Along these lines, there’s a movie called House of Love (about a journalist type studying an upscale brothel) that’s got relatively serious things on its mind. Well-acted for the genre, and much better than typical Cinemax fare. It’s a bit talky and on the navel-gazey side, but it might appeal to couples.
Good reference, but warning: much silicone.
She’s a cutie. I wish she’d do a film that’s… well… not god-awful.
The girl is hot, and there is a real story there, but it feels sort-of dirty and degrading (to both the main characters).
I don’t have a recommendation, I just want to say “Thumbs Up!” 
It’s a very good movie, kind of a realistic take on the Pretty Woman setup. And by “realistic,” I mean, “kind of a downer.”
And it’s not Parker Posey – it’s Molly Parker, who plays Alma on Deadwood. A very different role for her…
Johnny L.A.'s suggestion, Betty Blue was recommended to me as a “film to melt your VCR”, so I saw it with a girlfriend. It got us feeling pretty frisky during the first half, but by the time the film was over we were so repulsed and depressed that no nookie was going to happen. So be warned. However, the movie does have a valuable lesson: if a woman burns down your house, she’s trouble and you should avoid her.
Catfight’s suggestion, Romeo is Bleeding is one of my favorite movies, and fairly sexy, but it’s extremely dark, violent, and the characters pretty much get what they deserve, which in film noir is not exactly a good thing. I’d recommend it, but not as something nookie-inducing.
As far as T&A, I’m fond of Bikini Carwash 1 and 2. But it’s pretty much eye candy for guys.
Goodbye Lover is pretty sexy, if you like Patricia Arquette. It’s not softcore, but she does manage to be pretty hot.
I also watched bits of Young Lady Chatterley, the original, not the remake, and that was damn sexy…but that was twenty years ago, so I’m not sure I can stand by that opinion.
Ya gotta admit, though: it’s a beautiful film. 
(I can see being depressed, but repulsed? I don’t see that.)
Hmm, yes, looking back at everyone else’s recommendations compared to mine, well, I think I may have revealed too much about myself.
But Johnny, the point of these films is to get “in the mood” and “depressing” doesn’t get people “in the mood” as a general rule. A LOT of the films I’ve seen recommended on this thread are violent and depressing and not at all calculated to get one “in the mood.”
They include
Betty Blue
Romeo Is Bleeding
Center of the World
House of Love
Basic Instinct
Fatal Attraction
Sliver
Disclosure
Crash (Crash? Erotic? WTF?)
My advice to those who have recommended these films as turn-ons: don’t ever call me or anyone else perverted, because if you do, this thread will get you on the “pot-kettle-black” treadmill right away.
And “Sex and Lucia,” which is very hot yet appalling at the same time. I wish directors didn’t feel like a sexy movie had to have horrific violence interwoven into the sex scenes in order to be a serious movie. Yeesh.
So which movies are well-directed, beautiful, sexy, and not likely to screech your groove to a halt with someone getting killed in the middle of the lovin’?
Daniel
Anywho, relatively speaking, I think The Punishment of Anne is pretty classy.
Check out post number 21.
Again, ‘Secretary’. It’s one of those movies that I think is so wonderful that I want to recommend it to everyone… and then I realize that when they ask what it is about… nothing but awkward stammering is going to come out of mouth.
I’ve recently grabbed a few movies that might qualify here, but it of course depends on the needs of the OP.
One might wish to look into David Hamilton movies, if you’re more into artistic erotica rather than explicit porn. I have varying opinions of his films, but they certainly are all nice to look at. Bilitis, Tender Cousins (actually my favorite of the bunch), Laura (rather silly, but still very effectively shot), A Summer in Saint-Tropez (mostly silent, but quite visually beautiful), and Premiers Desires (which I don’t remember much of). They are visually beautiful, but possibly not vehemently effective, depending.
A few movies mentioned already in this thread which I’ve seen recently:
“Swimming Pool” IMDB Link (Also on Amazon)
Actually, not a bad film. The young actress in this film is the same that played the Tinkerbell character in the recent remake of “Peter Pan” (and she is VERY foxy to me, at least). Very erotic, very…very erotic. It’s sex, it’s a murder mystery, it’s European scenery. Y’know, if you’re into all that.
“Dreamers” IMDB Link (Also on Amazon)
Named “The Dreamers” on my copy: interesting to an extent, no punches pulled sexually, but not porn. NC-17 rated, so there’s that. Young people (I’m 40-ish, so that means late-teens/early twenties) in Europe without adult supervison, but plenty of money and booze.
“The Very Young Girl” IMDB Link (Also on Amazon)
This was suggested to me by Amazon, so I bought it out of curiosity. It also has been mentioned in this thread…and NOT enthusiastically. All I can say is it’s not for the squeamish, and if you’re looking for something to “set the mood”, then this probably isn’t your cuppa. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t very romantic or positive in any sense.
“The Lover” IMBD Link (Also on Amazon)
Now, THIS, on the other hand…THIS is something to consider. This is a film made by Jean-Jacque Annaud (who also did “The Name of the Rose”, “Quest for Fire”, and “The Bear”…which I never saw, and can’t therefore comment on). It is based on the autobiography of French author Marguerite Duras, who in 1929 was living in French-occupied Vietnam, and had (at the age of 15 1/2…in the movie, anyway) a very sexually incandescent affair with a 32 year old Chinese gentleman (which was considered terrifically scandalous at the time).
If the age thing isn’t a big barrier to your enjoyment, I can certainly recommend this one. It is ferociously erotic, and thus very disturbing to people who can’t get past the whole “age inappropriateness” issue. Not porn, not illegal, but sure to stir those naughty places (if you have them). Also, if you’ve ever seen an Annaud film, you know he can do lovemaking scenes with wild abandon (think Christian Slater and Valentina Vargas in “The Name of the Rose” and mulitply it by four or five). This is no exception.
This reveals the end of Betty Blue:
I dunno, I guess I’m just not into the whole “My lover has gone insane, so I guess I’ll kill her” thing. I think “repulsed” covers my reaction pretty well. But hey, if you like that sort of thing, more power to you. But please stay out of my zip code.