albeit in a tasteful manner that emphasises the couple’s intense love for one another. However, the film is best remembered for its iconic ending that sees Zack swoop in and whisk Paula away into the sunset for a new life together; one of the sexiest things a man has ever done on screen. This is the perfect film for anyone who longs for love to lift them up where they belong.
9 1/2 Weeks (1986) Dir. Adrian Lyne
‘How did you know I’d respond to you the way I have?’
9 1/2 Weeks is perhaps one of the most notable films in American cinema. Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger star as strangers whose encounter is the prelude to an intense sexual relationship. The stars’ erotic tension was conveyed after director, Adrian Lyne, requested that they not interact off set. The majority of 9 1/2 Weeks is spoken through body language and eye contact, and there is very little dialogue. The unorthodox theme of sadomasochism caused quite a stir during release, becoming one of the first in mainstream cinema to explore the issue. However, 9 1/2 Weeks is best remembered for its renowned ‘fridge scene’ that sees Rourke feed Basginer a variety of food wit her eyes closed, which is not quintessentially sexy but remains one of cinema’s most erotic sequences.
