Top 10 Best Porn Movies

Top 10 Best Porn Movies
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These films actually have stories as well as sex.
Jul 16, 2016, 04:18 PM EDT | Updated Jun 7, 2017
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
Fishbein says 1981's "Nothing To Hide" is the best porn film of all time because it has good acting and a sweet romance that has never been duplicated in a sex flick.
No. 2: The Opening Of Misty Beethoven (1975)
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
"The Opening Of Misty Beethoven" (1975) is considered groundbreaking for the way it incorporated sex into a story.
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
The 1982 flesh flick "Scoundrels" was the firstever winner of the AVN Best Picture Award. Fishbein says this dirty drama about a philandering psychiatrist contains Ron Jeremy's best porn performance ever.
No. 4: The New Devil in Miss Jones (2005)
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
Remakes rarely surpass the original, but Fishbein says this 2005 remake of a 1973 porn classic improves on the original by removing the suicide part of the plot. Jenna Jameson stars, but the original Miss Jones, actress Georgina Spelvin, makes a cameo appearance.
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
Parodies make up a major part of porn these days, but 1981's "Blonde Ambition" set the stage by combining the innocence of 1940s MGM backstage musicals with hardcore porn.
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
"Fallen" makes the cut because star Jessica Drake manages to have sex in every type of possible combination while still giving a great acting performance as an angel stuck in purgatory.
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
Fishbein gives 2006's "Corruption" high marks for the way it touches on issues like 1st Amendment rights and freedom of expression while still having lots of hot sex.
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
"Roommates" was a 1981 porn that attempted to reach mainstream Americans. Fishbein said it's the first porn to be done from a woman's perspective.
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
"Fashionistas" currently holds the record for most AVN film nominations -- 22 in all. It is also considered the first mainstream porn to heavily feature S&M scenes.
X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time
"Pirates" was the first porn film with a million dollar budget. Fishbein said the level of special effects and production values as well as the sex caught everyone by surprise.
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A lot of people judge a porn film by one thing alone: Does it help them reach the point of no return?
Paul Fishbein isn’t like that. He’s seen thousands of porn movies, but he cares about them as films, not just mere masturbatory aids.
In 1983, Fishbein co-created Adult Video News, a business magazine about the adult film industry. The goal of the magazine was to report on the porn biz the same way Variety or the Hollywood Reporter reported on showbiz.
Fishbein sold the magazine in 2010, but he still maintains an interest in film fornication, as is evident in his most recent project: “X-Rated: the Greatest Adult Movies of All-Time,” that debuted in 2015 on Showtime.
The film became available on VOD July 15. In honor of that, Fishbein offers his choices for the top 10 porn movies of all time.

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Watching pornography is a normal extracurricular activity for many women. Yet, the storylines in most porn movies center on a delivery guy/repair man showing up unexpectedly (eye roll). Why should you sacrifice a good plot for great sex? Get you some female-friendly porn that can do both. The best and most arousing porn films are often the ones that involve drama, relationships, and, ya know, things other than HD penises on the screen. But sometimes they can be hard to find. (Pun intended...?) In an effort to be helpful and sex positive, we've rounded up the best full-length porn movies, from vintage porn to softcore porn and everything in between, with ethical standards, feminist values, pretty cinematography, and good music to boot. (And P.S.: Just in case you need a great new sex toy to go along with these, we've rounded up our favorites there too.)
This 1974 French drama was actually the first in a series of softcore porn films all based on the erotic novel Emmanuelle , which was published in 1967. The plot follows a young woman named Emmanuelle who lives with her older husband in Bangkok, where he's serving as a French diplomat in the country. While abroad, Emmanuelle embarks on a journey of sexual discovery (because would it even be a proper softcore classic without a woman embarking on a journey of sexual discovery?).
In 1975, the Black Emmanuelle series, Laura Gemser, kicked off. The movies focus on Mae Jordan, an investigative journalist and photographer who publishes under the pseudonym Emmanuelle, and her erotic adventures around the world. The first installment was set in Africa and filmed mostly in Kenya.
This ‘70s porn classic is actually based on an off-Broadway play that ran for several weeks in 1971. It follows a tennis match that gets very sexy, and is actually considered as “erotic romance.” Bonus points for the theater beginnings, because it’s not just porn—it’s culture . Plus, keep an eye out for Sylvester Stallone in a pre-fame camera as a repairman (of course).
Also known simply as Mona , this 1970 pornographic film was the second porn movie, after Blue Movie (below), to receive wide release in the United States. It's considered to be the first mainstream pornographic movie with a real plot focused on action, whereas Blue Movie was more of a slice-of-life movie (with sex, of course). Granted, the "action" of plot of Mona is mostly the movement it takes for characters to get to another sexual partner, but still.
Another 1970s classic from porn’s high-ish budget heyday, this one follows the tale of a woman who is rereading her diary and reliving all of the very sexy exploits she’s experienced while in a hotel room.
This 1973 movie deals is all about the school spirit. A group of enterprising cheerleaders takes it on themselves to secure a win for their team’s football team by exhausting the opposing side the night before the big game. You can guess what ensues.
In 1971, noted Golden Age of Porn producer Bill Osco brought the world Harlot . Osco got his start in the industry working on Mona , and Harlot is definitely a movie in the same vein (it follows a young woman as she makes her way through various sexual situations—you know, like most '70s porn movies).
Bill Harrison stars in this 1972 classic as a construction worker who witnesses a car accident and then goes through the victim's purse (you know, as you do), where he discovers an invitation to a club called Bijou. As you might expect, this sets him out on a sexy adventure.
In 1984, Reel People hit the porn world and changed the game as the first major pornographic film to feature sex between professional porn stars and amateurs. This led to the launch of the "Pro-Am" genre; the film is seen as paving the way for the reality porn genre, too.
There are porn movies with "plots" and then there are porn movies with actual PLOTS. For the record, 1973's The Devil in Miss Jones is the latter. The movie is about a depressed woman who commits suicide, only to be told in the afterlife that even though she lived a good life, her suicide excludes her from entering heaven. Faced with an eternity in limbo, Miss Jones requests to be sent back to earth as the embodiment of lust so she can earn her place in Hell instead.
This 1976 porn has a very 1976 porn plot: A wealthy, married New York heiress named Pauline sets out on an adventure of sexual discovery and exploration involving ~sexy~ times with several different people. Classic.
A plot doesn't have to be complicated to be good, and that's more true in porn than probably any other genre around. This '90s classic (emphasis on the '90s) is about an Italian woman named Moana who embarks on a personal quest to improve her sex life and you have to respect a woman who knows exactly what her goals are and goes for them.
In this 1985 movie, a couple visits a sex therapist for help finding the elusive and magical (in 1985, at least) G-spot. The movie stars Ginger Lynn, Harry Reems, and Annette Haven and is considered a classic among porn aficionados.
This smoking hot classic takes viewers inside the sexual fantasies of several women, from a bored housewife and a lady boss businesswoman to an older woman and a curious teenager, touching on as many parts of the female sexual spectrum as you could expect a movie from 1979 to do.
Here's another '70s classic from back when plot and porn were much more linked than they are today. In The Ultimate Pleasure , an unhappily married couple jet to Vegas to indulge in their hedonistic sides when the husband finds a suitcase full of money in the back of his taxi.
The final installment in the Pink Velvet trilogy is widely considered one of the best lesbian adult films of recent years and is praised for its sensual love scenes, which feature real female orgasms.
This classic is basically a who's who of early '70s porn actresses. The movie is a series of sexy, sexy vignettes and the film's narrator acts as our tour guide on the erotic adventure quest. Yes, please.
This Japanese film from 1977 follows a somewhat classic plot: A beautiful young man is paid by wealthy older women to act as a gigolo who seduces young women so that his clients can watch their encounters from behind a two-way mirror. It’s a “pink film,” a designation given in Japan to films that received a theatrical release but contained nudity and sex.
You can’t go wrong with any of Erika Lust films. The director takes on women-centered porn, and the XConfessions films are the result of her requesting subject matter from viewers who want to see their erotic fantasies played out on the little screen. The cinematography is gorgeous, the actors have real chemistry, and the resulting films are as beautiful as they are super hot.
Follow dinner party guests on an otherwise civilized evening, where the couples present recount—and relive—their twisting romantic and sexy adventures. The sex is told from the points of view of both parties, and the reactions from the guests vary in surprising ways. It’s a sexy movie in a very French way.
This 2003 film may star some big names like Eva Green and Michael Pitt, but it is pure erotic artistry. It follows the story of an American studying in Paris who gets in too deep with a pair of siblings—yes, it’s extremely taboo—who help him to explore all of his sexual fantasies.
Another Erika Lust film (she's simply the best!), this one won the 2012 Film of the Year award at the Feminist Porn Film Festival, and for good reason—it’s a female gaze-centered exploration of erotic fantasy told through a “Poetry Brothel” where patrons come to hear sexy stories. Each story is played out in beautifully shot sequences that are individually worth the subscription to Lust Cinema.
Andy Warhol's Blue Movie was a game-changer: The 1969 movie was the first pornographic movie depicting explicit sex to get a wide theatrical release in the United States, kicking off the Golden Age of Porn. For when you're like "porn, but make it critically-acclaimed."
This movie is not readily available to stream online.
Infidelity is a French film that deals with, well, infidelity. Three couples each have a problem: The men have been unfaithful. But they all handle these revelations in different, very sexy ways. It’s got a real story, where the acting doesn’t feel rote and the relationships have a sense of realism, and even humor, to them. That’s just an added bonus to the very sexy sex scenes , though, of course.
If the sex in this one feels especially realistic (though still very coordinated), there’s a reason for that: Xana and Dax are a real-life couple, and the documentary approach is a hallmark of Comstock Films, who make sure to include interviews prior to any action so that viewers can get to know the couple in a way that makes the sex scenes feel even more authentic and emotionally fulfilling.
This movie absolutely cleaned up at AVN (American Adult News) when it came out. This feature film is the definition of erotic art. A story of cheating, intense passion, and the ways people react when their fundamental views of the world are challenged, this takes everything you love about drama mixed with the sensuality of a great porn movie.
From feminist porn director Petra Joy, A Taste of Joy (opens in new tab) features a series of three vignettes that turn, in her words, "existing porn stereotypes upside down." The cinematography is gorgeous and the sex is steamy/female-focused—what more could you want?
Loosely based on Last Tango in Paris , this flick is about a woman who rents out a secret apartment to escape her fiancé, and ends up having an affair. The movie won The Feminist Porn Awards (opens in new tab) ' 2012 prize for "Most Arousing Adaptation," and was lauded for its "haunting, explicit sex scenes" and "emotionally rich performances." A must-watch for people who like a lot of romance and plot with their porn.
The Good Girl (opens in new tab) is a 2004 short film by Erika Lust that flips the "delivery guy comes over with a pizza" trope seen in many cheesy porn films on its head, thanks to a female lens. Even better, you can rest assured that this movie was filmed on a safe set with safe conditions for the actors involved, because Lust is a marquee name in the feminist film industry, herself the recipient of several Feminist Porn Awards.
Snapshot is an independently funded, award-winning suspense thriller (opens in new tab) staring queer people of color, and we are here for it. Written and directed by Shine Louise Houston, it's worthy of praise outside the industry. It even has nods to Hitchcock, that's how legit it is. "I’ve been working on this script for about four years on and off and I think it’s finally presentable," Houston said in an interview. "I strive for what Hitchcock describes as pure cinema. Most of the talent I work with have very little acting experience so I write minimal but precise dialogue and film in a way that lets the editing do the acting."
This 2012 movie goes for more of a softcore vibe, which in this case makes the tension all the sexier. It follows a woman with a long-held secret—she’s never actually had an orgasm with a man—who, after meeting an expensive escort named Paris, shares more than just a passionate night of same-sex lovemaking.
A cop and his wife, bored of their tired sex life, decides to spice things up by secretly videotaping her encounters with sexy strangers. If you can suspend your disbelief long enough to avoid the obvious consent issues involved (do these people know they’re being filmed though?), there are some sexy scenes in this classic 1990s softcore movie.
Your eyes do not deceive you: That is indeed David Duchovny. There are actually a lot of stars in this early-90s Showtime series that stars Duchovny as host Max Winters, who offers payment to women who send in their sexiest stories to his TV show, which then shows reenactments. That’s right, a whole series. It was groundbreaking at the time, and still holds up for being super hot.
Doris Wishman actually directed this 1968 softcore sexploitation film, but she was credited as Louis Silverman at the time. Fair warning: The plot is weird. In the movie, a man with a very bad gambling problem loses everything in a game of Gin Rummy (of all things) and ends up agreeing to give his debtor a night with his teenage daughter in exchange for wiping the slate clean (these kinds of problematic plot setups were pretty standard in sexploitation films of the period, sadly). The night that ensues gets increasingly strange and there's even a twist ending.
Remember the days of Cinemax porn? There, nestled in with the movie channels in an otherwise perfectly tame cable package, were late-night porn movies that offered classically sexy softcore and something akin to a plot. Hotel Erotica was actually a whole series comprised of porn films that followed couples at a sex-forward resort, each incidental encounter as dubious but sexy as the last
Billed as an erotic film for women, 1999's Pink Prison was directed by Lisbeth Lynghøft and produced by Puzzy Power. The movie stars Katja Kean as Mila, a photo journalist who, on a bet from her publisher, breaks into a men's prison trying to snag an interview with its mysterious warden.
One of the great things about the Golden Age of Porn was the explosion in creativity it brought to pornography. Case-in-point: 1974's Flesh Gordon , which answered the question, "Can a movie be a comedy, science fiction, and porn all at the same time?" with a resounding YES.
This movie, set mostly in San Francisco's Chinatown, is part porn, part heist suspense drama. The movie follows Johnny Wadd on his search for a priceless 13th century Chinese carving known as The Jade Pussycat, which has been stolen from a museum in Japan. The journey to finding the Jade Pussycat involves a lot of sex-filled situatio
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