The art of sex movie

Welcome to a countdown of the greatest sex films ever made about the small but preoccupying part of the human experience known as sex - from coming-of-age lesbian dramas to gritty portrayals of sex addiction to, erm, loincloths. Put simply: these are the sex movies with the most to say about doing it, compiled by one of Britain's leading film critics, charting a history of how our attitudes towards sex and nudity on the big screen have shifted through the decades. Meet slick corporate titan James Wheeler Mickey Rourke. He likes helicopters, cars, motorbikes, boardroom takeovers and having complete erotic control over submissive women. He was abused as a child, doesn't like to be touched, and in almost every other way possible he articulates the character template for Fifty Shades of Grey 's Christian Grey. He even speaks in that same halting, slightly sick-making, so-pervy-it's- sexy yeah, right prose beloved of …Grey creator EL James.

The end of the decade may have seen a resurgence of romantic comedies, but don't you worry—meet cutes have not come to replace the visceral motivator that is lust. Filmmakers know that when putting a movie together, some of the best elements that can heighten a drama, ground a comedy, or just make you sit up a little straighter is a bit of chemistry and a peek of sexuality. With that, a new crop of films combining story and sexuality come to light. With the sexiest movies of , there's no through line that connects them all outside the fact that each of them have the capability to raise an eyebrow or two. Be it Brad Pitt showing up at 55 with a shirtless scene that most 20 year olds can't pull off, or Jennifer Lopez swinging around on a pole, the sexiest films of aren't about getting raunchy. It's above that—it's about alluding to the sexiness off screen. If you've heard about the film based off a book of One Direction fan fiction, this is it.

Choosing a movie you can enjoy is difficult enough. Choosing one you can enjoy carnally presents an even greater challenge. There's a multitude of prerequisites a film must fulfill in order to qualify as something you can happily and successfully ignore as you get down to business.

The film Working with a Daphne du Maurier short story, Roeg gives us Laura Christie and John Sutherland , a married couple who travel from Britain to Venice for his job after losing their young daughter in a drowning accident. Why is it so groundbreaking? It just feels so real. Their sex feels like both an expression of grief and a welcome respite from it.