In the 1990s, porn reached its peak in quantity and quality. While the technology got smaller, the movies, the companies, and the budgets became much larger. Most theaters went out of business by the end of the decade. DVD was the main format for all movies, and it was high-quality and inexpensive. Producers could take chances and turn a profit on low-cost niches and fetishes. The industry diversified, more people than ever before watched porn, and companies began to pay more attention to customers as the adult industry became big business.
Click Here to watch a playlist featuring scenes from these “must-see movies” that closed out the millennium.
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The Masseuse (1990) Since its release in 1990, The Masseuse has been remade by its original director, Paul Thomas. But even he was not able to duplicate the success he had experimenting with character development and plot as integral parts of an adult film. That year, The Masseuse won Best Film Screenplay for Vivid as well as Best Actor awards for Randy Spears and Hyapatia Lee. The film’s story is ordinary and real, and the performances are convincing. The movie became an instant classic and stands to this day as one of the most well-crafted, erotic adult movies ever made. |
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Buttman’s European Vacation (1991) You could bill this as a gonzo parody. The name plays off the National Lampoon series as John Stagliano works his way across some of the best locales in Europe for sex: Amsterdam, Paris, Cannes, and Rotterdam. Along the way, he would introduce American audiences to the careers of legendary performers like Rocco Siffredi, Christoph Clark, Deborah Welles, and Zara Whites. |
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Justine – Nothing To Hide 2 (1993) If a movie can have pedigree, then Justine comes from purebred. Justine: Nothing to Hide 2 is a sequel of sorts to the Spinelli masterpieces Nothing to Hide and Talk Dirty to Me. Paul Thomas helmed this film, which is “a story of two generations and the girl who loved me in both.” Mike Horner, who was known for his comedy roles, gives the performance of his career as the father who unknowingly is sleeping with his son’s girlfriend. In the 2015 documentary, this movie and its prequel were named as two of the “Greatest X-Rated Movies of All Time.” |
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Citizen Shane (1994) Today, Marc Dorcel is head of a world-renowned production company known and recognized for making high-end adult films and for innovative film techniques. It is then fitting that in 1994, Citizen Shane introduced audiences the world over to Dorcel’s directorial je ne sais quoi. The movie has the same premise of the Welles epic. We discover the life of Victor Henri Shane, an international press magnate and playboy after he utters two simple words on his deathbed. |
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Up And Cummers 10 (1994) In the 1990s, there was one performer who reached pinnacles in porn that no other performer had ever before, and may not ever again. Jenna Jameson became the most well-known porn star ever, and made more money in the business than any other performer—starting her own merchandising and production companies. This is the movie where her career began. Jenna was only in the business for a few months, but nothing had been released yet. Her co-star, Kylie Ireland had only been working for six days! Randy West had no idea he was launching the careers of two of the biggest female porn stars of the 90s. |
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The Dinner Party (1994) The first feature film for Jenna Jameson, Dinner Party also starred Kylie Ireland along with Hall-of-Famer Asia Carrera, Debi Diamond, and Celeste. Besides having this virtual who’s-who of talent, the film stands out because it has a lot of appeal to a female audience and is listed as one of AVN’s Top 10 Movies for Couples. |
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Latex (1995) If there is one director who defines 90s porn, it would be Michael Ninn. He brought a surreal artistry unlike anyone had every done. Latex was one of his early works that established him as a pioneer and visionary for adult movies. It won Video of the Year and Best Actor for John Dough, and has since been established as one of the “Greatest X-Rated Movies of All Time.” |
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Perverted Stories 1 (1995) Porn movies were coming into their own and DVDs were being sold in record numbers. Director Jim Powers found a way to make his movies stand out with this off-the-wall series that featured depraved and extremely taboo concepts. The Most Outrageous Sex Scene award. It is quintessential 90s entertainment. |
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Mathilda’s Perfume (1996) French starlet Draghixa won a Best Actress award for playing dual roles; she stars as Agnes, the virgin orphan, betrothed to Sir Jeremy, and as Mathilde, the promiscuous first wife who cuckolded and humiliated the same Sir Jeremy before mysteriously disappearing. The movie is a hallmark of Marc Dorcel: exceptional storytelling with provocative themes among lavish and beautiful settings and landscapes like the sprawling Castle estate where this story unfolds. |
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Conquest (1996) Conquest was an ambitious period piece produced and co-directed by Brad Armstrong. It was one of the biggest budget features from the 1990s. The movie was shot on film when almost everyone else was using the latest in video technology. The were able to film on a real Tall Ship, with authentic period costumes, choreographed sword fights, and featuring the biggest porn star of the 1990s: Jenna Jameson. |
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Jenna Loves Rocco (1996) In the 1990s, two of the biggest stars in adult films were Jenna Jameson and Rocco Siffredi. Until this film, neither had done a scene together, and many wondered if it would work given their individual reputations. Siffredi was known for being rough and reckless. Jameson was the diva who was in high-demand, and there were some things she just would not do. |
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Satyr (1997) The genius of director Michael Zen is on full display in this mythological feature starring 90s superstars Asia Carrera and Jenna Jameson. It isn’t easy to get reviewers, or anyone for that matter, to say they are turned on by watching half-human, half-animals have sex, but 22 AVN nominations, a Movie of the Year award, and a listing in the AVN Top 500 Movies of All Time should leave you with no doubt that is precisely what he did. |
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Janine & Vince Neil (1998) One of the biggest things to come out of the 1990s was the celebrity sex tape. The first instance actually came out in 1988 with the Rob Lowe sex tape, but that was more of a scandal and intended to hurt his career. The 90s turned that concept upside-down as celebrities weren’t embarrased about having the sex tape revealed, they just wanted to make sure that they were being properly compensated. The biggest sex tape to come out in the 1990s was the Pam and Tommy Lee vacation tape. Not to be outdone by his bandmate, Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neal had a sex tape “leaked” where he had sex with porn star Janine and a Penthouse pet. |
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Candida Royalle’s One Size Fits All (1998) Candida Royalle was a trailblazing director and the first to make a real attempt to create adult movies that would appeal to women, and consequently couples. As a woman, she obviously recognized that women watched porn, but she also recognized that the industry at the time was controlled by older men who were unwilling and incapable of making adult movies that appealed to women. She ignored all the naysayers and she forged ahead. One Size Fits All is a romantic comedy where a group of women recount the sexual encounters they each had when they owned the dress. |
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Flashpoint X (1998) Riding high off the success of his epic, big-budget pirate movie, Conquest, Brad Armstrong had to find a way to top himself and he was able to do so with Flashpoint X. If there was one criticism of Conquest, it was that it had a thinly-veiled plot and storyline. The storyline and character development in this movie make the sex scenes that much hotter. Shooting on location, mainstream production values, and special-effect pyrotechnics helped establish Armstrong as one of the best directors to come out of the 1990s. |
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Tatiana (1998) An epic costume drama from director Pierre Woodman, Tatiana follows the trials and tribulations of a poor peasant girl and her family who have fallen on hard times. It is a period piece set in 1834 Ukraine. The power dynamics of the feudalism set the stage for anything to happen. Pierre Woodman cast his own wife, Tania Roussof, in the starring role, which would eventually wind up as a critically acclaimed trilogy winning the Hot d’Or award for 1998 and 1999 as well as the 1999 AVN award for Best Foreign Release. |
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Houston 620 (1999) In the 1950s, there was a fad to see how many people could stuff themselves inside a phone booth. In the 1990s, there was a fad to see how many people could stuff themselves inside a porn star. Annabell Chong did 251, Jasmine St. Clair did 300… but Houston, metaphorically and literally, blew the doors off of them with a record-breaking 620 men in a 24-hour period. The record would only hold until 2002. |
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Torn (1999) In 1986, after only two years in the adult film business, Ginger Lynn was the most famous porn star in the US, if not the world. She had a “girl-next-door” look that contrasted her unbridled and energetic sexual performances. That same year, she stopped performing in adult movies in order to pursue a mainstream acting career. She was one of the first to attempt the switch to mainstream and she did it with a fair amount of success. In 1999, after a 13-year hiatus, Ginger returned to the adult industry, co-writing and starring in Torn for VCA Pictures . The movie was directed by her good friend Veronica Hart who, ironically enough, she’d worked with in non-adult movies. Ginger was older, wiser, and according to her own account, hornier than she had ever been in her life… and it shows! |
Click Here for a playlist featuring scenes from these “must-see movies” that closed out the millennium.