The Best Movie Sex Scenes of All Time, Ranked from Worst to Best

How could I not put The Notebook on the list? Do I hate sentimentality in sex? Do I loathe impassioned embraces in the rain? No, I’m a sucker for meaningful intimacy – and so are the characters in The Notebook.

Of course, it’s Hollywood – and the couple in question just so happens to be played by two incredibly good looking people: Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. But that’s not the reason the scene is good: it’s good because it’s emotional.

Ghost follows the story of a dead-man (Patrick Swayze) who must find his killer to save his girlfriend (Demi Moore). It’s insane, ludicrous, and remarkably cheesy – but the pottery sex scene is hot and heavy.

But although the sex scene is definitely scintilating, it’s been parodied to death due to its innane premise.

Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren star in this anthology film about sex and romance. The third chapter of the film, titled “Tomorrow” or “Domani” in Italian, follows a prostitute (Loren) as she attempts to stave off a hungry client (Mastroianni) whilst encouraging a neighbor (Gianni Ridolfi) to enlist in a seminary.

The whole film treats sex like the complicated thing it is. At times, it’s simply a tool for child-rearing, at others it’s a tool for pleasure. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow shows it all – and no two actors are better suited to the task than Mastroianni and Loren.

Queen & Slim is a harrowing film about pervading social issues like racial discrimination and police brutality. Some argue that the film’s simmering sex scene between it two title characters – portrayed by Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith – detracts from the focus of its very serious themes; while others say it’s integral to the greater structure of the story.

You can watch the film through the “watch now” link below and decide for yourself. But there’s no denying that the film’s sex scene is impassioned and impactful.

Let’s get one thing straight: A Clockwork Orange is messed up. The film uses sex like a weapon – and it’s frequently tough to watch. Sex is at the center of just about everything in A Clockwork Orange.

Although there are a lot of sex scenes in A Clockwork Orange, the one in question takes place at the very end of the movie, when – spoilers beware – the protagonist fantasizes of having sex with a beautiful woman while a crowd of spectators cheer him on. It’s startling, seductive, and entirely disarming. 

Tom Cruise stars in this 1983 classic about a high-school student who engages in “risky business” when his parents go away on a trip. Risky Business is a less nuanced Rebel Without a Cause; its success at the box-office can largely be attributed more to sensationalist sex than dramatic storytelling.

The best sex scene in the movie happens when Joel (Cruise) and Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) have impassioned intercourse on the Chicago L train. It’s stupid, sexy, and somewhat gross – but its an iconic movie sex scene.

This sex scene from Anchorman is just truly, truly ridiculous. There’s no nudity nor any explicit sexual acts; instead the film uses a fantastical world called “pleasure town” to simulate the euphoria of sex.

Pleasure town is full of bonkers imagery like animated cupids, mountains in the moonlight, and colorful unicorns. 

Spoilers beware: this sex scene from Gone Girl is anything but sexy. Most sex scenes act as a climax to the tension between characters, and this example from Gone Girl is no different. However, the climax here isn’t sexual pleasure, it’s murder.

Gone Girl does a great job of using the “sex scene” format in an untraditional way, which ultimately creates an unsettling effect on the viewer.

Blue is the Warmest Color made waves upon release for its graphic depictions of sex. The most famous and iconic of these sex scenes is nearly eight minutes long and involves Emma (Léa Seydoux) and Adele (Adèle Exarchopoulos.) Sorry, you won’t find this scene on YouTube – but you can rent/buy the movie through the “watch now” link below.

Among the sex scenes on this list, this is certainly the most pornographic. But for what the scene lacks in subtext and narrative nuance, it makes up for in passion and visual style.

Boogie Nights is a film about the porn-industry, as such you’d be right in thinking there are more than a few sex scenes. Paul Thomas Anderson’s early great-work follows the highs and lows of the hedonistic lifestyle, as told through the vantage of porn star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg.)

There are some sexy sex scenes in Boogie Nights and then there are some tragic sex scenes in Boogie Nights. The best of these scenes belongs to the former group, when Dirk shoots his first professional porn scene for Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) with “Amber Waves” (Julianne Moore.)  

Blue Valentine is perhaps most well-known for receiving an NC-17 rating from the MPAA for a sex scene involving man-on-woman oral sex. The rating was later reversed after Gosling challenged the MPAA on the grounds of sexism, citing that other movies which featured woman-on-man oral sex had received R ratings from the board.

Ultimately, Blue Valentine’s famous sex scene is more than just a cinematic milestone, it’s an intimate moment in the relationship between two doomed lovers.

I can not express this enough: watching this scene from Her is in the top ten of the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been. But that’s a good thing. Science-fiction is supposed to push our minds beyond the boundary of what we know today, whether that’s through astronomy, biology, or the human condition.

In Her, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with, and has sex with an Operating System. It’s weird- and uncomfortable, very, very uncomfortable. But after it’s over, we’re left to wonder, what was uncomfortable about that? Why is it weird? These questions are ultimately the reason why the scene works so well.

How does one create a great sex scene? How about starting backwards by recreating one of the worst sex scenes ever made? That’s exactly what director James Franco does in The Disaster Artist by exposing what supposedly happened “behind the scenes” during the iconic sex scene from The Room.

This scene from The Disaster Artist shows exactly what not to do when making a sex scene, which consequently serves as instruction on how to do it right.

Burning is one of the best films in recent years, and it also has one of the most awkward sex scenes ever made. As many great filmmakers have said over the years, “story is created out of conflict.” Burning takes this sentiment to heart and applies it in every scene, sexual encounters included.

We’ve talked about why it’s important that a sex scene adds something to a movie, but not whether a not a movie could survive without it. Burning simply wouldn’t achieve its end result without its cringeworthy sex scene, which speaks volumes to the scene’s importance. 

Although not quite as uncomfortable as the operating system sex in Her, this scene from Blade Runner: 2049 is definitely an unnerving look at what some sex could look like in the not so distant future.

In a world where deepfakes are already transplanting the faces of people onto other people’s bodies, it’s terrifying to imagine how far the technology will progress in the next thirty years. In this scene, we see how that technology may be used when Officer K (Ryan Gosling) has sex with a prostitute, who assumes the identity of his AI girlfriend with the help of holographics. It’s truly insane- and yes maybe just as unsettling as the scene in Her. 

Federico Fellini’s stirring nightmare of a man’s (Marcello Mastroianni) lustful quest for sex in a world with only women is transfixing, visually stunning and thought-provoking.

Although there’s overt sexuality throughout, the best sex scene is when the man named Snaporaz attempts to have sex with two beautiful young women. However, he’s interrupted by his ex-wife who snuggles into bed with him. 

First and foremost, Angel Heart is an awesome movie. It’s also host to an unabashed vision of morality, violence and lust. The sex scene between Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) and Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet) was initially responsible for the film receiving an X-rating from the MPAA. 

Eventually, ten seconds of the scene were removed and the picture was re-rated to R.