25 Best Movie Sex Scenes of All Time (Moviefone)

[Brian Damage]

A History of Violence

Early in the film, when Edie (Maria Bello) dons a cheerleader outfit and engages her husband Tom (Viggo Mortensen) in a 69ing session (the first in a non-porn American film), the act is sweet and tender. The same can't be said for a second, much more violent session on the stairs -- complete with slapping and screaming -- that occurs after Edie has learned Tom was once a mobster and eloquently depicts just how much their relationship has changed.

[Brian Damage]

Few Americans knew Mexican soap star Salma Hayek before Robert Rodriguez cast her as a bookstore owner who helps a mariachi (Antonio Banderas) avenge the death of his wife. But no one could deny Hayek's ample talents (or bosoms) after the sexy, candlelit romp she shares with Banderas. Incidentally, we don't blame Antonio for forgoing blood-soaked vengeance in favor of some between-the-sheets time with salsa-hot Salma.

[Brian Damage]

New Orleans detective Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) and prudish DA Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin) are polar opposites, making them, of course, perfect for each other. But it's not their super-charged chemistry that makes this scene so hot; it's the uncertain awkwardness of their coupling that makes this one of the most realistic -- and steamiest -- sex scenes ever filmed. "I never did have much luck with sex anyway," admits Anne. We'll bet she does now.

[Brian Damage]

Madeline Kahn, as Dr. Frankenstein's frosty fiancée Elizabeth, comes undone upon seeing the monster's (Peter Boyle) "enormous schwanstucker." She melts with his advances, breaking into operatic song at the climactic moment (or final-final moment of the seven or eight that the pair enjoy). Those white streaks in the bride of Frankenstein's hair? According to this comedy, they're caused by the ferocity of Frank's sexytime. It's alive, indeed.

[Brian Damage]

While Ang Lee's groundbreaking drama would prove to be the most high-profile gay love story of our time, it was the buzzed-about sex scene between Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger that really piqued the curiosity of more open-minded moviegoers. Sure, the Wyoming mountains are frigid, but their rugged embrace inside that tent isn't the least bit about body heat. Of course, the unforgettable scene also gives a whole new meaning to the term "Ride 'em, cowboy."

[Brian Damage]

The most iconic scene from Michaelangelo Antonioni's film about a hot-shot photographer (David Hemmings) has the actor, in an orgiastic photo shoot, straddling supermodel Veruschka and ravaging her with his ... camera. Frankly, it's even wilder than his threesome with two teen groupies (yes, really). Antonioni's film was so scandalous, it was released without a rating -- but the arthouse flick was nominated for two Oscars anyway. Take that, MPAA.

[Brian Damage]

Hilary Swank won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Brandon Teena, a she living as a he; Chloe Sevigny garnered a Best Supporting Actress nom as Brandon's girlfriend Lana. In one of the best scenes, their lovemaking is both tender and passionate, and Lana's "big O" is not so much big as it is pivotal. She knows at this point that everything is not as it seems with Brandon, but she also knows that no man has ever satisfied her in quite this way.

[Brian Damage]

Wait, this one's too easy, right? It's a film about porn, for crying out loud. But when Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) and Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) film what is, in fact, this movie's only porn scene, we see not smut (bam chicka bam) but tenderness, from Amber's mother-hen protectiveness to Dirk's eager desire to make it "sexy." Who cares that the camera guy doesn't get his "money shot"? When the scene's over, Dirk's become a big, bright, shining star. That's right!

[Brian Damage]

Paz Vega is a waitress who recalls the best moments of her ill-fated love affair with a writer, Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa), in this Spanish flick. She was obsessed with him, and it shows -- she does a strip-tease for him, they fervently make love and she holds his, um, manhood ardently. Oh, this is why Vega is so popular in her homeland.

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Where's BROWN BUNNY?

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Apple pie, once the purview of moms and church picnics, gets a horrifying and hilarious makeover once Jim (Jason Biggs) decides to test the theory that getting to third base feels "like warm apple pie." (By the look on his face, we're guessing he likes it on third.) The unrated DVD version is even more explicit: He climbs up on top of the kitchen island to finish the deed. But we have to admit, the missionary position seems a little, well, tame for baked goods, doesn't it?

[Brian Damage]

Yes, it's a creepy psychological horror movie, but nested within is a frank three-minute sex scene that is at once moving and totally hot. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie are husband and wife vacationing in Venice; their daughter has recently drowned, so the two are not in a good place emotionally -- with themselves or each other. They reconnect in their hotel room and show that married sex can be sexy, too.

[Brian Damage]

What's the only thing better than hot, nubile young things Denise Richards and Neve Campbell stripping naked and getting it on with Matt Dillon? That's simple: Richards and Campbell stripping naked and getting it on WITHOUT Matt Dillon ... in a swimming pool ... dripping wet ... after trying to drown each other ... in a film that also stars Kevin Bacon and Bill Murray. One word: genius.

[Brian Damage]

The titular (heh, we said "titular") Betty Blue (Beatrice Dalle) was crazy in love ... make that crazy and in love. The opening sex scene between her and boyfriend Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) sets the tone for the movie, which features an enormous amount of nudity and explicit sex, even for a French film. Sadly, Betty's amour burns too bright; she descends into madness before movie's end.

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