Welcome to a countdown of the greatest sex films ever made about the small but preoccupying part of the human experience known as sex - from coming-of-age lesbian dramas to gritty portrayals of sex addiction to, erm, loincloths. Put simply: these are the sex movies with the most to say about doing it, charting a history of how our attitudes towards sex and nudity on the big screen have shifted through the decades. It was the poster that did it. When Eyes Wide Shut was released in , it was preceded by months of frenzied gossip. And it was all about sex.

Sex scenes are nearly as old as movies themselves. In fact, one of the first films to be screened for the public debuted in and was called The Kiss. It was quite steamy for its time, featuring a full-on brushing of the lips, which, let us tell you, really riled up the modest-minded folks of the late 19th century. These days, a sex scene has to shock for us to consider it among the greatest sex scenes of all time. It has to make us laugh riotously, recoil in disgust, squirm at the weirdness, or at the very least, rewatch it repeatedly because it's just so damn hot.

They say we think about sex every seven seconds, and the men and women in the following films are actually doing the deed every seven seconds. Okay, that may be a stretch, but make no mistake—the subsequent roundup features movies about sex and not much else. Want more?

Though some stunt, er, parts were employed, you are basically watching actors like Charlotte Gainsbourg and Shia LeBeouf engage in the sort of unsimulated activities you associate with porn stars. LeBeouf even sent in a homemade pornographic videotape for his audition. Whatever Happened to NC Movies? These films are cast with A-list movie stars and directed by world-class filmmakers.