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The Fifty Most Erotic Films of All Time: From Pandora's Box to Basic Instinct
a book on fifty of the most erotic films of all time
- GenresFilm
190 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1996
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April 8, 2021
There is something irresistible about lists, especially those which promise to tell us the best, the worst, the scariest… or the sexiest. We can’t resist seeing where something comes in a hierarchy.
This book sets out to tell us about the fifty most erotic films of all time. Of course what it is is a survey of cinematic eroticism with fifty films used as examples of the various forms it has taken over the history of cinema. It is unlikely that this list would happen to coincide with anyone’s list of most arousing film viewings, because tastes differ. The beauty of this book is the way that it shows appreciation for that variety. There is never a sense that McDonagh is writing about a film she can’t find good reason to relish, even as she acknowledges that some are a little rough around the edges.
She has done a superlative job of celebrating screen sexiness of all kinds, from the subtly and seriousness of Hiroshima Mon Amour to the low-brow licentiousness of Lorna. Some of the films are fascinating train wrecks - Caligula, Boxing Helena - others are viewed by pretty much everyone as masterpieces - Pandora’s Box, A Streetcar Named Desire.
The write-ups on these films often provide a chance to acknowledge other films which mined a similar fantasy or fetish, for instance the review of Derek Jarman’s homo-erotic Arthouse favourite Sebastiane provides an excuse to riff on Italian muscleman epics and that scene in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes where Jane Russell can’t get any reaction out of a roomful of bodybuilders.
The write-ups are beautifully written, full of insight and mischievous wit, but the pleasures don’t end there. Scattered through the book are more lists of the sexiest stars of each decade. And there are little mini-essays on various aspects of sex in the cinema. Surrounding all this are the ravishing photos, some colour and some black and white. A book on cinematic eroticism should be aesthetically seductive, and this one is.
It’s hard to think of a more entertaining book on movies. Pick it up and open to any page and you are bound to be drawn in only to emerge a couple of hours later with a list of movies you now have an unquenchable lust to see.
This book sets out to tell us about the fifty most erotic films of all time. Of course what it is is a survey of cinematic eroticism with fifty films used as examples of the various forms it has taken over the history of cinema. It is unlikely that this list would happen to coincide with anyone’s list of most arousing film viewings, because tastes differ. The beauty of this book is the way that it shows appreciation for that variety. There is never a sense that McDonagh is writing about a film she can’t find good reason to relish, even as she acknowledges that some are a little rough around the edges.
She has done a superlative job of celebrating screen sexiness of all kinds, from the subtly and seriousness of Hiroshima Mon Amour to the low-brow licentiousness of Lorna. Some of the films are fascinating train wrecks - Caligula, Boxing Helena - others are viewed by pretty much everyone as masterpieces - Pandora’s Box, A Streetcar Named Desire.
The write-ups on these films often provide a chance to acknowledge other films which mined a similar fantasy or fetish, for instance the review of Derek Jarman’s homo-erotic Arthouse favourite Sebastiane provides an excuse to riff on Italian muscleman epics and that scene in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes where Jane Russell can’t get any reaction out of a roomful of bodybuilders.
The write-ups are beautifully written, full of insight and mischievous wit, but the pleasures don’t end there. Scattered through the book are more lists of the sexiest stars of each decade. And there are little mini-essays on various aspects of sex in the cinema. Surrounding all this are the ravishing photos, some colour and some black and white. A book on cinematic eroticism should be aesthetically seductive, and this one is.
It’s hard to think of a more entertaining book on movies. Pick it up and open to any page and you are bound to be drawn in only to emerge a couple of hours later with a list of movies you now have an unquenchable lust to see.
Displaying 1 of 1 review