Rentals

Sex

How has cinema approached sex? Leave your inhibitions at the door and find out.

This collection includes films with sexually explicit scenes. Good sex scenes in cinema are few and far between, and rare is the film that dares to take sex seriously. From silly sex comedies in the 70s to the glut of steamy thrillers of the 80s and 90s, the act of sex has often been reduced to mere titillation. Not so with these explorations of the erotic, which veer from Britain’s first sex movie (Her Private Hell), a Palme d’Or-winning lesbian love story (Blue is the Warmest Colour), a work from Lars von Trier at his most provocative (Nymphomaniac) and a tale of lusty and murderous obsession at a French gay cruising ground (Stranger by the Lake).

Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)

Drama201594 minsDirector: Eva Husson

High-school students start a private orgy society in Eva Husson’s dazzlingly shot, no-holds-barred drama.

Rent for £3.50

The Chambermaid LynnThe Chambermaid Lynn

201490 minsDirector: Ingo Haeb

An obsessive-compulsive hotel cleaner who harbours a fetishistic fascination with her hotel's guests meets an enigmatic dominatrix who changes her world.

Rent for £3.50

Beach RatsBeach Rats

Drama201798 minsDirector: Eliza Hittman

Gripping account of repressed sexual desire in a hyper-masculine environment, with British newcomer Harris Dickinson as a virulently macho Brooklyn teen.

Rent for £3.50

Mapplethorpe: Look at the PicturesMapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures

Documentary2016109 minsDirector: Fenton Bailey

An unflinching and sometimes graphic account of the life, art and legacy of the legendary photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Rent for £3.50

Donkey PunchDonkey Punch

Thriller200795 minsDirector: Olly Blackburn

Nichola Burley and Jamie Winstone star in the yacht-set shocker, in which a teen sex party turns into a deadly fight for survival.

Rent for £3.50

The Book of GabrielleThe Book of Gabrielle

Drama201679 minsDirector: Lisa Gornick

Lisa Gornick's funny and frank drama sketches the relationship between a sex-obsessed lesbian illustrator and a randy hetero author, who bond over their favourite subject.

Rent for £2.50

Swimming PoolSwimming Pool

Drama2002102 minsDirector: François Ozon

A crime novelist seeks peace but gets a dangerous muse in this twisted bilingual thriller from François Ozon.

Rent for £3.50

American TranslationAmerican Translation

2010115 minsDirector: Pascal Ascandes Arnold

A sexually ambiguous Frenchman tours his native countryside with his naive American lover in pursuit of the ultimate thrill.

Rent for £3.50

Keep the Lights onKeep the Lights on

Drama2012102 minsDirector: Ira Sachs

A filmmaker escapes the pain of a break-up through casual sex and meets a closeted lawyer in this deeply personal work from Ira Sachs.

Rent for £3.50

Jeune & jolieJeune & jolie

Drama201393 mins

Francois Ozon’s sly and seductive account of teenage girl’s dalliance with high-class prostitution.

Rent for £3.50

PermissivePermissive

Drama197090 minsDirector: Lindsay Shonteff

When Suzy arrives in London to visit an old school friend, she is unwittingly plunged into the ruthless world of the ‘groupie’.

Rent for £1.00

Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! Or (Fun with the Sunbathers)Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! Or (Fun with the Sunbathers)

Comedy193235 minsDirector: Norman Lee

Stuffed-shirt party pooper Sir Hector infiltrates a sunbathing camp full of scantily clad jazz-swingers in this 1930s comedy

Rent for £3.50

I Promise You AnarchyI Promise You Anarchy

201586 minsDirector: Julio Hernández Cordón

A pair of teenage skateboarders find themselves drawn into a murky criminal underworld in this distinctive thriller.

Rent for £3.50

LovelaceLovelace

Biopic201393 minsDirector: Jeffrey Friedman

Porn star Linda Lovelace (Amanda Seyfried) finds herself abused by the industry and her maniacal husband– so she sets off to embrace feminism and, vitally, herself.