The 69 Best Porn Movies of All Time

When it comes to porn, you deserve the best.

woman watching porn movie in lingerie on bed
(Image credit: Getty Images)

You may be surprised to learn that porn has a lot to say about society. Sexual expression can tell us about what a culture is concerned with at any given time, especially as it relates to women. For that reason, Marie Claire's list of the best porn movies of all time serves as more than just a guide for your viewing pleasure (though it is that!), but also a deep dive into the history of the pornography genre through the last half-century. It’s a celebration of where erotic filmmaking has been, where it’s going, and how it’s shifted the conversation. 

You’ll find several categories of female-friendly pornography below, depending on what you’re interested in. (And if you’re not that into porn for porn’s sake, it makes for an interesting read, even if you don’t watch the films themselves.) Up top, you’ll find some of the all-time pornographic classics, like Aphrodesia’s Diary and The Devil in Miss Jones. There’s also a section for artsy porn films that go hot and heavy on…well, plot, among other things. Then we’ve included some of the best softcore porn movies, which have always held a special place for viewers who may feel cautious about hardcore scenes. And, of course, what list of the best porn films would be complete without looking at some of the more out-there parodies too? (Don’t sleep on the porn-heist movie hybrid Tonight for Sure, or the somewhat self-explanatory A Dirty Western.)

Without further ado, the best porn movies of all time, for your viewing pleasure.

The Best Classic Porn Movies

Emmanuelle

emmanuelle

(Image credit: Parafrance Films)

This 1974 French drama was actually the first in a series of softcore porn films all based on the erotic novel Emmanuelle, which was published in 1967. The plot follows a young woman named Emmanuelle who lives with her older husband in Bangkok, where he's serving as a French diplomat in the country. While abroad, Emmanuelle embarks on a journey of sexual discovery (because would it even be a proper softcore classic without a woman embarking on a journey of sexual discovery?).

WATCH IT: KinoNow (USA) | Amazon Prime Video (UK)

Black Emmanuelle

black emmauelle

(Image credit: Stirling Gold)

In 1975, the Black Emmanuelle series, Laura Gemser, kicked off. The movies focus on Mae Jordan, an investigative journalist and photographer who publishes under the pseudonym Emmanuelle, and her erotic adventures around the world. The first installment was set in Africa and filmed mostly in Kenya.

WATCH IT: Brown Sugar (US) 

Score

Score

(Image credit: Amazon)

This ‘70s porn classic is actually based on an off-Broadway play that ran for several weeks in 1971. It follows a tennis match that gets very sexy, and is actually considered as “erotic romance.” Bonus points for the theater beginnings, because it’s not just porn—it’s culture. Plus, keep an eye out for Sylvester Stallone in a pre-fame camera as a repairman (of course). 

WATCH IT: Mubi (US / CAN) | Amazon (UK)

Mona the Virgin Nymph

mona the virgin nymph

(Image credit: Graffiti Productions)

Also known simply as Mona, this 1970 pornographic film was the second porn movie, after Blue Movie (below), to receive wide release in the United States. It's considered to be the first mainstream pornographic movie with a real plot focused on action, whereas Blue Movie was more of a slice-of-life movie (with sex, of course). Granted, the "action" of plot of Mona is mostly the movement it takes for characters to get to another sexual partner, but still.

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Aphrodesia's Diary

Aphrodesia's Diary

(Image credit: Audubon Films)

Another 1970s classic from porn’s high-ish budget heyday, this one follows the tale of a woman who is rereading her diary and reliving all of the very sexy exploits she’s experienced while in a hotel room. 

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The Cheerleaders

The Cheerleaders

(Image credit: Cinemation Industries)

This 1973 movie deals is all about the school spirit. A group of enterprising cheerleaders takes it on themselves to secure a win for their team’s football team by exhausting the opposing side the night before the big game. You can guess what ensues.

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Bijou

bijou

(Image credit: Poolemar)

Bill Harrison stars in this 1972 classic as a construction worker who witnesses a car accident and then goes through the victim's purse (you know, as you do), where he discovers an invitation to a club called Bijou. As you might expect, this sets him out on a sexy adventure.

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Reel People

reel people

(Image credit: Arrow Film & Video)

In 1984, Reel People hit the porn world and changed the game as the first major pornographic film to feature sex between professional porn stars and amateurs. This led to the launch of the "Pro-Am" genre; the film is seen as paving the way for the reality porn genre, too.

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The Devil in Miss Jones

the devil in miss jones

(Image credit: VCX Ltd.)

There are porn movies with "plots" and then there are porn movies with actual PLOTS. For the record, 1973's The Devil in Miss Jones is the latter. The movie is about a depressed woman who commits suicide, only to be told in the afterlife that even though she lived a good life, her suicide excludes her from entering heaven. Faced with an eternity in limbo, Miss Jones requests to be sent back to earth as the embodiment of lust so she can earn her place in Hell instead.

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9 Lives of a Wet Pussy

9 lives of a wet pussy

(Image credit: Navaron Films)

This 1976 porn has a very 1976 porn plot: A wealthy, married New York heiress named Pauline sets out on an adventure of sexual discovery and exploration involving ~sexy~ times with several different people. Classic.

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The Grafenberg Spot

the grafenberg spot

(Image credit: Mitchell Brothers Film Group)

In this 1985 movie, a couple visits a sex therapist for help finding the elusive and magical (in 1985, at least) G-spot. The movie stars Ginger Lynn, Harry Reems, and Annette Haven and is considered a classic among porn aficionados.

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Babylon Pink

babylon pink

(Image credit: Command Cinema)

This smoking hot classic takes viewers inside the sexual fantasies of several women, from a bored housewife and a lady boss businesswoman to an older woman and a curious teenager, touching on as many parts of the female sexual spectrum as you could expect a movie from 1979 to do.

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The Ultimate Pleasure

the ultimate pleasure

(Image credit: Vinegar Syndrome)

Here's another '70s classic from back when plot and porn were much more linked than they are today. In The Ultimate Pleasure, an unhappily married couple jet to Vegas to indulge in their hedonistic sides when the husband finds a suitcase full of money in the back of his taxi.

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Pink Velvet 3: A Lesbian Odyssey

Pink Velvet 3: A Lesbian Odyssey

(Image credit: Viv Thomas)

The final installment in the Pink Velvet trilogy is widely considered one of the best lesbian films of recent years in the adult genre and is praised for its sensual love scenes, which feature real female orgasms.

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Sex Pursuits

sex pursuits

(Image credit: Alpha Blue Archives)

This classic is basically a who's who of early '70s porn actresses. The movie is a series of sexy, sexy vignettes and the film's narrator acts as our tour guide on the erotic adventure quest. Yes, please.

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Deep Throat

deep throat porn movie

(Image credit: Alamy)

Perhaps the best-known pornographic film of all time, this 1972 classic helped to usher in the Golden Age of Porn and tells the story of Linda Lovelace (played by the actress of the same name), a woman who discovers that her clitoris is located in her throat. Despite its iconic status, however, Deep Throat has now become something of a controversial watch, as Lovelace would ultimately go on to amend her original claims that making the film was a liberating experience, writing later on that in fact she’d been violently coerced into performing many of the sexual acts depicted in the film.

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Talk Dirty to Me

talk dirty to me porn movie

(Image credit: Four Rivers Productions)

Not only has this 1980 film been hailed as one of the best of porn’s so-called Golden Age, but it also spawned a series of 14 spinoffs and sequels in the decades after. It has a simple premise, with a suave ladies’ man (John Leslie) making moves to seduce a beautiful woman (Jesie St. James) while his dimwitted best friend (Richard Pacheco) looks on. It took home four trophies at the Adult Film Association of America’s annual awards ceremony, including Best Film and both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for Leslie and Pacheco.

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The Best Artsy Porn Movies

The Bite

The Bite

(Image credit: Olympic International Films)

This Japanese film from 1966 follows a somewhat classic plot: A beautiful young man is paid by wealthy older women to act as a gigolo who seduces young women so that his clients can watch their encounters from behind a two-way mirror. It’s a “pink film,” a designation given in Japan to films that received a theatrical release but contained nudity and sex.

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XConfessions

XConfessions

(Image credit: XConfessions)

You can’t go wrong with any of Erika Lust films. The director takes on women-centered porn, and the XConfessions films are the result of her requesting subject matter from viewers who want to see their erotic fantasies played out on the little screen. The cinematography is gorgeous, the actors have real chemistry, and the resulting films are as beautiful as they are super hot. 

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Sex Stories

Sex Stories

(Image credit: Breaking Glass Pictures)

Follow dinner party guests on an otherwise civilized evening, where the couples present recount—and relive—their twisting romantic and sexy adventures. The sex is told from the points of view of both parties, and the reactions from the guests vary in surprising ways. It’s a sexy movie in a very French way. 

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The Dreamers

The Dreamers

(Image credit: Amazon)

This 2003 film may star some big names like Eva Green and Michael Pitt, but it is pure erotic artistry. It follows the story of an American studying in Paris who gets in too deep with a pair of siblings—yes, it’s extremely taboo—who help him to explore all of his sexual fantasies. 

WATCH IT: Max (USA) 

Cabaret Desire

Cabaret Desire

(Image credit: Lust Cinema)

Another Erika Lust film (she's simply the best!), this one won the 2012 Film of the Year award at the Feminist Porn Film Festival, and for good reason—it’s a female gaze-centered exploration of erotic fantasy told through a “Poetry Brothel” where patrons come to hear sexy stories. Each story is played out in beautifully shot sequences that are individually worth the subscription to Lust Cinema. 

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Blue Movie

blue movie

(Image credit: Constantin Film)

Andy Warhol's Blue Movie was a game-changer: The 1969 movie was the first pornographic movie depicting explicit sex to get a wide theatrical release in the United States, kicking off the Golden Age of Porn. For when you're like "porn, but make it critically-acclaimed."

This movie is not readily available to stream online.

Infidelity: Sex Stories 2

Infidelity: Sex Stories 2

(Image credit: Amazon)

Infidelity is a French film that deals with, well, infidelity. Three couples each have a problem: The men have been unfaithful. But they all handle these revelations in different, very sexy ways. It’s got a real story, where the acting doesn’t feel rote and the relationships have a sense of realism, and even humor, to them. That’s just an added bonus to the very sexy sex scenes, though, of course.

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Xana and Dax: When Opposites Attract

Xana and Dax: When Opposites Attract

(Image credit: Comstock Films)

If the sex in this one feels especially realistic (though still very coordinated), there’s a reason for that: Xana and Dax are a real-life couple, and the documentary approach is a hallmark of Comstock Films, who make sure to include interviews prior to any action so that viewers can get to know the couple in a way that makes the real sex scenes feel even more authentic and emotionally fulfilling.

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Perspective

Perspective

(Image credit: Adult Time)

This movie absolutely cleaned up at AVN (American Adult News) when it came out. This feature film is the definition of erotic art. A story of cheating, intense passion, and the ways people react when their fundamental views of the world are challenged, this takes everything you love about drama mixed with the sensuality of a great porn movie.

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A Taste of Joy

A Taste of Joy

(Image credit: Petra Joy)

From feminist porn director Petra Joy, A Taste of Joy features a series of three vignettes that turn, in her words, "existing porn stereotypes upside down." The cinematography is gorgeous and the sex is steamy/female-focused—what more could you want?

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Last Tango

Last Tango

(Image credit: Sweet Sinema)

Loosely based on Last Tango in Paris, this flick is about a woman who rents out a secret apartment to escape her fiancé, and ends up having an affair. The movie won The Feminist Porn Awards' 2012 prize for "Most Arousing Adaptation," and was lauded for its "haunting, explicit sex scenes" and "emotionally rich performances." A must-watch for people who like a lot of romance and plot with their porn. 

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The Good Girl

The Good Girl

(Image credit: Lust Films)

The Good Girl is a 2004 short film by Erika Lust that flips the "delivery guy comes over with a pizza" trope seen in many cheesy porn films on its head, thanks to a female lens. Even better, you can rest assured that this movie was filmed on a safe set with safe conditions for the actors involved, because Lust is a marquee name in the feminist film industry, herself the recipient of several Feminist Porn Awards.

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Snapshot

Snapshot

(Image credit: Pink Label)

Snapshot is an independently funded, award-winning suspense thriller starring queer people of color, and we are here for it. Written and directed by Shine Louise Houston, it's worthy of praise outside the industry. It even has nods to Hitchcock, that's how legit it is. "I’ve been working on this script for about four years on and off and I think it’s finally presentable," Houston said in an interview. "I strive for what Hitchcock describes as pure cinema. Most of the talent I work with have very little acting experience so I write minimal but precise dialogue and film in a way that lets the editing do the acting."

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The Best Softcore Porn Movies

A Perfect Ending

A Perfect Ending

(Image credit: SoulKiss Films)

This 2012 movie goes for more of a softcore vibe, which in this case makes the tension all the sexier. It follows a woman with a long-held secret—she’s never actually had an orgasm with a man—who, after meeting an expensive escort named Paris, shares more than just a passionate night of same-sex lovemaking. 

WATCH IT: Kanopy (US)

Animal Instincts

Animal Instincts

(Image credit: Wilshire FIlm Ventures)

A cop and his wife, bored of their tired sex life, decides to spice things up by secretly videotaping her encounters with sexy strangers. If you can suspend your disbelief long enough to avoid the obvious consent issues involved (do these people know they’re being filmed though?), there are some sexy scenes in this classic 1990s softcore movie. 

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Red Shoe Diaries

Red Shoe Diaries

(Image credit: Amazon)

Your eyes do not deceive you: That is indeed David Duchovny. There are actually a lot of stars in this early-90s Showtime series that stars Duchovny as host Max Winters, who offers payment to women who send in their sexiest stories to his TV show, which then shows reenactments. That’s right, a whole series. It was groundbreaking at the time, and still holds up for being super hot. 

WATCH IT: Tubi (US) | 5STAR (UK) | Microsoft Store (CA)

Love Toy

love toy

(Image credit: Doris Wishman)

Doris Wishman actually directed this 1968 softcore sexploitation film, but she was credited as Louis Silverman at the time. Fair warning: The plot is weird. In the movie, a man with a very bad gambling problem loses everything in a game of Gin Rummy (of all things) and ends up agreeing to give his debtor a night with his teenage daughter in exchange for wiping the slate clean (these kinds of problematic plot setups were pretty standard in sexploitation films of the period, sadly). The night that ensues gets increasingly strange and there's even a twist ending.

WATCH IT: Cultpix (US / UK / CA / AU)

Pink Prison

pink prison

(Image credit: Magma)

Billed as an erotic film for women, 1999's Pink Prison was directed by Lisbeth Lynghøft and produced by Puzzy Power. The movie stars Katja Kean as Mila, a photo journalist who, on a bet from her publisher, breaks into a men's prison trying to snag an interview with its mysterious warden.

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The Best Parody Porn Movies

Flesh Gordon

flesh gordon

(Image credit: Graffiti Productions)

One of the great things about the Golden Age of Porn was the explosion in creativity it brought to pornography. Case-in-point: 1974's Flesh Gordon, which answered the question, "Can a movie be a comedy, science fiction, and porn all at the same time?" with a resounding YES.

WATCH IT: Amazon Prime (US)

The Jade Pussycat

the jade pussycat

(Image credit: I Candy)

This movie, set mostly in San Francisco's Chinatown, is part porn, part heist suspense drama. The movie follows Johnny Wadd on his search for a priceless 13th century Chinese carving known as The Jade Pussycat, which has been stolen from a museum in Japan. The journey to finding the Jade Pussycat involves a lot of sex-filled situations as well, of course, but the movie succeeds so much as a suspense film that Paul Thomas Anderson reportedly recommended that the cast of Boogie Nights see it to prepare for making that film, describing it as being "like Hitchcock doing a porno."

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Naked Came the Stranger

naked came the stranger

(Image credit: VCA Pictures)

Based on the book of the same name, this 1975 movie was filmed in New York City and follows a radio host named Gilly who likes having fun. Sexy fun. She has sexy fun with her husband, Billy. She also has sexy fun with other people, like friends...and acquaintances. And she has that sexy fun in a lot of interesting places, too, like an old-timey ballroom and the top of a moving, double-decker bus.

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A Dirty Western

a dirty western

(Image credit: Realité)

One of the few porn movies in the western genre, 1975's A Dirty Western is, well, pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Orgies and other displays of lust in the Wild Wild West make up the plot of this pornographic classic from the Golden Age. 

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Once Upon a Girl

once upon a girl

(Image credit: Severin Films)

If you have an irreverent side and a love for classic animation, then Once Upon a Girl might just tickle your fancy. The movie mixes live action and animation (from actual Walt Disney and Hanna-Barbera animators, at that) and was billed as "bedtime stories for grownups." The film's framing device has Mother Goose on trial for obscenity when she dares to tell the "true" versions of several classic children's stories.

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Bend Over Boyfriend

bend over boyfriend

(Image credit: Good Vibrations)

Sometimes, learning is sexy. Case in point: The Bend Over Boyfriend series, produced by sex toy company Good Vibrations in the '90s. The sex education video series focused on best practices for pegging—a sex act in which a woman penetrates a man's anus with a strap-on dildo. The first video in the series became a best-seller and something of a classic in its own right.

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High Test Girls

high test girls

(Image credit: Elite-Film AG Zürich)

Sometimes, in porn, a simple premise is a perfect premise. In 1980's High Test Girls, six women run a gas station together and pass the time by having sex with customers who are waiting to have their cars filled with gas. 

WATCH IT: Mutant Sorority Pictures (UK/CA)

Sensational Janine

sensational janine poster

(Image credit: Herzog Filme)

This 1976 movie is a little of everything—seriously, Wikipedia describes it as a "West German hardcore costume drama-sex comedy." Also known by its much-longer German title, Josefine Mutzenbacher... wie sie wirklich war - 1. Teil, this movie actually has literary roots. It's based on an anonymously penned Austrian novel called Josephine Mutzenbacher, which focused on the life of a fictional Viennese courtesan. In the movie version (which was pretty groundbreaking in its incorporation of comedy amid the hardcore scenes), Josefine is a Viennese teen who undergoes a major sexual awakening after losing her virginity to her neighbor's lover (you know, as you do...in porn) that includes a relationship with her stepfather following her mother's unexpected death and, eventually, a career as a prostitute.

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Insatiable

insatiable movie cover

(Image credit: I-Candy)

This 1980 classic stars Marilyn Chambers as supermodel/heiress Sandra Chase and industry legend John Holmes as Sandra's fantasy lover. In the movie, Sandra learns that no amount of money can buy satisfaction—but that doesn't stop her from trying to find it with several of her costars while filming her first movie.

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Flashpoint

flashpoint x

(Image credit: Wicked Pictures)

Flashpoint, starring legendary porn actress Jenna Jameson, was released in 1998 and it remains unique in the porn world thanks to its massive budget and impressive special effects and action sequences. The plot? Jenna plays a firefighter who's habitually hot in more ways than one. 

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The Xterminator

the xterminator

(Image credit: Paradise Visuals)

If you love a good porno parody, then The Xterminator deserves a spot on your personal watch list. If it weren't evident from the title and DVD cover, this movie is a direct riff on 1984's The Terminator, but instead of being a futuristic robot with a one-track mind for murder and destruction, the lead is a futuristic robot with a one-track mind for vintage porn and '80s bangfests.

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Barbara Broadcast

Barbara Broadcast

(Image credit: VCA Pictures)

reviewer called this flick "a playful, funny and beautifully made film for grownups, a celebration of carnality and earthly delights." The movie is about Barbara Broadcast, a bestselling author who has a sexy interview with a journalist at a Manhattan restaurant.

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The Fashionistas

Poster, Hero, Movie, Fictional character, Musical, Advertising,

(Image credit: Amazon)

When it comes to porn-with-plot, The Fashionistas, which follows a fashion designer exploring the underground S&M scene, is a must-watch. Considered by many porn aficionados to be one of the best adult films ever made, this ambitious undertaking was shot on 35mm film by pornographic actor-turned-director John Stagliano. The movie won 10 AVN awards and even spawned a critically-acclaimed stage show in Vegas.

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Sexual Chronicles of a French Family

Poster, Advertising, Photography, Magazine, Photo caption, Album cover,

(Image credit: Courtesy)

After a young boy is caught masturbating in his biology class, his French family recounts all of their tales of sexual desire and exploration. You definitely want to watch the uncensored version of this one for all the ripe sexiness.

WATCH IT: Amazon Prime (US/CA)

Missing: A Lesbian Crime Story

Missing: A Lesbian Crime Story

(Image credit: Girlsway)

This six-part (!!!) epic is a lesson in how to mix melodrama and porn for a perfect blend of comedy, suspense, and, of course, sexiness. The movie also features some of the best girl-on-girl scenes in recent years.

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The Bare Wench Project

bare wench project

(Image credit: Jim Wynorski)

If pornographic spoofs of famous horror franchises do it for you, you should also add 2000's The Bare Wench Project to your watch list. The movie is, obviously, a spoof of 1999's The Blair Witch Project and, like its source of inspiration, it was filmed quickly and on a shoestring budget. The film was popular though, spawning several sequels. 

WATCH IT: Plex (US/UK)

Dangerous Liaisons

dangerous liaisons 2002

(Image credit: Lucas Distribution)

In 2005, Les Liaisons dangereuses (the French novel that inspired the 1998 movie Dangerous Liaisons and Cruel Intentions, among many, many other movies, plays, books, and TV shows) finally got the gay pornographic reimagining it always deserved. It's not a huge leap from the source material to actual porn, after all.

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The Friend Zone

The Friend Zone

(Image credit: New Sensations)

New Sensations is a company known for its focus on female pleasure and the depiction of romantic sexual relationships (filmed with super pretty lighting), and The Friend Zone is one of their most lauded. The film follows two platonic friends, Kevin and Gina, whose relationship takes a turn for the sensual when Kevin creates an online dating profile in an attempt to win her heart. Think of it as a romantic comedy, with tons of sex.

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The Submission of Emma Marx

The Submission of Emma Marx

(Image credit: New Sensations)

If you're the type of person who saw Fifty Shades of Grey and thought, cool, but where is the sex? welcome to The Submission of Emma Marx. The movie, directed by Jackie St. James, who's received multiple awards for her work, is about a woman experimenting with the world of BDSM.

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The Bi Apple

Poster, Flesh, Fetish model, Movie, Advertising,

(Image credit: Adam & Eve)

Get it? Like the Big Apple, only bi. This porno about a college student's research study of queer New York–dwelling couples was hailed by the Feminist Film Awards as one of the "best bisexual movies to come out in years."

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Pirates

Movie, Cg artwork, Album cover, Poster, Games, Advertising, Animation, Adventure game, Strategy video game, Mythology,

(Image credit: Adam & Eve)

Pirates is a total classic in the contemporary porn landscape—and is, naturally, based on Pirates of the Caribbean. It's campy, at times cringe-y, and knows exactly how ridiculous it is. Oh, and it also has special effects thanks to a budget of $1 million—making it the most expensive porn movie ever at the time it was released (2005). While the movie was picking up awards, actress Stormy Daniels (yes, that Stormy Daniels) told the New York Times that plot-less porn films were her pet peeve, saying: "There's nothing worse then when the pizza boy rings the doorbell, the girl says she doesn't have a tip, and then they get it on."

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Blonde Ambition

blonde ambition porn movie

(Image credit: Video X Pix)

The tagline for this 1981 musical-comedy sums it up perfectly: “If you liked Deep Throat and Singin’ in the Rain you’re gonna love Blonde Ambition.” It hilariously sends up the early days of Hollywood and its big studio films, with a pair of talentless sisters plucked from Wyoming by a handsome millionaire to make it big on the big screen—in an X-rated version of Gone With the Wind, no less. 

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The Best Porn Movies With Classic Tropes

The Obsession

Brassiere, Beauty, Undergarment, Sky, Photography, Undergarment, Chest, Bikini,

(Image credit: Sweet Sinner)

Speaking of Jacky St. James, The Obsession is her erotic thriller based on Single White Female. The plot is on-point (a woman is obsessed with her roommate—you know the drill), and the tension is real. “While researching for this film, what was most important to me was really getting into the ‘stalker’ character's head," St. James told AVN. "Motivation and intention are important. Villains typically don't look at themselves as villains. Their internal monologue isn't always riddled with judgment or self-criticism for their actions." What more could you ask for from an erotic thriller?

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Chemistry

Poster, Movie, Album cover, Art,

(Image credit: Vivid Entertainment)

In this reality TV show-meets-porn movie directed by feminist sex educator Tristan Taormino, the performers had total control over who they have sex with, how, when, and where. To quote the film's description: "Seven stars. One house. 36 hours. No rules. No script. No schedule. Just sex...the way they want it. A 3-hour movie with 8 sex scenes." And to quote Taormino, "I was really interested in creating an environment for porn performers where they could feel safe and comfortable, and they'd be in control of who they have sex with, when, where, and what they do. For me, this part of the process is about empowering the performers to participate in their own representation—to challenge the anti-porn notion that all porn performers are exploited objects." Finally.

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The Opening of Misty Beethoven

The Opening of Misty Beethoven

(Image credit: Amazon)

If you're interests include "hair" and "the 1970s," definitely check out this famous title based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Here's the gist: A sexologist named Dr. Seymour Love embarks on a mission to transform a prostitute named Misty Beethoven into the best lover ever (total swan story). The movie is known for its extraordinarily high budget and art-y vibes, and is considered something of a hipster cult classic. (Seriously, it screened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, once.)

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Taboo (and Taboo II)

Taboo (and Taboo II)

(Image credit: Dart Enterprises)

No best porn list would be complete without Taboo, the completely insane and retro movie about—brace yourself—incest. Which, yes, is gross. But it's also a subject that gets plenty of mainstream play. (Think: Game of Thrones.) It seems impossible to deny the impact this film has had on the industry, and interestingly it was written by a woman and has some very intense female-driven themes. If you watch it, take solace in the fact that everyone isn't really related.

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Bound

bound porn

(Image credit: Courtesy)

Think 50 Shades of Grey, but less glossy and even more erotic. A struggling real estate broker meets a younger man who introduces her to the world of BDSM, and she's quickly sucked in. Unexpectedly empowering in a way that its inspiration, 50 Shades, was not, Bound is a feminist journey with plenty of steamy moments.

WATCH IT: Pluto TV (US) | Chilli (UK) | Tubi (CA) | iTunes Store (AU)

Behind the Green Door

Behind the Green Door

(Image credit: Mitchell Brothers Film Group)

If you liked the sexiest scenes in Eyes Wide Shut, you'll love Behind the Green Door—a trippy, erotic classic from Porn's Golden Age. The movie follows Gloria Saunders, a wealthy socialite who is taken against her will to an elite sex club where she has group sex with six women before being taken onto a stage through a green door. Onstage, Gloria engages in several more acts with several more partners, one of which includes a psychedelic ejaculation sequence—because it was the seventies, after all.

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School Girl

school girl 1971

(Image credit: Caballero Home Video)

If you love Behind the Green Door, you should also check out 1971's School Girl, which also starred Debra Allen and George S. MacDonald. The movie follows a college student who decides to research sex subculture by answering ads in her school's underground paper. Fun fact: It made Time magazine's Top 100 movies of all-time list. 

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Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Comedy

Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Comedy

(Image credit: Cruiser Productions)

The Golden Age of Porn keeps giving. Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Comedy is just what it sounds like—a musical, pornographic comedy based on the children's classic Alice in Wonderland.

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Through the Looking Glass

Through the Looking Glass

(Image credit: Mastermind Productions)

In spite of the title, this one is not based on a Lewis Carroll classic. Instead, this 1976 adult film is about a vain socialite who finds herself sexually aroused by a mirror, masturbates in front of it, and then eventually is brought to climax by ghosts from the mirror. It's avant-garde, if you hadn't already guessed. The film is not for everyone—it contains scenes of violence, sexual violence, incest, and the resulting trauma associated with all of the above. The film is notable for treating its sexually explicit scenes artistically.

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Maraschino Cherry

Maraschino Cherry

(Image credit: Video-X-Pix)

This 1978 film, another product of the illustrious Golden Age of Porn, follows the titular character, Maraschino Cherry, who owns a high-class escort service in New York City. Cherry decides to teach her younger sister about the biz, and, in the process, both women think back on some of the most erotic highlights of their careers as escorts. The film was praised by critics for its wit and humor.

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Debbie Does Dallas

Debbie Does Dallas

(Image credit: Courtesy)

This 1978 classic starring Bambi Woods in a campy must-see for all porn lovers. The movie looks at a team of cheerleaders attempting to earn enough money to send Debbie Benton to Dallas, Texas, to try out for the famous "Texas Cowgirls" cheerleading squad. And, oh, the sexy hijinks do they get up to.

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I am Curious (Yellow and Blue)

I am Curious (Yellow and Blue)

(Image credit: Courtesy)

These two films, beginning with Yellow in 1967, tested the limits of obscenity laws in the mid-20th century. Notably, Yellow passed U.S. standards when the Supreme Court ruled it wasn't obscene thanks to the educational context of the film. This led to a movement in pornography known as "white coaters," pornographic films that would begin with a doctor in a white coat introducing the film in order to pass obscenity rules under the educational exception. 

WATCH IT: The Criterion Channel (US/CA)

Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.