Best Movie Sex Scenes of All Time

Best Sex Scenes

Sex in movies is often reduced to mood lighting, soft pop music, a bed, partial disrobing and some hazy camera work. (On the other hand, of course, there's porn.) But when a movie gets a sex scene RIGHT, the result isn't just titillating; it can be tender, awkward, kinky or passionate, and frequently all of those things at once. With that in mind, we've done extensive research to come up with the 25 best sex scenes of all time. Hey, it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

25. 'A History of Violence' (2005)

Early in the film, when Edie (Maria Bello) dons a cheerleader outfit and engages her husband Tom (Viggo Mortensen) in a 69ing session (the first in a non-porn American film), the act is sweet and tender. The same can't be said for a second, much more violent session on the stairs -- complete with slapping and screaming -- that occurs after Edie has learned Tom was once a mobster and eloquently depicts just how much their relationship has changed.

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New Line

24. 'Desperado' (1995)

Few Americans knew Mexican soap star Salma Hayek before Robert Rodriguez cast her as a bookstore owner who helps a mariachi (Antonio Banderas) avenge the death of his wife. But no one could deny Hayek's ample talents (or bosoms) after the sexy, candlelit romp she shares with Banderas. Incidentally, we don't blame Antonio for forgoing blood-soaked vengeance in favor of some between-the-sheets time with salsa-hot Salma.

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23. 'The Big Easy' (1987)

New Orleans detective Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) and prudish DA Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin) are polar opposites, making them, of course, perfect for each other. But it's not their super-charged chemistry that makes this scene so hot; it's the uncertain awkwardness of their coupling that makes this one of the most realistic -- and steamiest -- sex scenes ever filmed. "I never did have much luck with sex anyway," admits Anne. We'll bet she does now.

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Everett Collection

22. 'Young Frankenstein' (1974)

Madeline Kahn, as Dr. Frankenstein's frosty fiancée Elizabeth, comes undone upon seeing the monster's (Peter Boyle) "enormous schwanstucker." She melts with his advances, breaking into operatic song at the climactic moment (or final-final moment of the seven or eight that the pair enjoy). Those white streaks in the bride of Frankenstein's hair? According to this comedy, they're caused by the ferocity of Frank's sexytime. It's alive, indeed.

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21. 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005)

While Ang Lee's groundbreaking drama would prove to be the most high-profile gay love story of our time, it was the buzzed-about sex scene between Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger that really piqued the curiosity of more open-minded moviegoers. Sure, the Wyoming mountains are frigid, but their rugged embrace inside that tent isn't the least bit about body heat. Of course, the unforgettable scene also gives a whole new meaning to the term "Ride 'em, cowboy."

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20. 'Blow-Up' (1966)

The most iconic scene from Michaelangelo Antonioni's film about a hot-shot photographer (David Hemmings) has the actor, in an orgiastic photo shoot, straddling supermodel Veruschka and ravaging her with his ... camera. Frankly, it's even wilder than his threesome with two teen groupies (yes, really). Antonioni's film was so scandalous, it was released without a rating -- but the arthouse flick was nominated for two Oscars anyway. Take that, MPAA.

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19. 'Boys Don't Cry' (1999)

Hilary Swank won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Brandon Teena, a she living as a he; Chloe Sevigny garnered a Best Supporting Actress nom as Brandon's girlfriend Lana. In one of the best scenes, their lovemaking is both tender and passionate, and Lana's "big O" is not so much big as it is pivotal. She knows at this point that everything is not as it seems with Brandon, but she also knows that no man has ever satisfied her in quite this way.

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18. 'Boogie Nights' (1997)

Wait, this one's too easy, right? It's a film about porn, for crying out loud. But when Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) and Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) film what is, in fact, this movie's only porn scene, we see not smut (bam chicka bam) but tenderness, from Amber's mother-hen protectiveness to Dirk's eager desire to make it "sexy." Who cares that the camera guy doesn't get his "money shot"? When the scene's over, Dirk's become a big, bright, shining star. That's right!

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17. 'Sex and Lucia' (2001)

Paz Vega is a waitress who recalls the best moments of her ill-fated love affair with a writer, Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa), in this Spanish flick. She was obsessed with him, and it shows -- she does a strip-tease for him, they fervently make love and she holds his, um, manhood ardently. Oh, this is why Vega is so popular in her homeland.

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Alicia Produce / ZUMA Press