10 Saucy Films Rated NC-17

by Clare Simpson

Producers and directors of saucier than average films often fear that they will get tarnished by the NC-17 rating which is usually bad for business so they submit to the MPAA’s demands and snip away at their film for a milder ‘R’ rating. Apparently, NC-17 is bad news at the box office but for thrill seekers like me, the NC-17 rating is a total come on to watch films that have been labelled perverted, too sexy, too violent for a mainstream audience.
Just as the X certificate used to act as a pervert’s guide to cinema, so does NC-17 which attract those who like the forbidden. Channel 4 used to show scandalous foreign films in the 1980s like Themroc and WR: Mysteries of the Organism. After the Daily Mail squealed blue murder that Channel 4 was corrupting the nation, the station decided to put little triangles of the screen so the UK viewers would know it was a film with adult material. Of course, this happened to lure even more viewers into watching foreign smut on Channel 4 and the triangle was a come on for those who wanted naughtiness.
The NC-17 rating is a bit like Channel 4′s old triangle on the screen. You know you are getting la creme de la creme of sauciness. In this article I am writing about movies that currently hold an NC-17 certificate and did not resort to cutting out footage for an R rating. The ones that stayed true.

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Producers and directors of saucier than average films often fear that they will get tarnished by the NC-17 rating which is usually bad for business so they submit to the MPAA’s demands and snip away at their film for a milder ‘R’ rating. Apparently, NC-17 is bad news at the box office but for thrill seekers like me, the NC-17 rating is a total come on to watch films that have been labelled perverted, too sexy, too violent for a mainstream audience.

Just as the X certificate used to act as a pervert’s guide to cinema, so does NC-17 which attract those who like the forbidden. Channel 4 used to show scandalous foreign films in the 1980s like Themroc and WR: Mysteries of the Organism. After the Daily Mail squealed blue murder that Channel 4 was corrupting the nation, the station decided to put little triangles of the screen so the UK viewers would know it was a film with adult material. Of course, this happened to lure even more viewers into watching foreign smut on Channel 4 and the triangle was a come on for those who wanted naughtiness.

The NC-17 rating is a bit like Channel 4′s old triangle on the screen. You know you are getting la creme de la creme of sauciness. In this article I am writing about movies that currently hold an NC-17 certificate and did not resort to cutting out footage for an R rating. The ones that stayed true.

10. La Grande Bouffe (1973)

A Franco-Italian movie starring some of the biggest and most respected Continental stars such as Marcello Mastroianni, Michel Piccoli, Ugo Tognazzi and Phillipe Noiret. These four actors play four jaded men who no longer enjoy life and hole themselves up in a large house to commit suicide by eating, drinking and shagging themselves to death. Various women pass through the house, including two young prostitutes who are sickened by the group’s excesses and flee, and a buxom young school teacher called Andrea, who can tune into what the men are trying to achieve and tacitly agrees with them to be there to the bitter end.
I have always thought that director Marco Ferreri is woefully under-appreciated in the arena of European art house cinema. La Grande Bouffe remains his best known and celebrated film. It is full of scatology, toilet humour and sexual excesses. Scenes such as the toilet exploding – spewing forth human excrement, and Andrea masturbating one of the four men until he dies, have earned it an NC-17 certificate. A cult badge of extreme naughtiness for cinema’s Francophiles.

9. Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013)

The plot for this one is short and sweet. A young girl called Adele is infatuated with a female student called Emma who has blue hair. They begin a romance and much explicit lesbian sex ensues (although it must be said here that it is simulated and involves fake vaginal areas).
Rapturously received at Cannes where it swept the board, Blue is the Warmest Colour is very highly rated by film critics who found it intense and absorbing, passionate and well acted. The graphic lesbian sex scenes, which far exceed any hitherto portrayal of lesbianism, shocked some critics who recommended cuts to the film. In August 2013, the film was passed with no cuts as an NC-17 rated movie. Apparently it is receiving the prestigious Criterion treatment, and it will be released in early 2014.

8. Arabian Nights (1974)

Part of Pasolini’s ‘Trilogy of Life’ along with The Decameron and The Canterbury Tales, which were also rated NC-17, Arabian Nights is a bawdy and earthy film romp with plenty of frank sexual encounters.
The basic film concerns Nur-e-Din, an innocent young man who falls in love with a slave girl called Zumurrud who is abducted by accident after she chooses Nur-e-Din as her master. Zumurrud manages to escape and disguises herself as a man. She enters a mysterious land where she becomes King. The film follows Nur-e-Din’s attempts to track her down in which he gets into several erotic and also slapstick scenarios. Woven into the narrative are the tales of several travellers.
With abundant nudity and sex, Arabian Nights really is an erotic masterpiece. It is hard to make such a sexual film without it coming over as excessive, gratuitous or sleazy, but Pasolini deftly handles the material and the erotic scenes in the movie are filmed in a highly naturalistic way and there is no sensationalism. The film is poetic and beautiful, it is difficult to think of a movie director other than Pasolini making such a film. Pasolini brought both a realism, and simultaneously, a mystery to the film that makes it intoxicating viewing. At 130 minutes, the time flies by rather than dragging. Due to all of the sexual jiggery pokery, Arabian Nights was originally rated X in 1980 and today holds an NC-17.

7. Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970)

Kelly, Casey and Petronella perform in a band called The Kelly Affair managed by Harris, Kelly’s boyfriend. They set off to Los Angeles to find Kelly’s aunt Susan who has just inherited a fortune. Susan is pleased to see them and promises Kelly one third of her fortune (although her sleazy lawyer isn’t happy with this). Susan introduces the girls to Z Man, a record producer, and when he hears them play, he is so impressed he renames them The Carrie Nations and promises them great success.
Kelly drifts away from Harris and has an affair with a hustler called Lance who has his radar set firmly on her inheritance. Harris descends into drug and alcohol abuse and impregnates Casey after a one night stand. Lance beats up Harris and Kelly dumps him. Casey, distraught at having an abortion, gets into a lesbian relationship with a fashion designer named Roxanne. Petronella gets into a love triangle.
Despite their torpid private lives, the Carrie Nations continue to tour and make records. Harris attempts suicide but it leaves him paraplegic. Z Man invites some of the leading characters to a drugs fuelled psychedelic party where it is revealed that he is a woman in drag. He tries to seduce Lance but is rejected, Z Man then goes crazy – killing the party goers. A desperate call from Casey to Kelly sends the rest of the gang to Z Man’s place where they subdue him after a wild melee. The ending of the film is deeply cheesy but fits in with the tone of the movie.
With a script written by Roger Ebert, of all people, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was Meyer’s big studio film – financed by Fox – who were expecting a sequel to the syrupy Valley of the Dolls, and when they saw the film they didn’t know what to do with it. Ebert and Meyer had created a wild and crazy film which they wanted to be an over the top melodrama, a comedy, a satire on Hollywood, a skin picture, a violent exploitation movie and also a vessel for moralising.
One thing Meyer really loved was getting on his soapbox and moralising in his films, which comes across in his movies as corny rather than didactic. Beyond The Valley of the Dolls is an assault on the viewer because it is absolutely crammed to the rafters with action, Meyer is firing at his usual all guns blazing pace and you might have to watch Beyond the Valley of the Dolls a couple of times to appreciate its humour and bizarre plot twists. It is a fabulously inventive and entertaining film which is unlike anything you will ever see again. Inimitable Russ Meyer.
Upon its release the MPAA classified it as X. It was given an NC-17 rating in 1990. This has been proven to be no handicap for the film as it has made $40 million worldwide since its release from a $900,000 budget. Growing in critical stature all the time, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls has a huge cult following which it highly deserves.

6. Caligula (1979)

Basically a biopic of the titular Caligula – portraying his time as Emperor of Rome – his rise to the top, his insane regime, and his downfall.
As a subject for a biopic, Caligula is juicy material but director Tinto Brass and producer Bob Guccione (owner of Penthouse magazine) pile on the juice so much, the film is positively saturated. It is a surreal sight indeed to watch actors of the highest calibre – Peter O’Toole, Sir John Gielgud, Helen Mirren and Malcolm McDowell – have their performances over shadowed by all of the deviant sex going on around them – some of which is unsimulated. To spice up the film when he realised it was crap, Bob Guccione shot hardcore inserts for the film, and depending on what version you get, you may or may not receive a full on sex fest.
Literary heavyweight Gore Vidal wrote the script, but was so aghast at what he saw in the film, he quickly distanced himself from it. In fact, almost everyone who had something to do with the film absolved themselves from it. Personally, I am not impressed by McDowell’s portrayal of Caligula – it is too hammy. For a truly shocking portrayal of Caligula, watch John Hurt’s portrayal of the mad Emperor in the BBC drama I, Claudius. To this day, just the sight of John Hurt anywhere sends a shiver down my spine.
Caligula features sex of all kinds – incest, heterosexual sex, homosexual sex, rape, oral sex, bestiality. With that kind of on screen perviness, it is little wonder that the unexpurgated version is rated NC-17. With an ignominious and torturous production history, the actress who played Messalina sued Guccione for sexual harassment and was awarded a fortune. Would I recommend that you watch Caligula? Unreservedly yes, it is a glorious mess of a film that everyone should watch at least once. At least.

5. Henry And June (1990)

Set in 1930s Paris, the doyenne of female erotic literature – Anaïs Nin is married to Hugo but is somewhat bored. She meets Henry Miller – another erotic literature writer who is working on his first book. She is introduced to the bohemian lifestyle of Henry and his wife June. Nin is sexually attracted to the two of them and embarks upon affairs with them both. She helps Miller publish his first novel but acts as a catalyst for the estrangement of the Millers. She goes back to hubby Hugo.
The first film to receive the new NC-17 rating from the MPAA, director Phillipe Kaufman paints an affectionate and vivid portrait of the bohemian world of 1930s France. He is aided by the strength of the acting from the cast and the film is a delight which qualifies as art house erotica. Uma Thurman as June particularly shines in her role as June, she gets plenty of opportunity to deftly chew the scenery.
I believe that if this film was made in 2013, it would receive an R rating. Okay the sex scenes are raunchy but they don’t contain anywhere near the explicitness of Romance. I recommend the film as it is intriguing and sensual, it is not some sort of perverted sexual free for all that NC-17 suggests

4. Story Of O (1975)

O, a fashion photographer is taken by her lover René to a place where she is initiated into the world of sadomasochism. She is ‘taught’ to be supine and available for any kind of sexual penetration (oral, vaginal and anal) at any time. She is also branded. René passes O along to be the sex servant for Sir Stephen. She seduces a woman called Jacqueline and then she is sent by Sir Stephen to a house in the country.
At this house O is branded and has piercings put into her genitalia by Sir Stephen. A bit of kinky sex follows and Jacqueline is sent away to be trained as an SM sex toy for René. O asks Sir Stephen if he would go through a similar initiation as her to prove his unconditional love for her. Sir Stephen says he probably would so O grabs his hand and brands him with her cigarette – an O.
Adapted from the controversial novel of the same name by Pauline Reage, who was trying to prove that a woman could write like the Marquis de Sade. She failed miserably, unable to hit the heights of vicious sadism de Sade extrapolated, and being a typical woman, she had to introduce romance into the equation which de Sade would have balked at.
Nevertheless, it is a good novel and the film adaptation has been rendered tastefully kinky by capable soft core Euro smut director – Just Jaecklin. It is still extreme enough to warrant an NC-17 rating. Whilst the activities O participates in are consensual and she allows herself to be tortured and humiliated for the love of a man, censors and rating boards just inherently dislike SM material due to the issue of sexualised violence and consent. A difficult conundrum for the MPAA to work out – so they just label it NC-17. But nowhere near as egregious as Salo – a truly Sadean movie.

3. Showgirls (1995)

Showgirls was the first NC-17 film to achieve a widespread theatrical release. It features the adventures of Nomi – an erstwhile juvenile delinquent who arrives in Las Vegas determined to be a mega star Showgirl. She gets to the height of Showgirl in a dodgy way – shagging the entertainment director Zack (the proverbial casting couch for wannabe showgirls) and deliberately inducing chief Showgirl Cristal’s accident so she can snatch her role.
An episode with a friend who gets brutally raped by her idol singer, wakes Nomi up to all of the corruption in Vegas – corruption that she has taken place in. She turns vigilante to kick the crap out of the man who raped her friend and it is a case then of leaving Las Vegas.
Almost universally derided by the critics (Roger Ebert made a slight concession when he said there were worse films), critical opinion has not stopped Showgirls from being a cult hit on VHS and DVD. It is gloriously campy and silly, but compulsive watching, with plenty of quotable lines and laughter at the tacky sex that unfolds on screen. A lot of this is quite explicit, hence the NC-17 rating. An R rated version was released for rental that chopped off three minutes of action, but I would avoid this and stick with the version integrale. Great fun if you are in a salubrious frame of mind.

2. In The Realm Of The Senses (1976)

Tokyo 1936 – Japan society is becoming increasingly militarised. Sada Abe (a hotel maid) and Kichizo Ishida (the hotel owner) embark upon an obsessive love affair which includes graphic unsimulated sex, more graphic sex and a bit more graphic sex. Eventually they get carried away with all of this sex and Sada strangles Kichizo to death while she is having sex with him in an act of erotic asphyxiation. Once he is dead, Sada chops off his willy and scribbles in blood on his chest. Fin.
It is pretty easy to see why In the Realm of the Senses incurred an NC-17 rating. Unsimulated sex generally doesn’t go down well with the authorities – and acts like the main actress putting an egg up her vagina for real and serving it up to her co star after it has plopped out, are distinctly censor bating. It wasn’t just the USA that took umbrage with the film. It caused censors all over the world to get their knickers in a knot over whether it should be censored, banned, shown only in private clubs. Still provocative and controversial by today’s standards, In the Realm of the Senses is not an easy film to classify – is it art or just glorified pornography? Why not watch for yourself and pretend you are a censor? That’s a fun activity with this film.

1. Last Tango In Paris (1972)

The tale of an American man in Paris called Paul whose wife has just committed suicide in an extremely bloody way, he meets a young woman called Jeanne and they begin a highly charged sexual relationship. The relationship is based upon anonymity – they don’t know each other’s names or personal histories. However, after a while Paul wants to end the anonymity and he tells Jeanne all about himself. She is repelled by this and tries to get away from Paul but he follows her to her apartment and she shoots him.
The film doesn’t actually sound that cheery, but it is enlivened by several scenes. Paul (played with full conviction by Marlon Brando) calls his dead wife a ‘pig f**ker’, initiates Jeanne (Maria Schneider) into the world of buggery aided by some butter and gets her to stick her finger up his anus while they are having sex. He also exhorts her to have sex with a pig in his memory.
Last Tango in Paris is a monumental film. It set new heights of sexual explicitness in cinema, ushering in a new liberal age of sexual frankness. It does, however, stand alone as a brilliant film – dark and moody, sexy and profound. Director Bertolucci narrowly escaped an obscenity charge in his native Italy. Originally an X certificate, the film was rated R in 1981 with a heavily edited version with all the fun removed from the film. Ultimately re-rated and handed an NC-17 certificate in 1997, Last Tango in Paris had similar bans and harsh ratings meted out to it worldwide.

A Franco-Italian movie starring some of the biggest and most respected Continental stars such as Marcello Mastroianni, Michel Piccoli, Ugo Tognazzi and Phillipe Noiret. These four actors play four jaded men who no longer enjoy life and hole themselves up in a large house to commit suicide by eating, drinking and shagging themselves to death. Various women pass through the house, including two young prostitutes who are sickened by the group’s excesses and flee, and a buxom young school teacher called Andrea, who can tune into what the men are trying to achieve and tacitly agrees with them to be there to the bitter end.
I have always thought that director Marco Ferreri is woefully under-appreciated in the arena of European art house cinema. La Grande Bouffe remains his best known and celebrated film. It is full of scatology, toilet humour and sexual excesses. Scenes such as the toilet exploding – spewing forth human excrement, and Andrea masturbating one of the four men until he dies, have earned it an NC-17 certificate. A cult badge of extreme naughtiness for cinema’s Francophiles.

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