Just because the sex is real doesn’t mean it’s porn.posted on
1. In the Realm of the Senses (1976)
Entertainment One Films
Directed by: Nagisa Oshima
Written by: Nagisa Oshima
Written by: Nagisa Oshima
Based on the true story of Sada Abe, a Japanese woman who — spoiler alert — erotically asphyxiated her lover then cut off his penis and kept it in her handbag
, In the Realm of the Senses is as explicit as you’d expect given the subject matter. The sex is real; the murder and genital removal is, thankfully, not.
, In the Realm of the Senses is as explicit as you’d expect given the subject matter. The sex is real; the murder and genital removal is, thankfully, not.2. A Real Young Girl (1976)
Rézo Films
Directed by: Catherine Breillat
Written by: Catherine Breillat
Written by: Catherine Breillat
The subject matter of A Real Young Girl is…difficult, to say the least. The film focuses on the sexual exploration of 14-year-old Alice (Charlotte Alexandra). All of the explicit scenes were shot with actors of age, but it’s still unsettling. And, yes, an earthworm was harmed during filming. (You don’t want to know.)
3. Caligula (1979)
Image Entertainment
Directed by: Tinto Brass
Written by: Gore Vidal
Written by: Gore Vidal
Caligula is a fascinating disaster of a film, truly NSFW even without the unsimulated sex peppered throughout. (There is necrophiliac incest, after all.) But beyond that,Penthouse founder Bob Guccione, who financed the film, added in explicit scenes that — well, they’re porn. It’s porn. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
4. Cruising (1980)
Warner Bros.
Directed by: William Friedkin
Written by: William Friedkin
Written by: William Friedkin
The vastly misunderstood Cruising was protested for being homophobic, but this thriller, in which Al Pacino plays a cop going undercover in leather bars to find a killer, is far more complicated than that. The murder scenes are cut with actual footage of gay sex, which definitely invites analysis — but not dismissal.
was protested for being homophobic, but this thriller, in which Al Pacino plays a cop going undercover in leather bars to find a killer, is far more complicated than that. The murder scenes are cut with actual footage of gay sex, which definitely invites analysis — but not dismissal.5. The Idiots (1998)
Zentropa
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Written by: Lars von Trier
Written by: Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier pops up a few times on this list, and with good reason. In The Idiots, a group of anti-bourgeois adults lose their inhibitions by embracing their “inner idiot.” That means a lot of nudity and the occasional orgy. Most of this is simulated, but there is at least one scene with actual sex taking place.
6. Romance (1999)
LionsGate
Directed by: Catherine Breillat
Written by: Catherine Breillat
Written by: Catherine Breillat
Over two decades after A Real Young Girl, Catherine Breillat showed her continued willingness to frankly explore sexuality. Romance, which follows Marie (Caroline Ducey) as she searches for sexual fulfillment outside of her boyfriend, is often credited with paving the way for more unsimulated sex in arthouse films.
7. Pola X (1999)
Entertainment One Films
Directed by: Leos Carax
Written by: Leos Carax and Jean-Pol Fargeau
Written by: Leos Carax and Jean-Pol Fargeau
Body doubles were supposedly used for the most explicit scenes in Pola X, so it’s unclear how much of the unsimulated sex is actually stars Guillaume Depardieu and Yekaterina Golubeva, who play long-lost siblings and lovers Pierre and Isabelle in this loose adaptation of a Herman Melville novel.
8. Baise-moi (2000)
Pan-Européenne
Directed by: Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi
Written by: Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi
Written by: Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi
The title Baise-moi has been translated to Kiss Me, Fuck Me, and Rape Me, so perhaps it works best in the ambiguous French. This rape-revenge thriller is filled with unsimulated sex, though the graphic violence is, naturally, not the real thing. Nevertheless, the film has remained highly controversial since its release.
9. O Fantasma (2000)
Rosa Filmes
Directed by: João Pedro Rodrigues
Written by: Alexandre Melo and José Neves
Written by: Alexandre Melo and José Neves
The Portuguese film O Fantasma — translated as The Phantom, but it just doesn’t carry the same weight that way — follows Sergio (Ricardo Meneses) as he wanders the city of Lisbon. The hunky Portuguese actors might tempt you to watch it as porn, but if you’re looking for that, you’re likely to be disappointed.
10. Intimacy (2001)
Entertainment One Films
Directed by: Patrice Chéreau
Written by: Patrice Chéreau and Anne-Louise Trividic
Written by: Patrice Chéreau and Anne-Louise Trividic
Think Last Tango in Paris, but a little more grounded. Jay (Mark Rylance) and Claire (Kerry Fox) are two strangers who engage in weekly anonymous sex, slowly developing an emotional attachment to each another. Unlike Last Tango in Paris, all of the sex is completely unsimulated.
11. Ken Park (2002)
Vitagraph Films
Directed by: Larry Clark and Ed Lachman
Written by: Larry Clark and Harmony Korine
Written by: Larry Clark and Harmony Korine
The disturbing interconnected stories of Ken Park are all highly sexual, most of them involving teens. Of course, all the actors were over 18, and most of the sex is simulated (however realistic) — except for unsimulated masturbation. Which, yes, totally counts.
12. The Brown Bunny (2003)
Wellspring Media
Directed by: Vincent Gallo
Written by: Vincent Gallo
Written by: Vincent Gallo
It takes a special type of auteur to write, direct, and star in a movie that involves him receiving an unsimulated blow job to completion on-screen. But Vincent Gallo did it in The Brown Bunny, with Chloe Sevigny performing the act. There has been some controversy over whether or not it was real — but it was.
to completion on-screen. But Vincent Gallo did it in The Brown Bunny, with Chloe Sevigny performing the act. There has been some controversy over whether or not it was real — but it was.13. 9 Songs (2004)
Optimum Releasing
Directed by: Michael Winterbottom
Written by: Michael Winterbottom
Written by: Michael Winterbottom
The film 9 Songs includes actual footage of concert performances by bands like Franz Ferdinand, The Dandy Warhols, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club — but, of course, most of the focus is going to be on the constant unsimulated sex between leads Kieran O’Brien and Margo Stilley.
14. Anatomy of Hell (2004)
Tartan Video
Directed by: Catherine Breillat
Written by: Catherine Breillat
Written by: Catherine Breillat
Another Catherine Breillat film, another non-pornographic (but also, you know, totally pornographic) performance by Italian porn star Rocco Siffredi. Anatomy of Hell is not only explicit, it’s also incredibly jarring, with some uniquely disturbing visuals that uncover the darker side of sexuality.
15. The Raspberry Reich (2004)
Peccadillo Pictures
Directed by: Bruce LaBruce
Written by: Bruce LaBruce
Written by: Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce movies are an acquired taste. And if you have acquired the taste for them, they are fucking delicious. The Raspberry Reich is a hilarious satire of what LaBruce calls “terrorist chic” that looks at the idea of homosexuality as a radical act. There’s also a ton of unsimulated sex — and a porn version that includes even more.
16. Lie with Me (2005)
THINKFilm
Directed by: Clément Virgo
Written by: Clément Virgo and Tamara Faith Virgo
Written by: Clément Virgo and Tamara Faith Virgo
Lie with Me is notable in part because the two stars, Eric Balfour and Lauren Lee Smith, are fairly well known — particularly Balfour — and engaging in unsimulated sex. Otherwise, it’s another sort of take on the Last Tango in Paris model, though with a distinctly Canadian style. (It’s set and shot in Toronto.)
17. 8mm 2
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Directed by: J. S. Cardone
Written by: Robert Sullivan
Written by: Robert Sullivan
The weirdest thing about 8mm 2 is that it has nothing to do with the film 8 mm. It was originally titled The Velvet Side of Hell and lated rebranded as a sequel, even though it wasn’t. It does, however, feature plenty of unsimulated sex, as well as actual porn scenes spliced in.
18. Shortbus (2006)
THINKFilm
Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell
Written by: John Cameron Mitchell
Written by: John Cameron Mitchell
Shortbus is perhaps the most well-known film with unsimulated sex. It’s also one of the best. It’s sexually explicit, yes, but it’s also warm, funny, and thoughtful. Of course, it does owe a debt to earlier films with unsimulated sex. The vibrating egg Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) uses on herself is branded In the Realm of the Senses.
to earlier films with unsimulated sex. The vibrating egg Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) uses on herself is branded In the Realm of the Senses.19. Otto; or, Up with Dead People (2008)
Strand Releasing
Directed by: Bruce LaBruce
Written by: Bruce LaBruce
Written by: Bruce LaBruce
Otto is a zombie. Or maybe he isn’t. He definitely has an appetite for…something. This is another Bruce LaBruce film, so of course it’s artsy, strange, and highly erotic. Much of the sex is real, though the copious amount of blood is not. Then again, it’s not clear how much of the gore is only a product of Otto’s twisted mind.
20. Antichrist (2009)
IFC Films
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Written by: Lars von Trier
Written by: Lars von Trier
In the prologue to Antichrist, a couple is having sex in the shower (unsimulated, natch) when their young son falls to his death from a window. As the unnamed man and woman, Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg used body doubles for the explicit scenes. Warning: climactic genital mutilation.
21. Nymphomaniac (2014)
Magnolia Pictures
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Written by: Lars von Trier
Written by: Lars von Trier
Does Nymphomaniac merit inclusion on this list? Maybe not. There has been much debate about the sex throughout the film, which was created by digitally adding porn star’s genitals to the actors’ bodies. So it’s unsimulated and simulated at the same time, really. But it’s also Lars von Trier, meaning we’ll allow it.
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