One of the first movies ever made was a 50-second film that shows the entry of a train pulled by a steam locomotive into a train station. The silent, black-and-white motion picture – entitled Arrivée d’un train à La Ciota – was produced by Louis Lumière and was first shown in France in 1896.
Like most early films, the movie consists of a single, unedited view illustrating an aspect of everyday life. What makes this bit of cinema history special is the camera’s placement.
The filmmakers had situated the camera on the platform to produce a dramatic increase in the size of the arriving train. The footage itself consists of a continuous shot of the train rushing to the foreground.
In a darkened theater, the effect is of the life-sized train bearing down on the viewer.
Motion pictures were a new medium at the time of the film’s initial showing. Audiences had never seen anything like it. The experience of watching Lumière’s movie was so novel that, as legend has it, the French audience leapt from their seats and fled the theater.
Whether the story is true or not, we may never know. But one thing we do know is that movies have since had a profound influence on the behavior of audiences worldwide.
Sex, Cinema, and Sexual Fantasy
Of course, today’s movies are a good deal sexier and more sophisticated. In fact, Justin Lehmiller, a research fellow over at Kinsey Institute, says movies are now among the most common sources of people’s sexual fantasies.
The psychologist and recognized expert on human sexuality recently undertook a poll on sexual fantasy involving more than 4,000 adult men and women.
“I asked participants about hundreds of different people, places, and things they might have ever fantasized about, and that included whether they have ever fantasized about recreating a sex scene from a movie,” says Lehmiller.
His survey shows that 35 percent of adults fantasized about recreating something they’d seen in a movie at least once. Of these, around one in 12 said they fantasized about recreating movie sex scenes quite often, complete with skimpy lingerie and props.
The Hottest Sex Scenes
Lehmiller’s study further reveals that heterosexual women are most likely to report often fantasizing about recreating movie scenes. Gay and bisexual men were the least likely.
The latter figure reflects, in part, the fact that gay sex scenes are much rarer in films, says Lehmiller. This means that men in the sexual minority are less likely to see highly arousing content they would want to recreate.
That said, below are the top 10 movie sex scenes people fantasize about recreating the most, beginning with the most popular.
1. The Notebook. While participants mentioned several different scenes from this movie, the single most common was the iconic scene where Noah and Allie kiss in the rain.
2. Spiderman 1. There was only one scene mentioned from this movie: the upside-down kiss between Spider Man and Mary Jane. This specific scene was actually mentioned more often than any scene in any other film, says Lehmiller.
Interestingly, one participant who said she actually tried to recreate this in real life was disappointed.
“It seemed like it would be a really interesting sensation,” she told researchers. “Then I tried it and it felt like regular rightside-up making out.”
3. 9½ Weeks. This was another film where participants mentioned several different scenes. In fact, some said they wanted to recreate the entire movie.
But by far the most commonly mentioned scenes involved those where the main characters have steamy sex in a public stairwell as it rains. Participants also mentioned that scene where John suggestively feeds Elizabeth a bunch of different foods in front of the refrigerator, including cherries, strawberries, Jell-O, and milk.
4. Secretary. Participants who mentioned this movie revealed that they found the scenes involving bondage the most titillating. The scene that fired the most fantasies is the one in which Edward ties Lee to a tree and they proceed to have sex.
5. Titanic. We’re almost sure you’ve seen this movie. If so, the relevant scenes shouldn’t be too hard to guess. The movie does not contain much erotic content, after all. The only scenes people mentioned were the ones in which Jack draws Rose in the nude, as well as the steamy car sex scene.
6. Fifty Shades of Grey. Most people who mentioned this film didn’t talk about specific scenes, except for the elevator sex scene. This was mentioned a number of times. More often, people simply said they had fantasized about the scenes involving bondage – which is just about every sex scene in the movie.
7. Cruel Intentions. By far the most commonly mentioned scene from this movie was the girl-on-girl kiss between Kathryn and Cecile.
8. Blue is the Warmest Color. While there are a few sex scenes in this film, most participants admitted to fantasizing about the extended, seven-minute lesbian sex scene between Adele and Lea.
9. Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Participants who mentioned this film point to a scene where John and Jane have sex immediately after trying to kill each other. The rough sex takes place throughout a house which the two characters have just destroyed in an all-out gunfight.
10. Wild Things. The most frequently mentioned scene from this movie was the threesome between Sam, Suzie, and Kelly.
What’s Your Movie Fantasy?
Human beings are utterly obsessed with sex. They are also quite fond of staging – or depicting – scenarios they find interesting. That’s why mating rituals and procreation have been inspiring artists ever since the days of cave paintings.
While artistic depictions of sex have become more technologically sophisticated, the basic themes of attraction and desire have barely changed. After all, nothing speaks to the human condition quite like sex.
The list above is by no means complete. Lehmiller says far more films were mentioned beyond the the top ten.
“Among the many runners-up to this list were Dirty Dancing, Top Gun, Brokeback Mountain, Eyes Wide Shut, Unfaithful, Shakespeare in Love, Terminator, and Pretty Woman,” says Lehmiller.
Surprised by any entries on this list? Have you ever fantasized about recreating a famous movie scene in the bedroom -or somewhere else, for that matter?
We’d love to hear from you. Tell us about it in the comments section below.
