The beauty of film is its ability to portray the moments of life both quiet and heated. The part of life we think about the most, the one we obsess about, the one we should be doing more is having sex. Rough and sweet, fast and fragile, down and dirty. It’s not always pretty, but it’s always beautiful.
We here at Film School Rejects felt it fitting that we kick off Porn Week by examining what we felt were the ten best sex scenes committed to celluloid – at least the ones that were released to theaters, but we’re sure your private collection is just as awe-inspiring.
Without further ado, let’s get down to it.
10. Damage
Jeremy Irons lusts after Juliette Binoche and shows it by fucking her on every hard surface in his house. And make no mistake, the duo is not making love, they’re fucking. One scene starts on his desk before moving to a stand-up position against his counter top and, eventually, the floor. Binoche is on her back with her feet up around Irons’ neck, her thigh-high stockings rubbing against his face as he thrusts into her French patisserie, gently knocking her head against the floor each time. Her moans begin to match the impacts until finally they both stop happily and simultaneously… and then they move to the bed.
9. Secretary
Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader have built up considerable sexual tension by the time she makes an intentional error in typing and is ordered to come into his office. “Put your elbows on the desk. Bend over. Get your face close to the letter. And read it aloud.” She does as instructed and is surprised by a loud, hard, and electrifying smack to her backside. Her expression is one of shock and arousal, and as she continues to read, he continues to spank. It’s kinky and romantic, and as he collapses against her in orgasm her pinkie finger moves to lay across his hand. As erotically odd as this scene is, it pairs up nicely with the film’s ending as one of the most beautiful sex scenes ever. Spader carries her home, bathes her, lays her out on some indoor grass, caresses her smiling and nude body, and makes love to her as only a pre-portly Spader can.
8. Brokeback Mountain
One of the hottest things is when sexual attraction ignites out of nowhere. It rarely happens in real life, but it happens a lot in films – one of the best examples is the spur-of-the-moment passion that’s shared between Ennis and Jack. Shoved together in a tent barely big enough for one person, the two are almost mid-coitus before realizing it. It’s raw, unthinking, and beautiful. It’s also filmed simply, with Ang Lee opting for the sound of rustling blue jeans and animalistic grunts filling the entire soundscape.
7. Boys Don’t Cry
Even though the only part of HIllary Swank that’s even in this scene is her hand as it caresses Chloe Sevigny’s entire upper body, the heat comes from that body writhing under the cunning tongue work Swank is performing just offscreen. Sevigny’s facial expressions are soft and intense, her breath rising and falling faster and faster until the shot becomes a close up of her face as she releases. Definitely Oscar-worthy work.
6. Bolero
Bo Derek is currently better known for her political leanings than for her acting, but for a brief stint in the eighties she was known for being a perfect ten. Bolero is an absolutely terrible movie but it features quite a bit of Derek in the nude. If nothing else though, it gave us the honey scene. A nude and candle-lit Derek has golden honey poured across her lean yet busty body. As the honey slowly rolls down and in between her breasts, stomach, and thighs, her Arabian lover begins to lick and kiss the nectar from her skin. Technically the scene may not end with sex, as the dude inexplicably falls asleep, but screw it… the way her stomach undulates up to his mouth, the honey dripping from his lips and face… it looks like sweet, messy sex.
5. Lust, Caution
After some shockingly rough sex early on, where Tony Leung whips Wei Tang with his belt before binding her arms and taking her from behind, things get more tender, romantic, and elastic. The duo meet in their motel room, disrobe, and begin a lengthy session of sex that would make members of Cirque du Soleil wince. The positions Leung and Wei inhabit alternate between sexy, challenging, arousing, and obvious CGI. Him on top, her on top, both on top, etc. Per Wikipedia, the ten minutes of sex took over one hundred hours to shoot making us think Ang Lee is a bit dirtier than we realized.
4. Unfaithful
Diane Lane is not just one of the hottest women over 40 in Hollywood, she’s one of the hottest women period. She’s especially hot when heatedly rushed into a lunchroom quickie that involves groping hands flying over her white panties, hurried breathing, and her colleagues just a few feet away enjoying their salads. Her facial expressions alone is enough to raise the blood pressure level of an audience, and the flirtatious note of her friend noticing her button being undone when she returns to the table further highlights how sexy the danger of being caught and having a secret can be.
3. Betty Blue
A film with more nudity in it than necessary (if there is such a thing), there’s still nothing quite as shocking, sweet and sensual as the opening scene – a lengthy, unflinching look at the two main lovers glued to each other and grinding closer and closer to orgasm. The audience is thrust into the copulation just as it reaches a fever, and with his hand sliding up between her thighs, and her hand following, the pair begin trembling, tightening, and by the time she bites his shoulder, you realize this might be the best opening scene in film history.
2. Risky Business
Tom Cruise has ordered a prostitute for a house call, and after the first one ends up being a dude he finally gets it right with Rebecca De Mornay. She stands before the window seat, beside the porch doors and says “Are you ready for me?” Cruise comes behind her and as she undoes her button-up dress, he moves his hands up her legs and across her bare hips until they reach her exposed breasts. The porch doors burst open with a fierce wind, and she arches her basically naked body into him in the most perfectly poetic form imaginable, the curves of her bare ass pressing into the front of his pants… He spins her around, lifts a leg to his waist and we see two short scenes of sex on the stairs and sex in a chair. We know – the train scene is hot, but upon a second viewing, the living room is much, much hotter. This and the Phoebe Cates’s red bikini scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High are probably responsible for more teen masturbatory release than all other films combined.
1. 9 1/2 Weeks
The food scene is legendary and hot as hell. It’s a combination of perfect trust, a couple having fun, and suggestion that slips beyond the pale. There’s nothing like Kim Basinger’s eager awaiting mouth ready to taste and swallow the next item Mickey Rourke has for her. The symbolism is striking, leaving everything and nothing to the imagination. It’s unmistakable as Kim feels the length of a jalapeno with her tongue then pours milk down her throat, letting it spill down her cheeks and chin. Of course, this is followed up by Rourke jerking a seltzer bottle until it explodes all over her face, chest and between her thighs. As soon as you think it’s at the peak of sensuality, Kim sticks out her tongue as Rourke squirts honey onto it, and as it covers her legs, he slides his hands from her knees toward her sweet spot.
Hit the Cold Showers
There are a ton of scenes out there, so it was almost impossible to pick a top ten. However, we did our best. If we missed anything, let us know – we’re sure our writers won’t mind checking to see if you’re right. After all, a little extra research never killed anybody.
Editor’s Note: This list was compiled by staff writers Cole Abaius and Rob Hunter.
Related Topics: Sex
