Our Staff Picks column takes you back to a time when video stores reigned supreme and the "Staff Picks" section was the place to find out what films were worthy of one's time. Of course, our version of Staff Picks has a decidedly skintillating angle, as we suss out which films from a certain genre or year with great nudity. This week: NC-17 films.
In the 1970s, the emergence of mainstream porn muddied the X-rating which was previously reserved for films that showed a lot of sex, nudity, and drug use. However, in one decade it started to become mostly associated with porn. Filmmakers did not want their narrative features to be thought of as porn and the censors agreed that there was a difference. And so the NC-17 rating was born.
A lot of films are initially hit with an NC-17 rating and the directors, wanting to make sure the film sees more theater ticket sales, will make edits to get the rating down to an R. Movies such as American Psycho, American Pie, and even Midsommar were almost released with NC-17 ratings. In 2008, Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno was the first film to appeal an NC-17 rating and have their appeal honored, thus giving the sex comedy an R rating.
So, with that history in mind, you might be wondering what our Staff Picks are for the best NC-17 films. That's why we are all gathered here today! Here are our Staff Picks for NC-17 films that are worth a watch:
Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down
Let's start with the movie that basically invented the NC-17 rating: Pedro Almodovar's Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down. Like many of Almodovar's films, the content is uncomfortable, but the colors are bright and the women are beautiful. So, naturally, you keep watching! Victoria Abril's many nude scenes definitely kept me watching this film that is essentially turning Stockholm syndrome into a romance (move over, Beauty and the Beast).
Victoria's many nude scenes are stimulating, but this film is best known for that amazing bathtub scene. Victoria takes a bath and has fun with a bath toy boat that sets sail straight for her vagina. Oh, okay, I see why this was NC-17.
Henry June
Philip Kaufman's adaptation of Anais Nin's writings seems like an obvious choice for an NC-17 rating. You might be surprised to learn that this was the first film with an NC-17 rating to be released in theaters. The NC-17 rating became the headline and the movie is honestly better known for its rating than its merit.
I know you are asking: how is Henry June the first NC-17 film when Almodovar's movie came out a few years before? Since Almodovar's film was imported from Spain, it arrived in the US later. Henry June was the first Hollywood film that was released with this rating.
The film tells the story of the love triangle between Henry and June Miller and their mistress Anais who wound up writing about the affairs. The gorgeous Maria de Medeiros plays Anais Nin and does justice to the mistress-turned-writer. Brigitte Lahaie, Maïté Maillé, and Uma Thurman also show up in the movie in sexy scenes that earned that NC-17 rating. It might not be as salacious as the other films on this list, but it's OG.
Blue is the Warmest Color
This 2013 French lesbian drama is a moving story about two young women discovering themselves and each other's bodies. Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos starred in the most explosively graphic sapphic film ever made. Adele plays a 15-year-old girl who meets university student and aspiring artist Emma (Lea Seydoux) whom she becomes very fascinated by. They even dye Emma's hair a bright blue - thus the title!
It does not take long for the babes two develop a romantic relationship that is filled with copious amounts of scissoring. The surprisingly long film is probably made up of a third of sex scenes! At least, that's what it feels like when you watch the film that includes a six-minute-long sex scene among other hot nude scenes.
Ultimately, it is a very romantic story about the rise and fall of young love. You'll be horny and then you will probably cry at their eventual heartbreak. C'est la vie!
Shame
A movie about a sex addict is destined to get an NC-17 rating. Sorry, I don't make the rules! Steve McQueen directed Michael Fassbender as a sex addict in New York City, a veritable playground for someone with his affliction. He is a successful businessman who can get anything that he wants, but he can't seem to get enough sex.
His lifestyle becomes complicated when his sister (Carey Mulligan) drops in for a visit PLUS he develops feelings for a woman and finds that his affection for her makes him unable to use her in the same way that he has bedded so many other women. It's a fascinating character study that is just as sexy as it is complicated. Obviously, since this is a sex addict, there is a ton of sex - including some full frontal from Amy Hargreaves!
The Dreamers
Speaking of dreams, The Dreamers was certainly a classic NC-17 film. The 2003 movie by Bernardo Bertolucci takes place in 1960s Paris - how romantic! - where twin siblings Isabelle (Eva Green) and take in an American traveler named Matthew to stay in their apartment. The bored twins love their new plaything and, boy, do they play!
Eva Green is exceptionally stunning in this movie. She got full-frontal, topless, and she shows some close-up shots of her downstairs lips. Essentially, Eva Green in The Dreamers IS the dream!
Lust, Caution
Caution: this Ang Lee drama might make you horny. Ang Lee is a very a prolific director who has serious range which he showed off in this film that takes place during World War II when a politician named Mr. Yee meets a young woman who he doesn't know is a drama student at Hong Kong University who was recruited to help assassinate Yee.
Actress Wei Tang is our femme fatale who sets her very sexy traps for Mr. Yee. Ang Lee has said that directing the sex scenes in this film was more difficult than directing his iconic fight scenes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This film is elegant proof that sex does elevate a film and propel the plot.
Showgirls
This Paul Verhoeven movie is a cult classic for a reason. Showgirls became the highest-grossing NC-17 film of all time despite its $20 million box office run. Is Showgirls "good"? No, we all know that it isn't. But it's SO entertaining. It's wildly fun and wildly nude. We have talked about Showgirls at length, so you know that Elizabeth Berkley delivers amazing nude dancing (and some monumental overacting) that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Just try not to get your seat wet.
