The most expensive adult movie ever made
During the first few years of cinema’s inception, the seeds of pornographic films were sown. The first erotic movie emerged in 1896 with Le Coucher de la Mariée, directed by Albert Kirchner, which depicted a highly controversial striptease.
Soon, filmmakers dared to experiment with more scandalous imagery, such as a woman wearing a nude body stocking to recreate The Birth of Venus in 1901’s The Birth of the Pearl. One of the first pornographic films is believed to be El Satario, which emerged from Cuba or Argentina – scholars are unsure of its initial origins – and potentially dates back to 1907. The movie features close-up shots of genitalia and sexual acts, with the male dressed as a forceful devil who initiates sexual relations with a naked young woman in the countryside.
Throughout the silent era, pornographic movies were frequently made, often shown in brothels. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that porn became more widely available, with filmmakers like Lasse Braun and Doris Wishman making some early explicit pictures.
The Golden Age of Porn began in 1969, with the following decade showcasing many erotic and pornographic movies in theatres, starting with Andy Warhol’s The Blue Movie. However, many films blur the lines between what is considered pornography and what is simply sexually explicit cinema.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, ‘pornography’ is defined as “explicit depiction, in pictures, writing, or other material, of sexual subjects or activity in a manner intended to arouse. It does not include material intended for other educational, artistic or aesthetic purposes.” Thus, some movies that feature explicit sex scenes aren’t considered pornography if they’re used as part of a broader narrative.
Still, many erotic arthouse movies with real sex scenes might be classified as adult movies, such as sexploitation flicks, due to their explicit nature. Italian filmmaker Tinto Brass is best known for his erotic movies, many of which contain graphic sex scenes. One of his best-known movies is Caligula, which holds the Guinness World Record for ‘Most expensive film produced (adult genre)’.
Released in 1979, the movie stars Malcolm McDowell as the Roman Emperor and features plenty of nudity and genuine sex, although this was not part of Brass’ original plan. The director wanted his movie to act as a sharp political critique, with his screenplay centring around the idea that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
However, the producer, Bob Guccione, had other ideas, and he prevented Brass from editing the film. Guccione, the founder of softcore porn magazine Penthouse, added many pornographic scenes featuring ‘Penthouse Pets’ that were directly intended to titillate. Brass was not happy with these changes, believing they completely changed the narrative of his film, and had his credit as director removed.
Guccione and Brass had very different intentions for the film, with the former hoping to advertise it as a big-budget pornographic feast. The movie ended up costing $17.5million thanks to its extravagant production design and high-profile actors such as McDowell, Helen Mirren and Peter O’Toole.
Whether you consider the film a pornographic adult movie or simply arthouse erotica, it’s certainly the most expensive production to feature unsimulated sex scenes.
