Erotica is not porn - it's art.
Cinema has always explored these stories that challenge your wildest fantasies. From weird obsessions to passionate romances, co-addictions to hot encounters, there is something for everyone who wants to dive into the world of sex and foreplay.
[article updated on August 12, 2021]
1. Duke of Burgundy (2014)
Director: Peter Strickland
Cynthia and Evelyn indulge in perverted foreplay and sex, which almost always ends in Evelyn's punishment. But it's also a lot of fun. As Cynthia envisions a more normal relationship, their collective obsession takes them further than they thought.
See also: LGBT films about girls, lesbians
2. Lolita (1997)
Directed by: Adrian Line
Humbert Humbert is a professor of old school classical, gentlemanly taste in literature and other intellectual hobbies. When he meets a new widow, he marries her in order to be closer to her young, beautiful and seductive daughter Lolita.
See also: The best movies in the world that you should watch at least once in your life
3. Dreamers (2003)
Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
In the midst of the Parisian revolution, a stormy threesome begins with their own plans. When a brother and sister welcome a student into their lives, everything changes and nothing can stop them from crossing the line. If you want to look at sex from films, we recommend the film Dreamers.
See also: LGBT films about lesbians
4. Stranger by the lake (2013)
Frank is a handsome young man who spends his idle summer days on the lake, which is a popular gay cruising destination. He spots another gorgeous man he would like to know, but his feelings are complicated when he witnesses the object of his desire drown another man in water, and a complicated psychosexual romance begins.
5. Secretary (2002)
Directed by: Steven Sheinberg
Lee is a patient who is recovering from mental problems and even self-harm. When she takes a job as a secretary to a respected lawyer, she turns a professional relationship into a sadomasochistic one that causes them both to cling to sanity.
See also: LGBT films about lesbians
6 Blue Velvet (1986)
Directed by: David Lynch
When Geoffrey returns to his city, he meets a beautiful singer and can't stop thinking about her. They begin an affair that leads to deep secrets and truths that threaten to take him to physical and emotional places he never knew he had before.
7. Car crash (1996)
Directed by: David Cronenberg
After James is in a car accident that nearly takes his life, he finds himself drawn to an underground subculture of similar survivors who turn that feeling of "crash" adrenaline into a sexual hazard. This eroticism of death and mortality turns him on. A fairly frank picture of sex from the film caused great discussions in the society of those years.
8. Malena (2000)
Directed by: Giuseppe Tornatore
Renato is a 13-year-old boy who lives in a small, sleepy Italian town. Everything is normal until a young war widow named Malena bursts into his life. She is every man's desire and every woman's threat. She soon changed Renato's life forever.
See also: The best movies in the world that you should watch at least once in your life
9. Lucia and Sex (2001)
Directed by: Julio Medem
Lucia flees to a remote island after she believes her depressed boyfriend, writer Lorenzo, has committed suicide. There she meets two people who are mysteriously linked to Lorenzo's past. After a while, she no longer knows what is true and what is true.
10. Shame (2011)
Director: Steve McQueen
Brandon is a handsome and successful bachelor from New York. He seems to have the perfect life, but hides the fact that he is a sex addict who even masturbates at work. When his sister shows up unannounced and violates his privacy, he loses his mind. If you were looking for a good sex scene from a movie, then in this picture you will find a little more than you might want, namely Incest.
11. The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1998)
Director: Philip Kaufman
Thomas is a surgeon who travels for an operation and meets an innocent young woman, Teresa, who brings her back with her. But Teresa finds out that Tom is a womanizer and has a mistress. This leads to a complicated, heated relationship between them.
12. Bitter Moon (1992)
Directed by: Roman Polanski
A sophisticated upper class couple, Nigel and Fiona meet on a cruise with a dynamic couple. The other couple has a dark, erotic story that fascinates Nigel, taking him to the dark side that could end his marriage.
13. Notes at the head (1996)
Directed by: Peter Greenaway
The Japanese model has a strange fetish for getting calligraphers to write on her body as she goes from one sexual feat to the next. One day, she finally meets an English guy who lives up to her expectations, and more. This is where the confusion starts.
14. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
When Bill's wife tells him that she had sexual fantasies about a man she met, he ventures into an underground cult and soon becomes lost in a world of erotic activities and practices, finally releasing him from his shell.
15. Nymphomaniac (2013)
Directed by: Lars von Trier
A lonely, lonely but wise man, Seligman, discovers a battered woman lying on the side of the road and escorts her back to his home. She is a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who starts telling him her story about how she got to this place in her life.
16.9 1/2 weeks (1986)
Directed by: Adrian Line
When two strangers, John and Elizabeth, meet, fireworks go off. They begin a very passionate romance that eventually turns into bondage and other sexual stunts such as striptease. But when things heat up, they burn out quickly too.
17. Basic Instinct (1992)
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
Detective Nick must solve a murder case. He takes the victim's girlfriend as the prime suspect. When he calls her to interrogate, she seduces him into an intense affair that reaches new levels of lust and manipulation.
18. Last Tango in Paris (1972)
Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
An American man became distraught after the death of his wife and became emotionally unstable. He meets a girl in an apartment they both want to rent and has sex in her. And so they begin an exciting journey of lust that continues to grow.
19. Intimacy (2001)
Directed by: Patrice Chereau
Jay and Claire meet weekly to get to know each other. As things heat up, Jay begins to wonder about the woman and wants to know more about her life. But his curiosity could get in the way of their perfect alignment and kill their sexual wave ahead.
20. Kill Me Softly (2002)
Directed by: Chen Kaige
A woman leaves her boyfriend when she meets an attractive man who appears to be a famous climber. He seduces her like never before and takes control of her, which could prove fatal to her future.
See also: The best movies in the world that you should watch at least once in your life
21. Room in Rome (2010)
Directed by: Julio Medem
A Spanish woman falls madly in love with a woman she meets on her last day in Rome. They go on an exciting journey, exploring each other in a hotel room. Secrets are revealed, bringing them even closer.But is everything that is said on both sides true?
22. Cold shower (2005)
Directed by: Anthony Cordier
Blomkvist loses his place on the judo team thanks to the new rich boy in town, Clement. However, they spend time together. One day, Blomkvist invites Clement to join the romance he shares with his girlfriend Vanessa. This is where the drama begins.
23. Poison Ivy (1992)
Directed by: Catt Shea, Andy Reuben
Ivy is a sexy, conniving girl who befriends shy classmate Sylvia and moves into her house almost instantly. With evil intentions, she destroys the family by seducing Sylvie's father, eventually even committing crimes to get what she wants, no matter the cost.
See also: LGBT films about lesbians
24. Blue is the warmest color (2013)
Directed by: Abdellatif Kechiche
Adele is confused about her sexuality. She unsuccessfully tries to be with a man to understand how she feels. But when a blue-haired girl enters her life, she freezes. They soon start dating and can't get enough of each other, and later face crushing grief.
25. Restless (2000)
Directed by: Aku Louhimies
Ari is a real womanizer. In fact, he prides himself on never repeating sexual antics with the same people more than once. His one night stand relationship shakes up a bit when he meets an attractive woman and wants to make a commitment. But when he meets her adorable friends, he can't control himself.
See also: LGBT films about lesbians
26. Wild reeds (1994)
Directed by: André Techiné
The two teenage friends are really close, although not sexually. However, one of them wonders about switching sides. The experience of communicating with another boy makes him understand what he wants. But as they go on, more people come into play and complications arise.
27. Love (2015)
Directed by: Gaspar Noe
Murphy and Elektra enter into an extremely intense relationship that crosses all the lines with every passing day of their romance. As they continue their outlandish addiction, the experiments lead them to invite another woman into bed, which throws the whole equation off balance.
28. Exotic (1994)
Director: Atom Egoyan
Christina is the most famous dancer in a popular strip club, promoted by the owner of the club, also her ex-boyfriend. When a depressed man becomes an ordinary person, he develops a passionate dependence on Christina, both sexually and psychologically. One of the hottest sex from a 90s movie.
29. Bad upbringing (2004)
Gael Garcia Bernal stars in this complex murder mystery of renowned author Pedro Almodovar. A director in Madrid meets a mysterious actress who turns out to be his childhood best friend (and crush) Enrique. The two embark on a psychological journey into their troubled pasts in twist-filled Spanish film noir.
30. Wildness
"Wildness" notorious for two things: Kevin Bacon's naked penis and a threesome between Denise Richards, Neve Campbell and Matt Dillon. The latter is for the most part an excuse to film the then-unknown Richards nude. Despite its mainstream blandness, the film is otherwise an overloaded cheesy neo-noir.
