TWO actors actually have sex – a lot of it – in Michael Winterbottom’s new film, “9 Songs,” which opened Friday in New York and Los Angeles. This doesn’t necessarily make for a great plot, but it has snagged major attention for an otherwise tiny art-house flick.
“9 Songs” is hardly the first non-porn film to cause a stir with explicit material. From mainstream classics like “The Postman Always Rings Twice” to indie stinkers like “The Brown Bunny,” even a totally unsubstantiated rumor of real on-screen sex guarantees a place of infamy for any movie not relegated to the “adult” category.
For many of those films, it’s the only reason to watch. If you’re in search of big-screen boinks, add these titles to your DVD collection.
Title: “Last Tango in Paris” (1972)
Plot: A man and woman have an anonymous affair in a Paris apartment
Couple: Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider
Rating: X (original 1972 director’s cut) and R (studio’s 1982 re-release)
Claim to fame: The stars and director Bernardo Bertolucci were indicted and then acquitted in Italy for making pornography
Did they really do it?: No
****
Title: “Don’t Look Now” (1973)
Plot: A traumatized couple travels to Venice to get over their dead daughter
Couple: Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie
Rating: R
Claim to fame: The steaminess of the film’s lone sex scene, with full-frontal Sutherland, incited much debate about whether or not it was real
Did they really do it?: Unclear
****
Title: “In the Realm of the Senses” (1976)
Plot: A Japanese man has an affair with one of his servants
Couple: Tatsuya Fuji and Eiko Matsuda
Rating: X
Claim to fame: Was groundbreakingly explicit for its time; sparked debate about art vs. porn; became Madonna’s favorite romance
Did they really do it?: Yes
****
Title: “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1981)
Plot: A drifter has an affair with the wife of a roadside café owner
Couple: Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange
Rating: R
Claim to fame: The erotic thriller, one of the first of its era, featured a tabletop sex scene rumored to be more than just good acting
Did they really do it?: No
****
Title: “Wild Orchid” (1990)
Plot: A lawyer and a millionaire embark on a steamy affair in Rio
Couple: Mickey Rourke and Carre Otis
Rating: R
Claim to fame: Dating at the time, Rourke and Otis snuck some seriously X-rated material into this R-rated romp
Did they really do it?: The persistent rumor has never been confirmed by all parties involved
****
Title: “Romance” (1999)
Plot: A schoolteacher grows bored with her boyfriend and seeks out other men
Couple: Rocco Siffredi and Caroline Ducey
Rating: R (theatrical), unrated (uncut version)
Claim to fame: French director Catherine Breillat cast a porn star, Siffredi, in order to ensure an on-screen erection
Did they really do it?: Yes
****
Title: “The Brown Bunny” (2004)
Plot: A man drives across the country, meeting girls along the way
Couple: Vincent Gallo and Chloe Sevigny
Rating: NR
Claim to fame: Explicit oral sex scene is the only interesting thing about Gallo’s pretentious film
Did they really do it?: Yes (though some rumors have claimed the existence of a “stunt penis”)
****
Title: “9 Songs” (2005)
Plot: In between and during rock concerts, a young couple has lots of sex
Couple: Kieran O’Brien and Margo Stilley
Rating: Unrated
Claim to fame: Film consists of nothing but actual sex scenes and concert footage
Did they really do it?: Yes
