In the mood for some of the most sexually explicit moves on Max? Well, much like the HBO brand that calls the platform home, this streaming service has a lot to offer to anyone with a Max subscription. If you are short on time and don’t want to spend hours searching through the thousands of titles on one of the best streaming services but still want to check some of the more “adult” offerings, don’t worry, because we have you more than covered. Below is a list of just 16 of the more intense, sexually explicit movies on Max, including steamy erotic thrillers, X-rated romantic comedies, and so much more..
Don Jon (2013)
The Director: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johannson, Julianne Moore
What It’s About: A man attempts to make his porn addiction a thing of the past when he starts a new relationship, but letting go of his obsession is easier said than done.
What To Expect: If you never thought you’d see a movie where Joseph Gordon-Levitt watches a ton of porn and also finds himself in some highly sexualized situations, it’s time to watch Don Jon.
Black Swan (2010)
The Director: Darren Aronofsky
The Cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder
What It’s About: A tormented ballerina slowly loses touch with reality after becoming consumed by an upcoming performance and a rivalry with a mysterious fellow dancer.
What To Expect: Like a lot of great Darren Aronofsky movies, Black Swan blurs the lines between reality and fantasy while also not shying away from sexual themes. This is especially true when it comes to the relationship shared by Nina and Lily as they prepare for Swan Lake, one that results in some intense moments in practice studios, on stage, and at a nightclub.
American Honey (2016)
The Director: Andrea Arnold
The Cast: Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough
What It’s About: A troubled youth crosses paths with a group of social outcasts as they travel the American Midwest selling magazine subscriptions and getting into all kinds of mischief.
What To Expect: Throughout the journey through the heartland, the group engages in all kinds of illicit activities and sexual encounters, which ultimately leads to some wildly explicit scenes.
Demonlover (2002)
The Director: Olivier Assayas
The Cast: Connie Nielsen, Chloe Sevigny, Gina Gershon
What It’s About: An ambitious and cutthroat media executive goes to great lengths to acquire a Japanese animation house to give her company the upper hand. But that’s where things get out of hand.
What To Expect: Probably one of the most notorious examples of the New French Extremity movement, Demonlover combines elements of erotic thrillers with corporate espionage to create an unforgettable and boundary-pushing experience.
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
The Director: Mike Figgis
The Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands
What It’s About: A suicidal screenwriter and a sex worker try to pick up the broken pieces of their lives and put them back together before they become casualties in the City of Sin.
What To Expect: In addition to being one of the best Las Vegas movies, this decorated ‘90s movie is also one of the most explicit depictions of the gambling capital of the world and features multiple sex scenes and all kinds of nudity before everything is said and done. Though extreme, it never comes off as over-sensationalized or cheap.
over-sensationalized or cheap.
Le Bonheur (1965)
The Director: Agnès Varda
The Cast: Jean-Claude Drouot, Claire Drouot, Marie-France Boyer,
What It’s About: A seemingly happy father of two has everything going for him in life until he meets and falls in love with a young postal worker.
What To Expect: Beautifully written and directed, Le Bonheur features tremendous performances from its cast, who participate in some artfully shot sex scenes. While there is nudity throughout most of these sequences, it is done with a certain eye and careful nature that makes it more like art.
Desert Hearts (1985)
The Director: Donna Deitch
The Cast: Helen Shaver, Patricia Charbonneauu, Audra Lindley
What It’s About: Traveling to the desert to file for divorce, a college professor is swept off her feet by a free-spirited woman who exposes her to a life and kind of love she never knew existed.
What To Expect: This celebrated LGBTQ+ romance story is full of passion, new beginnings, incredible dialogue, and beautifully and tastefully shot scenes of romance that push the envelope while not being over-the-top. This magical film about finding what it means to love and to be loved is a gem.
Happy Together (1997)
The Director: Wong Kar-wai
The Cast: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Chen Chang
What It’s About: A gay couple who embark upon a disastrous trip to Argentina, where their relationship and lives begin to fall apart.
What To Expect: Bouncing between hope and hopelessness, this intense drama about broken people trying to endure a terrible situation (and toxic relationships) is a fascinating watch and explores the human experience.
Je Tu Il Elle (1975)
The Director: Chantal Akerman
The Cast: Chantal Akerman, Niels Arestrup, Claire Wauthion
What It’s About: A young woman sets out to understand the world around her and how she fits in it. Through encounters with both male and female lovers, solitary moments rearranging her small and meager apartment, and traversing the French countryside, this journey of self-discovery is full of passionate and explicit moments.
What To Expect: Though an early sexual encounter is largely obscured by camera angles and low lighting, a nearly 10-minute sex scene involving Julie and her ex-lover (played by Claire Wauthion) leaves very little to the imagination.
Killing Me Softly (2002)
The Director: Chen Kaige
The Cast: Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone
What It’s About: A woman begins to learn that all is not how it seems in her marriage after learning more about her new husband’s past and previous relationships.
What To Expect: Like other sexy thrillers over the years, Killing Me Softly combines crime, violence, and an intricate plot with racy sex scenes that don’t hold back. Expect nudity, scenes of passion, moments of bliss, and all kinds of intrigue before the credits roll.
Working Girls (1986)
The Director: Lizzie Borden
The Cast: Louise Smith, Amanda Goodwin, Marusia Zach
What It’s About: A day in the lives of a group of sex workers as they are visited by multiple clients at a New York City brothel over the course of a single day.
What To Expect: The movie is full of nudity, sex scenes, and all other kinds of risque behavior that pushes the envelope and the boundaries as to what’s acceptable in a movie. This is one of those movies you definitely wouldn’t want your parents walking in on you watching on some late-night HBO showing back in the day.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down (1990)
The Director: Pedro Almodóvar
The Cast: Antonio Banderas, Victoria Abril, Loles León
What It’s About: A recently released psychiatric patient tries to find a former adult film star and convince her to fall in love with him, though how he goes about this is far from romantic.
What To Expect: One of Antonio Banderas’ best movies, Tie Me Up!, Tie Me Down! leaves little to the imagination and displays exactly why the MPAA gave it an X rating before replacing it with the NC-17 distinction.
Gia (1998)
The Director: Michael Cristofer
The Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elizabeth Mitchell, Faye Dunaway
What It’s About: The life and times of supermodel Gia Carangi (Jolie) are explored in great detail, as are her various romantic relationships.
What To Expect: The biographical drama, which doesn’t hold back when it comes to the depictions of the model’s battle with drug abuse, AIDS, and her sexuality, also features some incredibly sexual scenes.
The Piano Teacher (2001)
The Director: Michael Haneke
The Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Benoît Magimel, Annie Girardot
What It’s About: A closed-off woman’s sexual release comes in the form of voyeurism and masochism until a chance encounter with a student at her prestigious music conservatory.
What To Expect: In addition to a couple of intense sexual moments, there is a scene near the halfway point where Isabelle Huppert’s character watches a couple have sex in their car at a drive-in, at one point leaning against the car while they make love inside.
Behind The Candelabra (2013)
The Director: Steven Soderbergh
The Cast: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Rob Lowe
What It’s About: An exploration of legendary Las Vegas pianist Liberace and his intense relationship with a lover in the final years of his life.
What To Expect: The movie, which really hones in on the excess that fueled Liberace’s life off-stage, as well as his attempts to preserve his public image, also has more than a few explicit sex scenes.
While they focus on different situations and characters, each of these sexually explicit movies on Max shares a commonality thanks to their risqué nature. If you are looking for a slightly tamer way to kill a few hours, there are a lot of non-sexual great movies on Max worth checking out. But if steamy movies are your thing, then check out some of the sexually explicit Netflix movies streaming right now, as well as the adult movies on Hulu, as well.
