In the film industry, unsimulated sex is the presentation of sex scenes in which actors genuinely perform the depicted sex acts, rather than simulating them. Although it is ubiquitous in films intended as pornographic, it is very uncommon in other films. At one time in the United States, such scenes were restricted by law and self-imposed industry standards such as the

Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

. Films showing explicit sexual activity were confined to privately distributed underground films, such as

stag film A stag film (also blue movie or smoker) is a type of pornographic film produced secretly in the first two-thirds of the 20th century. Typically, stag films had certain traits. They were brief in duration (about 12 minutes at most), were silent, d ...

s or "porn loops". In the 1960s, social attitudes about sex began to shift, and sexually explicit films were decriminalized in many countries. With movies such as ''

Blue Movie ''Blue Movie'' (also known as ''Fuck'') is a 1969 American erotic film written, produced and directed by Andy Warhol. It is the first adult erotic film depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States, and is r ...

'' by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

, mainstream movies began pushing boundaries in terms of what was presented on screen. Notable examples include two of the eight ''Bedside''-films and the six ''Zodiac''-films from the 1970s, all of which were produced in

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and had many pornographic sex scenes, but were nevertheless considered mainstream films, all having mainstream casts and crews, and premiering in mainstream cinemas. The last of these films, ''Agent 69 Jensen i Skyttens tegn'', was made in 1978. From the end of the 1970s until the late 1990s it was rare to see hardcore scenes in mainstream cinema, but this changed with the success of

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominat ...

's ''

The Idiots ''The Idiots'' ( da, Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme 95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2. It is the second film in von Tr ...

'' (1998), which heralded a wave of

art-house An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

films with explicit content, such as '' Romance'' (1999), '' Baise-moi'' (2000), '' Intimacy'' (2001),

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born 1961) is an American actor and director. He has had supporting roles in films such as ''Arizona Dream'' (1993), ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993), ''Palookaville'' (1995), and '' The Funeral'' (1996). His lead roles include ...

's '' The Brown Bunny'' (2003), and Michael Winterbottom's '' 9 Songs'' (2004). Some simulated sex scenes are sufficiently realistic that critics mistakenly believe that they are real, such as the cunnilingus scene in the 2006 film ''

Red Road Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a second ...

''.

Rationales

In an interview after the release of his film ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

'' (2015), when asked why audiences want to see realistic portrayals of sex,

Gaspar Noé Gaspar Noé (, ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker based in Paris, France. He is the son of Argentine painter, writer, and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. In the early 1990s, Noé along with his wife Lucile Hadžihalilović were ...

suggested it's really about power structures: "In most societies whether they're western or not, people want to control the sexual behaviour or to organise it in a precise context. Sex is like a danger zone. Sometimes class barriers fall down and it scares a lot of people. It's about states controlling their systems, like religion."

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-M ...

has cited "aesthetics and personal reasons" for why he worked on ''

Interior. Leather Bar. ''Interior. Leather Bar.'' is a 2013 American docufiction film, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.Gaspar Noé Gaspar Noé (, ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker based in Paris, France. He is the son of Argentine painter, writer, and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. In the early 1990s, Noé along with his wife Lucile Hadžihalilović were ...

acknowledges that it is difficult for several reasons: an actor may not be able to get or maintain an erection in the presence of even a small crew, or on camera; either of the participants may have a current partner. "So I've decided that the best way to show real sex is to cast two single people who used to be a couple."

Pornographic films re-edited for mainstream release

Prior to the advent of home video, a number of

hardcore pornography Hardcore pornography, or hardcore porn, is pornography that features detailed depictions of sexual organs or sexual acts such as vaginal, anal or oral intercourse, fingering, anilingus, ejaculation, and fetish play. The term is in contrast wi ...

films were released to mainstream cinemas. In most cases, scenes of penetration were either cut out or replaced with alternate shots. One exception to this was '' Deep Throat'', which was released uncensored. Examples of this type of hybrid release include ''

Café Flesh ''Café Flesh'' is a 1982 post-apocalyptic cult pornographic science fiction film designed and directed by Stephen Sayadian (under the pseudonym "Rinse Dream") and co-written by Sayadian and Jerry Stahl (credited as "Herbert W. Day"). Music was ...

'' (1982)—the R-rated version of this science fiction porn film was released to mainstream cinemas; ''Stocks and Blondes'' (1984), originally available as ''Wanda Whips Wall Street'';What Blockbuster Didn't Bust Blockbuster's inconsistent ratings policy -- The video rental store cracks down on X and NC-17 rated films, but ignores racier unrated fare like ''Wild Orchid''
, Ty Burr, ''Entertainment Weekly'', 29 March 1991. and '' Droid'' (1988), originally released as ''Cabaret Sin'' in 1987.

In films

The following mainstream films have scenes with verified real sexual activity, meaning actors or actresses are filmed engaging in actual coitus or performing related sexual acts such as

fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotu ...

and cunnilingus. This list does not include documentaries about pornography, which may contain unsimulated sexual activity.

In music videos

References

General references

* Villadsen, Ebbe (2005): ''Danish Erotic Film Classics''. * Williams, Linda Ruth (2005): ''The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema''. Indiana University Press. .

Inline citations

{{reflist Lists of films by common content Sexuality in popular culture Sexuality-related lists Sexuality in fiction