Carnal Knowledge (1971)?
Haven’t seen that one in 50 years. Is there much explicit sex or nudity in it? I remember some racy talk
Good example, and for different reasons than some of the other ones listed above. It’s about sex, and sexual attitudes, but it’s not particularly graphic, and there isn’t much nudity or explicit sex. But, because of the content in the story itself, and what gets talked about during it (as well as a lot of curse words), it was labeled as obscene by the state of Georgia (a ruling that was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court).
Nitpick: They were intended to be a single 3 & 1/2 hour film. But the director edited half of the subplots into the (Yellow), and half of the subplots into the (Blue). I wonder if there is a Directors Cut sitting in a storeroom somewhere.
When it first came the the U.S., it was banned in Boston. The ensuing lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court.
In his “how to make movies” books, Troma Studios founder/President Lloyd Kaufman states this, and says it’s essential for exactly that reason. He also produced Cry Uncle, mentioned above, and was later a production manager on Rocky for John Avildsen. Kaufman’s books are fascinating reads, even if you’re not a Troma fan (I’ve kind of grown out of their product, TBH, but it’s mostly fun).
I’ve seen most of the movies mentioned here, and my guess is that most would be rated R today. But Last Tango would be NC-17 for sure.
What’s so bad about Last Tango? Or did I see a bowdlerized version?
You may well have seen an edited version.
Here’s the "Parental Guide" to the film, on IMDB, which details the extensive, explicit content.
My understanding is that there was one scene, in particular, which was especially controversial at the time: a scene depicting non-consensual anal sex. The actress, Maria Schneider, later detailed that the scene wasn’t originally in the script, and that she felt sexually humiliated by it.
How about Midnight Cowboy?
Mentioned in my OP.
Coming Apart starring Rip Torn from 1969. Also notable as an early example of a found footage movie. I don’t think it quite fits the criteria of ‘major Hollywood production’ though, it was more of an indie-type film.
Portnoys Complaint
The Harrad Experiment
The grandfather of them all, The Pawnbroker (1964) directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Brock Peters.
It wasn’t rated X because the rating system hadn’t been developed yet but,
It was among the first American films to feature a homosexual character and nudity during the Production Code, and was the first film featuring bare breasts to receive Production Code approval. Although it was publicly announced to be a special exception, the controversy proved to be first of similar major challenges to the Code that ultimately led to its abrogation.
The film was controversial on initial release for depicting nude scenes in which actresses Linda Geiser and Thelma Oliver fully exposed their breasts. The scene with Oliver, who played a prostitute, was intercut with a flashback to the concentration camp, in which Nazerman is forced to see his wife (Geiser) forced into prostitution. The nudity resulted in a “C” (condemned) rating from the Catholic Legion of Decency.[4][5] The Legion felt “that a condemnation is necessary in order to put a very definite halt to the effort by producers to introduce nudity into American films.”
I thought the original X rating of The Killing of Sister George was later reduced to R but apparently not. If they can reduce Midnight Cowboy’s and Clockwork Orange’s rating why not this one? (Although the later made a tiny cut.) It’s so much tamer than later R-rated lesbian themed films.
Schneider, I believe, went so far as to describe it as an act of rape on film. I cannot imagine the controversy that would ensue today regarding such an incident.
Pretty Maids All in a Row
Most definitely not acceptable today. Seeing Rock Hudson with high school girls is disturbing.
The actresses of course were over 18. There was some nudity but the movie posters promised more than delivered.
I thought the book was much better. It was actually a very good murder mystery.
At least, with Rock Hudson, you know nothing was going on behind the scenes.
Candy from 1968 comes to mind. The title character is played by an actress just turned 18 but looks younger. A parade of letches played by famous (much older) actors attempt to seduce her and several seal the deal. A guaranteed cure for anybody nostalgic for the free love of the Sixties. Somehow it managed to get released with an R rating.
Boxcar Bertha with David Carradine and his real girlfriend Barbara Hershey.
Playboy ran photos of the love scenes in their mag.
Inspired me to watch the film at 15. A older cousin got me in. He also left the mags lying around for me to read.
It turned out that the film was more edited than what appeared in Playboy. The movie did push the limits of a R rating. Very controversial because David bragged in interviews they actually did the deed on camera.
Night of the Living Dead (1968) was often advertised as having an X rating in its original theatrical run. Technically, it was not submitted to the MPAA for an rating.