Classics of the Adult Cinema

Truly the best of the best, and not just in my personal opinion, these movies are generally considered true classics by the serious adult movie connoisseur...

Devil in Miss Jones (1972, dir: Gerard Damiano, Arrow Film and Video)

'Devil' was probably the first true classic, and remains one of the best known adult movies of all time. Although made over 20 years ago it still is a significant film for several reasons, chief among them being that it was the first explicit sex film to cover a serious subject.

Wet rainbow (1973, dir: Duddy Kane, Arrow Film and Video)

Another early film that deals remarkebly well with a realistic subject, in this case a threeway relationship that develops between a couple and a young hippy girl.

Private afternoons of Pamela Mann (1974, dir: Henry Paris, VCA)

In 1974 Radley Metzger, director of many soft-core 'sexploitation' movies in the 60's and 70's, changed his name to Henry Paris and made his first explicit film: Pamela Mann. It was the first really big budget porno movie and proved that under the guidance of a good movie maker pornographic movies could be produced that approach those of mainstream Hollywood in quality.

3 AM (1975, dir: Robert McCallum, Cal vista)

This, the directing debut of Robert McCallum, has some of the best acting of any adult film made.

Honey pie (1975, dir: Howard Ziehm, VCA)

This movie is proof that even a loop-carrier (a movie consisting of separate scenes loosely held together by a connecting premise) can be a good movie.

Naked came the stranger (1975, dir: Henry Paris, VCA)

This comedy, the second hardcore movie by director Henry Paris, has less explicit sexual images than many others and has often been recommended as a 'couples movie' avant la lettre.

Passions of Carol (1975, dir: Warren Evans)

A very good porn adaption of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Sensations (1975, dir: Lasse Braun)

This French film is one of the best European porno films ever made, and on a par with the best from the US.

Story of Joanna (1975, dir: Gerard Damiano, AVC)

An interesting story of human degradation starring Jamie Gillis as a weird man who makes Terri Hall his personal property after first charming her.

Autobiography of a flea (1976, dir: Sharon McKnight, Mitchell bros)

A very nicely costumed period piece taken from Victorian literature, this is set in France in 1810 and deals with a very young girl being corrupted by priests.

Femmes deSade (1976, dir: Alex deRenzy, Mitchell bros.)

This movie from Alex deRenzy deals with the story of a psychopath who, after being released from prisson, starts to rape and brutalize many of the women he encounters.

Opening of Misty Beethoven (1976, dir: Henry Paris, VCA)

This amusing movie gives us a take off on the Pygmalion/My Fair Lady theme, with Jamie Gillis betting he can turn Paris streethooker Constance Money into the next 'Goldenrod Girl'.
It is universally aclaimed as one of the all time greatest adult movies...

Babyface (1977, dir: Alex deRenzy, VCA)

Another of DeRenzy's masterpieces, Babyface combines humor, plot and great sex scenes in a story about a new guy in a male whorehouse.

Barbara Broadcast (1977, dir: Henry Paris, VCA)

This is another one of the elegant and humorous movies made by Henry Paris. This one has the weakest plot and revolves around reporter CJ Laing interviewing hooker turned best-selling author Annette Haven in a whacky restaurant where sex is the main ingredient.

Desires within young girls (1977, dir: Ramsey Karson, Caballero)

Desires is a very nice movie about freshly widowed Georgina Spelvin who spends her last money in her efforts of getting her two daughters married to a rich man in order to secure her financial future.

Eruption (1977, dir: Stanley Kurlan, Cal vista)

This masterpiece, which was shot in three weeks on location in Hawaii, contains a great mix of plot, production values, sex and locations, and is porn's version of the 1944 classic Double Indemnity.

Mary! Mary! (1977, dir: Bernard Morris, Essex)

A highly erotic movie with a nice story of a husband who has major trouble lasting during sex, and jokingly invokes the devil to help him with his problem. The devil does, and now he can't get his erection down.

Anna obsessed (1978, dir: Martin & Martin, Arrow Film and Video)

This great movie tells the story of a couple with sexual problems: she can't get off, and they gradually start experimenting with different forms of sex.

Candy stripers (1978, dir: Bob Chinn, Arrow Film and Video)

Candy Stripers is probably famous more for the two fisting scenes it contains than anything else about it. This is a shame because it really is a well made funny and erotic movie.

Easy (1978, dir: Anthony Spinelli, Executive video)

This movie showcase the considerable talents (both as an actress and an erotic performer) of Jesie St. James. The fine plot centers on a woman who is looking for love.

Little girls blue (1978, dir: Joanna Williams, VCX)

This movie is light on plot, telling the familiar story of schoolgirls getting to know each ohter and the faculty very well. However, this is probably the best of the countless movies with this theme, and perhaps it's female director is the reason this is a highly erotic movie.

Other side of Julie (1978, dir: Anthony Riverton, Cal vista)

Not only is this the only porno film explosive Jackie O'Neill ever made (which alone would make it memorable :-) it's also a very good movie. The story centers on a couple where the husband is, unbeknownst to her, earning his money as a stud for hire, and on her reactions and sexual liberation when she finds out.

Pretty peaches (1978, dir: Alex deRenzy, VCA)

This, another thouroughly enjoyable comedy by Alex deRenzy, is the story off an airheaded brunette bimbo who looses her memory in a car accident.

Sex world (1978, dir: Anthony Spinelli, Essex)

One of the most acclaimed porno movies of all time, with great production values, a terrific cast, and the interesting premiss of an exclusive resort catering to the guests sexual dreams.

Take off (1978, dir: Armand Weston, Video-X-pix)

Another of the very best porno movies ever made, this gives us an interesting twist on the Dorian Gray theme, with Wade Nichols as the unaging person in in several decades of this century.

V the hot one (1978, dir: Robert McCallum, Cal vista)

This movie has great acting (especially from leading lady Annette Haven) and a good story about a high-class woman who secretly has an obsesion of being a prostitute

Ecstasy girls (1979, dir: Robert McCallum, Caballero)

Another one of those movies which seems to have it all: an interesting plot, great production values, humor, and very good sex scenes. This one revolves around the scheming brother of a puritanical, but extremely rich guy close to his death, who tries to get proof of his families promiscuity in order to get a bigger slice of the future inheritance.

Her name was Lisa (1979, dir: Richard Mahler, VCA)

This interesting movie tells us, in flashback as mourners gather round her coffin, the story of model Lisa's gradual decline into drugs.

Exposed (1980, dir: Jeffrey Fairbanks, VCA)

A romantic movie about a happily married couple of whom the husband is a former porn stud. Trying to keep this fact from his wife he is forced to return to the set for one last movie.

(Dream Girl of) F (1980, dir: Svetlana, Collector's video)

Consisting of one sexual fantasy after another this imaginative movie revolves around John Leslie and his adventures in a house he has entered to find help after his car breaks down.

Insatiable (1980, dir: Godfrey Daniels, Caballero)

This film was famous before it even released, due to the much hyped return after years of absence by legendary porn star Marilyn Chambers. And for once a movie with such hype actually turned out to be a superior movie.

Platinum paradise (1980, dir: Cecil Howard, Command)

This Cecil Howard masterpiece does not have the heavy plot as some of his later classics, but it does have the same high quality in both production and sexual content, and may well appeal more to the average viewer.

Randy the electric lady (1980, dir: Philip Schumann, VCA)

Randy is a highly enjoyable sci-fi comedy with the requisite evil doctor who is out to rule the world, this time through 'orgasmine' a substance secreted by Desiree Cousteau upon climax.

Talk dirty to me (1980, dir: Anthony Spinelli, Dreamland)

A superb movie with superb acting all round, this centers on smooth-talking womanizer Jack and his slightly retarded sidekick Lenny.

Amanda by night (1981, dir: Robert McCallum, Caballero)

One of the very best combinations of story and explicit sex ever filmed, this tells the story of a hooker who turns up death, and the danger her friends are in for possibly being able to identify the killer.

Bad girls (1981, dir: Svetlana, Collector's video)

A fluffy picture which is a classic because of it's erotism and great cast of newcomers more than it's faltering plot of 4 models going on a shoot in the wild.

Night dreams (1981, dir: Rinse Dream, VCA)

A very unusual film that started a whole new sub-genre of porno movies. It's innovative, surreal, and sometimes downright bizarre, but it also has a lot of highly erotic moments. And the exceptional photography makes it obvious the makers were Hollywood regulars who knew their craft.

Nothing to hide (1981, dir: Anthony Spinelli, Cal vista)

This, yet another Anthony Spinelli masterpiece, is an even better sequel to the superb Talk Dirty To Me, continuing the story of smooth-talking Jack and his side-kick Lenny. Due to the fact that the producer of the original held the right to the Talk Dirty title, it's director had to give his sequel another name. That producer, Jerry Ross, made a sequel under the name Talk Dirty To Me 2 which, although a nice film in it's own right, is nowhere near as brilliant as Nothing To Hide.

Outlaw ladies (1981, dir: Henri Pachard, VCA)

This, which is perhaps one of Pachard's finest efforts, centers on the stories of five women who seek their sexual thrills outside of the norms of their society. It's large cast reads as a virtual who's who of the major early 80's pornostars.

Pandora's mirror (1981, dir:Warren Evans, Caballero)

A big budget movie with an all star cast which clearly shows the care that was taken to produce it. It's a story of Pandora who finds a magic mirror that reveals sexual scenes to anyone gazing into it.

1001 Erotic nights (1982, dir: Stephen Lucas, Essex)

This is a very fine rendition of the classic story of Sheherazade telling the sultan an erotic tale everynight in order to prolong her life.

Between lovers (1983, dir: Henri Pachard, Caballero)

This is an excelent movie with two of the best actresses in porn at the time, Jessie St. James and Georgina Spelvin. It centers on Jessie catching her husband John Leslie cheating and starting an affair of her own (with Joey silvera) during a business trip. Unfortunately she falls in love with Joey and winds up marrying him, which leaves her with a husband each in San Francisco and Los Angeles. To make matters worst John and Joey meet and become buddies. Like I said, an excellent plot oriented movie with great acting, a good story and even hot sex.

Devil in Miss Jones 2 (1983, dir: Henri Pachard, VCA)

Unlike the Damiano original, which was one of the first attempts at making a porno movie with a serious story, this sequel is playing for the laughs, and with excellent effect. It is a funny, but erotic movie with some fine performances all round.

Dixie Ray Hollywood star (1983, dir: Anthony Spinelli, Caballero)

One of the very best examples of a movie that combines a good solid story with high poduction qualities and explicit sex. This hard-boiled detective story would even be enjoyable without the sex (not too surprising as it was originally intended as an R-rater with the explicit footage added later).

Night hunger (1983, dir: Gerard Damiano, AVC)

The fine movie spans 70 years in the history of the Blair family, who are afflicted with satyriasis, an unending desire for sex.

Sexcapades (1983, dir: Henri Pachard, VCA)

This hot movie tells us the story of porn movie director Harry Crocker who tried making it in the art-movie world and now tries to make a comeback in erotica after seven years.

Every woman has a fantasy (1984, dir: Edwin Durrell, VCA)

This very good, and highly erotic movie tells the story of a husband who is obsessed with finding out what goes on at his wife's caffee-klatches. He tries several ploys to get as close to the action as possible until finally he even atends one in (very believable) drag.

Firestorm (1984, dir: Cecil Howard, Command)

One of Cecil Howard's very best movies, which has a lot more substance than the average adult movie, with a complex layered plot, superb production values, and a lot of erotism.

Buttman's European vacation (1990, dir: John Stagliano, Evil Angel)

A classic mainly because it is the best of the always very good Buttman movies, in my opinion. It makes good use of the Buttman gimmick, and has a terrific cast including Zara and Silver.

Wild goose chase (1991, dir: John Stagliano, Evil Angel)

A very nice movie with a fairly interesting plot, great camera work which once again shows that Stagliano obviously loves the female physique, and hot sex.

Chameleons (not the sequel) (1992, dir: John Leslie, VCA)

An excellent movie with credible acting, a good original story, and lots of hot sweaty sex.

Two women (1992, dir: Alex deRenzy, Rosebud)

The final swan song of Alex deRenzy, who it seems has since decided that with the budgets available these days he can't shoot a story oriented movie anymore, so he only cranks out wall-to-wall sex movies under his Rex Borsky pseudonym. This was one of his last two story based movies, and it's a very good movie.

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This page was last updated May 20, 1996