Art Films and Cult Favorites: The 1970s "adults only" genre
This section is reserved for noteworthy 1970s sex movies produced for exhibition in adult theaters. The best were an historically important type of real movie deserving every consideration afforded other real movies. And because the theatrical adult film is an extinct genre we can now look back at the entire range of them to find those of unusual merit.
I can't name a '70s adult film that belongs in the first-rank of world cinema but a number of these are good movies. (By "good" I mean in the top third of all movies ever made.) American and European movies combined I'd guess this genre produced somewhere between 100 and 1000 good movies. Call it 250 ballpark. In their heyday these were uncommonly influential films. I doubt that it's possible to understand film history 1970-present without some familiarity with the best of the genre. more...
