Italian erotic movies include numerous sub-genres: erotic drama, erotic thriller, erotic comedies, coming-of-age films,erotic romantic movies, and others. A pornographic movie, on the other hand, is a sex film that typically does not claim any kind of creative value, only purports to have sex-related stimulation, and are termed adult films. Italian sexy comedy is a type of Italian erotic movie that derives directly from the Italian comedy. The genre, born in the late 1960s, had great success in Italy and South America for about a year, before declining from 1982-1983.
Italian erotic movies and Italian sexy comedy films had countless fans and excellent box office earnings. Sexy comedy films, which starred comedians such as Lino Banfi, Lando Buzzanca, Renzo Montagnani, Carlo Giuffré, Aldo Maccione, Mario Carotenuto, Alvaro Vitali, Gianfranco D’Angelo, Enzo Cannavale and even Bombolo, were considered as cult movie, thanks to an amusing representation on the erotic and sexual customs of the Italians. The model was born thanks to the idea of some well-known producers of the moment, including Luciano Martino, considered one of the creators of the genre.
The Italian sexy comedy has some characteristics that distinguish it from other Italian erotic movies: a mix of fun and female nudity. At the time he represented something ingenious in cinema, with the fashion of the Sexual Revolution in which the attractive Italian comedian fits. The Italian erotic movies of the sexy comedy were mostly created in order to earn as much as possible by satisfying the needs of male spectators, attracted by nude scenes and sexual innuendos.
Vedo nudo (1969)
It is an erotic movie and Italian comedy of 1969 directed by Dino Risi. Nino Manfredi plays 7 different characters. The film represents the last collaboration between Manfredi and Risi, after Operation San Gennaro and Straziami ma di baci saziami. For this film Manfredi was awarded a David di Donatello as best protagonist. Vedo Nudo achieved considerable commercial success, and was also followed by two subsequent films of the same genre, both directed by Risi.
The Lady of Monza (1969)
It is a 1969 Italian erotic movie directed by Eriprando Visconti. It is freely inspired by Marianna de Leyva, known as “The Nun of Monza”, whose true story was made known in the famous novel I promessi sposi by Alessandro Manzoni. Virginia, a lady forced to become a nun by her parents, becomes mother superior of the convent where she is located in northern Italy. When the director of the convent decides to detain a wanted criminal to hide it, she falls in love with him and they begin to have sex.
Venus in Furs (1969)
It is a 1969 Italian erotic movie directed by Massimo Dallamano. Based on the novel Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the film was first released in 1969 in Germany. In Italy the film failed the censorship exam due to the sex scenes deemed too strong and all the initiatives to remove the censorship limits, with many reduction variants, were unsuccessful.
The film was finally released in 1973, but even this abridged version was quickly pulled a couple of days after release. In 1975 the film was finally released in Italian cinemas, in a version that was heavily censored and reduced during editing. With new scenes shot by Paolo Heusch, the film was transformed into a thriller. The new title was a reference to the success of actress Laura Antonelli in Malizia (1973)
The Decameron (1971)
It is a 1971 Italian erotic movie written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s Tales of the 1300s. It is the first film in the trilogy of Pasolini’s life, the others being The Canterbury Tales, One Thousand and One Nights. Each film is an adaptation of a number of classic works of literature. The tales have a lot of nudity, sex, farce, and scatological humor. Pasolini’s goal was not to recreate Boccaccio’s characters, but to tell the modern world through the symbolic use of the existing themes in the stories. The stories are set in southern Italy and make use of the Neapolitan language. They are a fresco of the exploitation of the poorest area by the richest localities of northern Italy.
The film made it to the 21st Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear. Despite the success and even the appreciation of this film, Pasolini was annoyed by the numerous censorship cuts. He thought of these as an affront to the anti-capitalist message. 2 entire stories were eliminated from the film: the myth of Girolamo and Salvestra and the myth of Rustico and Alibech. Pasolini removed Girolamo because he felt it was a weak story and also reduced Alibech’s sequence because he intended to keep the landscapes of Yemen for his next film One Thousand and One Nights, the third film in his Trilogy of Life. The film was the 3rd highest-grossing film in Italy in 1971 with 11,167,557 admissions. It was the 21st film of all time in Italy and is currently in 25th place.
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
It is an Italian erotic movie dramatic of 1972 directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film stars Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider and Jean-Pierre Léaud, and tells of an American widower who enters into a sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman. The film premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 14, 1972 and grossed $36 million in its U.S. theatrical release, making it the seventh highest-grossing film of 1973.
The film’s gory depiction of sex and the emotional turmoil of the characters caused an international debate and also led to varying levels of government censorship in numerous countries. In Italy, the film was released on December 15, 1972, earning $100,000 in 6 days. A week later, however, police officers seized all of the district attorney’s duplicates, which called the film a porno, and the director was prosecuted. The film was blocked by the Italian Supreme Court, which approved the destruction of all copies in circulation. Bertolucci was given a four month sentence behind bars and his civil liberties were impeded for 5 years.
Harmful (1973)
It is a 1973 Italian erotic movie written and directed by Salvatore Samperi, with the actors Laura Antonelli, Turi Ferro and Alessandro Momo. The film tells of the sexual desire of a widower and also of his three children for their new carer. At the Nastri d’Argento, Antonelli and Ferro also won the award for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor. The film participated in the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival.
After his wife’s death, a father of three (ages 18, 14 and 6) meets a charming young waitress named Angela, and begins a sensual adventure with her. Even her children are turned on by Angela, each looking for ways to see her naked body. At one point the young Nino blackmails her, imposing his perversions on her.
Black Emanuelle (1975)
It is a 1975 Italian erotic movie directed by Bitto Albertini. This film from the Africana series was mainly shot in Kenya. The music was composed by Nico Fidenco. Black Emanuelle was followed by a series of follow-ups, all focusing on the sex-related journeys of Mae Jordan (played by Laura Gemser), a sexy, globetrotting investigative journalist and professional photographer named “Emanuelle”, an independent, sexually hungry woman , constantly looking for wealthy young and old whites in power.
Professional journalist and photographer Mae Jordan (Laura Gemser) goes about her work under the name Emanuelle. He meets a couple who grew up in Nairobi and starts a sexual relationship with both of them. Together they show her the country’s customs and love.
The Nun and the Devil (1973)
It is a 1973 Italian erotic movie directed by Dominic Paulella. The action is set in the 16th century in the convent of Sant’Arcangelo, near Naples, then under Spanish rule. The success of the film led to the release of another feature film by Paolella in the same year, Story of a cloistered nun, an Italian-French-German co-production with Eleonora Giorgi. Reports over the credits state that the film is “based on real events from the 16th century and on a story by Stendhal”, Stendhal’s L’Abbesse de Castro (1832)
The story tells of the power and sexual intrigues of a group of attractive nuns of the Convent of Sant’Arcangelo, as well as the machinations of Sister Julia as she tries, as far as possible, to take the place of the dead Mother Superior. Religious women struggle with their vows of celibacy, some engaging in lesbian relationships while others secretly welcome men into their cells. A corrupt church wishes to make money from a payment to the Convent before starting an inquisition.
Saloon Kitty (1976)
It is a 1976 Italian erotic movie directed by Tinto Brass. The film was co-produced by Italy, France and West Germany. It is based on Peter Norden’s short story of the same name, which recounts the life events of Salon Kitty, where the Sicherheitsdienst took over a brothel in Berlin, exchanging all the women for experienced spies, in order to gather intelligence on Nazi Party members . He is considered one of the progenitors of the Nazisploitation genre. The film shows perversions as quickly as possible, and the characterization of the characters is quite absurd.
Images in a Convent (1979)
It is a 1979 erotic movie directed by Joe D’Amato with Paola Senatore, Marina Hedman and also Donald Obrien. The film comes from the “nunsploitation” subgenre. It has scenes of violence that connect to the genre of exorcism movie and it is one of the first hardcore adult films that passed the Italian censorship in 1979. The film has lesbian and cunnilingus scenes.
In a cloistered convent, the nuns participate in sexual shows in the evening, worried that their Mother Superior might discover their disobedience. A wounded man shows up at the convent and the nuns receive him and even take turns to please him throughout the night. Unbeknownst to them, Satan has also entered the convent and is turning the nuns into sinners. An exorcist is sent to the convent to fight Satan and recover spiritual dedication.
Killer Nun (1979)
It is a 1979 Italian erotic horror movie directed and also co-written by Julius Berruti, co-written by Alberto Tarallo, and starring Anita Ekberg, Joe Dallesandro, Lou Castel and Alida Valli. Her story tells of a religious woman who, after recovering from brain surgery, falls prey to fear and starts consuming opioids and develops addiction and disorder with terrible effects. The film is loosely based on the true story of Cécile Bombeek, a middle-aged nun who committed a series of heinous crimes in a university hospital for the elderly in Wetteren, Belgium, in 1977.
Unlike other examples in the category, which usually take place in medieval or renaissance times, this film takes place in modern times and has no social criticism related to the role of nuns within the Church. In the UK it has been listed as a film that can have a destructive influence on viewers.
Malabimba (1979)
It is a 1979 Italian erotic movie directed by Andrea Bianchi. A seance is held in the castle of a wealthy family to make contact with the spirit of a girl who had been murdered. The spirit of Lucrezia, progenitor of the family, is evoked during the session. Lucrezia tries to take possession of the spirit of her sister Sofia, who has remained in the castle to look after the paralytic Adolfo, owner of the castle together with his brother Andrea, a friend of the murdered woman. Having no success with the body of the adolescent Bimba rather enters the body of Andrea’s daughter who had led a regular life until then.
Bimba’s practices change significantly and the evil sexuality of Lucrezia’s spirit grows in her. The relative, worried, leaves the woman in Sister Sofia’s care. The partnership between Bimba and Sister Sofia grows and a carnal passion also arises between them. In reality Bimba, commanded by the spirit of Lucrezia, sexually drags the nun into a spiral of debauchery.
Caligula (1979)
It is an Italian erotic movie and historical film of 1979 focused on the Roman emperor Caligula. The film stars Malcolm McDowell in the title role, along with Teresa Ann Savoy, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, John Steiner and John Gielgud. Producer Bob Guccione, the owner of the Penthouse publication, intended to create a series of sultry feature films with high production values and stars. Gore Vidal gave the suggestion for a film about the Roman emperor and also created a draft of the film script under the title Gore Vidal’s Caligula. However, the director, Tinto Brass, completely transformed Vidal’s initial film script, leading Vidal to disavow the film. The last script of the film focuses on the concept that “absolute power definitely hurts”. The producers did not allow Brass to edit the film and also altered its tone and style considerably, including non-simulated sex scenes including Penthouse Pets as additions shot in post-production by Guccione and Giancarlo Lui. Brass had refused to film those scenes.
All Ladies Do It (1992)
It is a 1992 Italian erotic movie directed by Tinto Brass and played by Claudia Koll. It is loosely based on the Mozart/da Ponte opera Cosi fan tutte. Diana (Claudia Koll) is a Roman woman happily married to Paolo (Paolo Lanza), but she likes to play games of seduction with other men as she resists the advances of trendy underwear shop owner Silvio (Renzo Rinaldi) as she recounts her adventures at Paolo to improve their otherwise boring sex life. Under the influence of her lesbian friend Antonietta (Isabella Deiana) and her vulgar sister Nadia (Ornella Marcucci), Diana begins to better place the events while Paolo thinks that the events she recounts are only dreams. When the sadistic French Donatien Alphonse (Franco Branciaroli) leaves marks on her body, Paolo understands that Diana is betraying him and throws her out of the house. Diana then seeks more sexual adventures, while she and Paolo reexamine the nature of sexuality and monogamy, and also their future as a couple.
Paprika (1991)
It is a 1991 Italian erotic movie directed by Tinto Brass. The film is loosely based on the novel Fanny Hill by John Cleland, released for the first time in 1748. In 1958, while the Merlin Law was being passed which made brothels illegal, Mimma (Debora Caprioglio), a young country woman, involved the community and chooses to work as a prostitute to help her boyfriend get money to start his own business, and is given the name Paprika at Madame Collette’s (Martine Brochard) home. As soon as her boyfriend cheats on her, Mimma abandons her initial passions and decides to seek employment as a prostitute. At the same time, he loses all kinds of positive self-image and self-esteem, yet at some point he discovers redemption, wealth, and his true love.
Monella (1998)
It is a 1998 Italian erotic movie directed by Tinto Brass. Lola (Anna Ammirati) is the teenage daughter of the widow Zaira (Serena Grandi) who lives in a tiny Po Valley community in the 1950s. She is in a relationship with the young Masetto (Max Parodi), who believes in the virginity of women before marriage. They are about to get married, but she is particularly interested in sex, and also manipulated by the shenanigans of her libertine stepfather André (Patrick Mower).
Tra(sgre)dire (2000)
It is a 2000 Italian erotic movie directed by Tinto Brass, with Yuliya Mayarchuk in the lead. Particular similarities can be found in Nerosubianco (1969), another film by Tinto Brass set in London. In London, attractive Venetian Carla Burin (Yuliya Mayarchuk) is a trainee receptionist at a resort. She is trying to find a house to allow her partner Matteo (Jarno Berardi) to join her there. The estate agent, Moira (Francesca Nunzi), who is bisexual, rents her a loft overlooking the Thames. When the irritable and jealous Matteo finds a nude photo of Carla and letters from her French ex-lover Bernard (Mauro Lorenz), Carla and Matteo argue over the phone. Angry with Matteo, Carla has sex with Moira. Matteo, determined, goes to London, where he discovers Moira naked in Carla’s apartment. He accuses Carla of all his previous adultery and also refuses fellatio on him before walking away.
