There has been discussion and debate in the forum about whether sex and nudity equate to an automatic good seller when a title is discontinued. With the recent discontinuation Caligula (Unrated Version), the question arose and so I thought it worth to investigate. It does hold true on some accounts that nudity and/or softcore sexual features holds a place on the home video market due to its privacy measures, although I can not say that it is an absolute. If we look at the entire genre of Playboy/Penthouse videos that come and go on the market, they are about as plentiful as any straight-to-video porn film or internet sex. So what does make some films that show sex make them valuable, while others get tossed aside? I think the first rule of thumb is knowing your films, and in that regard their place in the context of film history.

If you are more than curious about sexuality in cinema, a great resource is Sex in Cinema. This guide will give you a better frame work of how the politics of sex in the cinema was shaped through various restraints, laws, media and general social attitudes towards sex. This site is, perhaps, definitive in its scope, although there is always room for exploration. It covers some of the main films that one would expect to see like Last Tango in Paris and Showgirls to lesser known, but popular films like Red Shoe Diaries: The Movie and Emmanuelle. The site further involves foreign films, sexploitation genres, and also films not noted for their sexuality, but may have pertinent nude scenes. Sometimes films are forgotten along the beaten path of history, but have made an unconscious mark on society only to be remembered later on in life.

We have to remember that recorded media, like VHS and DVD, are only extensions of memory. Because we now use them so frequently in our everyday lives, it is understandable that films that were deemed not worthy for public viewing, suddenly show up, and with interest and sometimes enthusiasm. A film like Thriller - A Cruel Picture, while made its mark in its day, has not been revived until recently (it actually performed quite well in the box office, but in its cut form as Thriller: They Call Her One Eye). Or even many of the Pre-Code films like Baby Face are suddenly showing interest from DVD devotees due to the fact that we now have a means of restoration and private viewing. There is no censorship in the private world.

What might bring these films back to public awareness is the curiosity that has led them to be repressed to begin with. Another factor that has been has been touched upon, particularly with softcore films, is that once hardcore cinema had its hayday in the theaters with Deep Throat and Debbie Does Dallas, the softcore film was almost killed because the envelope was not only pushed, it was opened and revealed. At the time of Deep Throat, it was hip to take a date to the theater to go see a porn (I believe the term "porno chic" developed from this trend).

Today we are seeing a revival in softcore, but with a lean on hardcore "with a story". Films like The Brown Bunny, The Pornographer, Lie With Me, Battle In Heaven,Shortbus (Unrated Edition), 9 songs - Unrated Full Uncut Version, and many more are recent entries into the world of Mainstream films with explicit sex (and I dont mean lots of nudity, I mean unsimulated). Some of these films are critical successes, others seem to border on the way of exploitation. But there is definately an experiemental atmosphere in the way of how to incorporate real sex into a real dramatic film. In my opinion, unsimulated sex has never, or I should say, rarely contributes to a films plotline, but rather puts it on hold. Movies are a visual medium which does hold our attention when nudity or sexuality is displayed, but it is only a visual stimulation. While other films that use story need to progress in some manner involves the other senses. Walt Disney recognized this in his animated films where the songs were not there for people to be happy and sing along with, but must tell part of the story to move it forward. Singing involves a visceral participation rather than a distant, observant point of view.

In the trend of out of print DVDs as collectibles, there is still the matter of which titles edge towards popularity versus the ones that are just visually satisfying. We can again look to history and see which films had the most impact socially and politically and you might come across such films as Ilsa - She Wolf of the SS, In the Realm of the Senses (sometimes titled The Empire of the Senses), The Image and The Immoral Mr. Teas (Mr. Teas is a Region 2 PAL edition, but I included it due to its historical significance, which is basically the first sexploitation or "nudie cutie" from the master Russ Meyer) as staples of progressive cinema, each with their own contribution to pushing the envelope.

In conclusion, there are many films the public has yet to hear about and with the rampant realization of past cinema coming back into awareness for a vast majority, and even more who are introduced for the first time, a starting point does need to emerge. Not every film will have its limelight, but not every film needs one in order to get the recognition it deserves. Hollywood will push Spider-Man, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Carribean on the public likes it's a neccessity for survival. But they will eventually fall away as run-of-the-mill-family-films that lie between satiating the sense of impulsivity to a films box office benchmarks. They are merchandise more than any philosophical result. Films that will remain continued in the historical context are the less likely contenders for mass market consumption and are the ones that cinefiles search for throughout the life of cinema. Later this week I will publish Part 2 of this article.