Some of the following films are rated X. Most are either Rated R or NC-17 or Unrated. These are all documentary (educational) films, they are not pornography. They do contain nudity. I've seen most of these. Rather than a selected list of recommended films, I have tended toward completeness here (since I haven't seen anything like this anywhere else and I seem to be a compulsive listmaker). There is a wide range of viewpoints among these films, some are objective and purely educational, some are fun celebrations, some may be a bit sleazy, and some are very critical of the subject. Most are DVDs unless otherwise noted. In no particular order....

See Also: Documentaries About Human Sexuality

Episode 1 - Porn Shutdown (2005 - 49min) Richard Sanders
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0462483
Details the 2004 incident of a pornstar's HIV infection causing most of the San Fernando Valley porn industry to shut down while anyone who could have been infected could be identified.

Episode 2 - Diary of a Porn Virgin (2005 - 49min) Simon Egan
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0459259
Follows some newcomers as they try out for the industry.

Episode 3 - Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered (2005 - 48min) Francis Hanly
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000CRR3GK
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0476984
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Does_Dallas_Uncovered
This episode has been released separately on DVD (which includes Episode 4, Death of a Pornstar, as a special feature).

Episode 4 - Death of a Pornstar (2005 - 47min) Sarfraz Manzoor
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt1009430
The story of Lolo Ferrari, who had the largest breasts in the world, having undergone many enlargements. Her original name was Eve Valois. She died in 2000 under suspicious circumstances, with many suspecting her husband, Eric Vigne.

Episode 5 - Amateur Porn (2006 - 49min) David Clews
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt1009429
Explores the world of amateur pornography, said to be a fast-growing segment of the UK's 1 billion pound per year porn industry. Looks at 4 characters - James, who likes to film himself having sex with his girlfriends, Ellie, a porn director who makes films with first-time men and couples, Antony, who hopes to become a porn star, but doesn't seem quite up to it, and Leanne, who was in a homemade film and now has to deal with it being released on DVD.

Episode 6 - Me And My Slaves (2006 - 61min) David Barrie
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0838181
Indepth look at a sado-masochist master named Rick, who is ready to quit the business after 25 years. He is a very complex character and this is quite an interesting psychological portrait. This is probably the most shocking of the series, going a bit farther than most people would be able to handle even watching. Apparently Rick's real name is Shaun O'Driscoll, as there is a book by the name Me and My Slaves, which is his autobiography. The book is on Amazon here: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1906050996

Episode 7 - Hunting Emmanuelle (2006 - 60min) Jan Wellmann
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0810906
Examines the effect on society of the film Emmanuelle, which premiered in Paris in 1974, igniting much controversy.

Episode 8 - Does Snuff Exist (2006 - 48min) Evy Barry
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt1009431
Very thorough look at the subject. Starts with the FBI definition of a snuff film: 1 - It must be a visual depiction, such as a film, video or photos. 2 - A person is shown alive in the beginning and dead at the end. 3 - The motivation for the killing is that the script requires it. 4 - The purpose of the film is for sexual arousal. 5 - The film is commercially distributed. Looks at some famous fake snuff films - Snuff, Cannibal Holocaust (1981 - banned in the UK until 1984), Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985 Japanese), Faces of Death (banned in 46 countries - many faked scenes and some found footage). Looks at some cases of serial killers who filmed their crimes (not technically considered snuff films). Lots of speculation about the existence of the real thing.

Episode 9 - The Real Animal Farm (2006) Molly Mathieson
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt1009432
Starts out discussing an untitled uncredited VHS collection of bestiality films that showed up in the UK around 1980 which came to be known as "Animal Farm". At the time this was very shocking and controversial. This turns out to be taken from the over 40 films that Bodil Joensen ("The Boar Girl") made in Denmark. During the 1970's Denmark was the center for hardcore porn, having relaxed censorship laws in 1969. The film looks at Bodil's tragic life. Raised by an abusive Christian mother, she was violently raped by a stranger at a train station at age 12. Her mother blamed her and beat her. Her repsonse to her mother was "I will fuck boars." She left home at age 15. Later she had a farm and used it as a studio for films depicting her having sex with various animals. Her life spiralled down in the 80's until her death from cirrhosis in 1985. Today there are supposedly over 2 million websites featuring bestiality.
Bodil Joensen at Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodil_Joensen

Katie Morgan on Sex Toys (2007 - 30min) Dan Chaykin
HBO TV special.

Katie Morgan's Porn 101 (2007 - 30min) Dan Chaykin
HBO TV special.

Katie Morgan's Sex Tips (2008 - 30min) Dan Chaykin
HBO TV special.

Midnight Blue - Volume 2: Porn Stars of the 70's (2006 - 120min)
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000CFX7DK
Segments include interviews (and nude performance/film clips) with Marilyn Chambers, Georgina Spelvin, Jennifer Welles, Annie Sprinkle, Jamie Gillis, Helen Madigan, Marc Stevens, Bambi Woods, Veri Knotty, Tara Alexander, Seka, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Carter Steven's Honeymoon Haven. Caption boxes were added to the DVD release in 2006, which include interesting facts and updates and some smart-ass funny comments.

Midnight Blue - Volume 3: Celebrities (2006 - 120min)
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000CFX7DU
About a dozen pretty interesting interviews, with sleazy commercials and a good helping of Al's Fuck You rants sprinkled throughout. Captions can be turned on for extra fun. Segments in order are: Larry Flynt (March 3, 1977), Garrett Morris, Martin van Peebles (briefly), Buck Henry (briefly), Russ Meyer, 1979 Hookers Ball - San Francisco, O.J Simpson, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Tiny Tim, R. Crumb, Penn & Teller (Oct 7, 1989), Rob Lowe (1989 sex tape), Belinda Carlisle (backstage video), Gilbert Gottfried, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein, Al Lewis. Al Goldstein gives the finger to: Sean Penn, Howard Stern, Donald Trump, Jack Nicholson, Ted Turner and Jane Fonda, Geraldo Rivera, and Claudia Schifer.

Midnight Blue - Volume 4: Freaks and Geeks (2006 - 120min)
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000FBFZ3Q
I found this one to be not quite so easy to watch.

Midnight Blue - Volume 5: Porn King: The Trials of Al Goldstein (2005 - 77min) James Guardino
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000FBFZ40
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0426475
Documentary about Al Goldstein.

Midnight Blue - Volume 6: Porn Stars of the 80's (2009 - 120min)
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B001WB6MT4
Features segments with Vanessa Del Rio, Ron Jeremy, Annette Haven, Veronica Hart, Desiree Cousteau, Krista Lane, Nina Hartley, Tiffany Clark, Samantha Fox, Paul Thomas, John Leslie, Annie Sprinkle. Optional feature can be enabled which pops up text caption-boxes with additional commentary added when the DVD was made in 2009. These captions are almost continuous on this volume, adding tons of interesting information about the people being profiled. Recommended to anyone interested in the subjects.

Midnight Blue - Volume 7: Porn Stars of the 90's (2009 - 120min)
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B001WB6MTE

Distributor/Manufacturer's Website: www.blue-underground.com
Except for Vol 5, these are 2-hour compilations from the New York City cable TV show Midnight Blue, hosted by Al Goldstein and Alex Bennett, which ran from the late 70's to around 2002. Netflix has all of these.

The Notorious Betty Page (2006 - 90min) Mary Harron
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000GB5M42
The story of Betty Page, starring Gretchen Mol. According to the director, meant to be as much about sex in the 50's as about Betty Page. I liked it. Rated R.

The People vs. Larry Flint (1996 - 129min) Milos Forman
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B00008N6N5
Larry Flint is the publisher of Hustler Magazine, who fought court battles against censorship. Starring Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton.

This Girl's Life (2003 - 104min) Ash Baron-Cohen
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B00068S3WS

Boogie Nights (1998 - 155min) Paul Thomas Anderson
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000PAAJZ6
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0118749
Loosely based on the story of porn legend John Holmes. Excellent film, as expected from PT Anderson.

Hardcore (1979 - 108min) Paul Schrader
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0002JZT5K

King Cobra (2016 - 92min) Justin Kelly
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Cobra_(2016_film)
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt5129682
Amazon (DVD/Bluray 02/14/17 Shout Factory): www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B01MSHMLPN
Based on the story of gay porn star Brent Corrigan (Sean Lockhart).

Back to Slade's Home Page      Back to Slade's Movies Page

This page revised 11/22/21, 10/14/21, 10/09/18. (over 100 films listed)
First posted 04/10/07