the fictionalized marilyn monroe biopic Blonde is not just Netflix’s first original movie to be rated NC-17—it’s the first major narrative film bearing that warning to hit theaters in almost a decade. Most directors cut their movie until it gets an R or forgo a rating altogether; others own it. Here, a look at how some of the boldest NC-17s in history earned such notoriety.
SHAME, 2011 (Steve McQueen) Michael Fassbender appears full-frontal, has vigorous sex with a woman against a window, and joins a threesome. ➽ Box office: $3.9 million
BLONDE, 2022 (Andrew Dominik) A rape, an abortion, a shot from the perspective of a vagina, and a 90-second close-up of a blowjob. ➽ Box office: TBD
LUST, CAUTION, 2007 (Ang Lee) Three graphic and occasionally rough sex scenes between Tang Wei and Tony Leung Chiu-wai; the longest is ten minutes. ➽ Box office: $4.6 million
YOUNG ADAM, 2003 (David Mackenzie) Ewan McGregor goes full-frontal and performs oral sex on Tilda Swinton for 14 seconds. ➽ Box office: $767,373
A DIRTY SHAME, 2004 (John Waters) A sex addict explores a buffet of fetishes, many involving full nudity; Johnny Knoxville shoots semen out of his head. ➽ Box office: $1.3 million
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR, 2013 (Abdellatif Kechiche) A sevenminute sex scene between Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. ➽ Box office: $2.2 million
CRASH, 1996 (David Cronenberg) Car-crash fetishism, implied handjobs, and an extended shot of James Spader’s face buried in a woman’s butt. ➽ Box office: $2.6 million
HENRY & JUNE, 1990 (Philip Kaufman) Two lesbian sex scenes, plus a glimpse of Hokusai’s famous erotic woodblock print
The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife. ➽ Box office: $11.5 million
SHOWGIRLS, 1995 (Paul Verhoeven) An abundance of full-frontal female nudity, a gang rape, and some wildly overenthusiastic pool sex. ➽ Box office: $20.4 million
HAPPINESS, 1998 (Todd Solondz) A sympathetic portrayal of Dylan Baker’s pedophile character (whose crimes occur off-screen). ➽ Box office: $2.9 million
KILLER JOE, 2011 (William Friedkin) Matthew McConaughey forces Gina Gershon to simulate oral sex on a chicken leg. ➽ Box office: $2 million
BAD EDUCATION, 2004 (Pedro Almodóvar) Gael García Bernal performs oral sex on Fele Martínez. ➽ Box office: $5.2 million
THE DREAMERS, 2003 (Bernardo Bertolucci) Lots of nudity, including close-ups of male and female genitals. ➽ Box office: $2.5 million
WIDE SARGASSO SEA, 1993 (John Duigan) Seven sex scenes with male and female nudity, plus an attempted rape. ➽ Box office: $1.6 million
BAD LIEUTENANT, 1992 (Abel Ferrara) A nun is raped, crack and heroin are used, and Harvey Keitel shows his penis. ➽ Box office: $2 million