BDSM Themed Mainstream Films

9 1/2 Weeks

From www.netflix.com:
Director Adrian Lyne's erotic drama is a thoughtful examination of obsession and passion -- and blindfolds, chocolate syrup and more. Involved in a relationship based on sex and fantasy, art gallery worker Elizabeth (Kim Basinger) and commodities broker John (Mickey Rourke) must face the consequences as fantasy falls away and the reality of their affair takes hold. The film's mix of the erotic and the everyday raised many eyebrows. 

Blue Velvet

From www.netflix.com:
An innocent (Kyle MacLachlan) gets mixed up in a small-town murder mystery involving a kinky nightclub chanteuse (Isabella Rossellini) and a kidnapper (Dennis Hopper) with a penchant for snorting helium. One of the most bizarre (and critically acclaimed) movies of the 1980s, Blue Velvet inspired a generation of independent filmmakers with its dark look behind the all-American veneer of small-town life.

Review of Blue Velvet, By Gary Switch

From www.netflix.com:
Rebecca Carlson (Madonna), a powerful, intelligent, successful and breathtakingly beautiful woman, is on trial for the murder of her wealthy, older lover, whom the D.A. (Joe Mantegna) is convinced died as a result of an intense lovemaking session. It's up to Rebecca's attorney (Willem Dafoe) to prove her innocence ... but when he becomes entangled in her web of erotic game-playing, he too may be endangered by her passion.

Notes from Sadie: This film actually handles the subject of BDSM fairly well. "Mistress" Madonna has a sense of humor about herself, not unlike Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. It's a solid thriller as well. The main downside is that Madonna plays a sex-crazed killer which takes a lot of credibility away from the BDSM lifestyle. Other than that, however, it's an excellent film. The best scene is when Madonna does Willem Dafoe on a bunch of broken glass. Whew, steaming!

Caligula

From www.netflix.com:
Malcolm McDowell portrays the infamous emperor who wielded godlike power over ancient Rome while at the same time sleeping with his sister (Teresa Ann Savoy). Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole and John Gielgud co-star in this film produced by Penthouse Magazine editor Bob Guccione and written by Gore Vidal. Warning: This unrated edition contains explicit sex, nudity and violence as well as disturbing imagery.

From www.netflix.com:
Martin Campbell (GoldenEye) directs this film adaptation (the 21st of the Bond franchise) of Ian Fleming's first novel. Daniel Craig (Layer Cake) debuts as the new Bond, who takes on a corrupt casino owner with ties to terrorists. You'll learn Bond's back story as the action-packed film takes you to the Bahamas, Madagascar and other exotic locales. Eva Green and Jeffrey Wright join the cast, and the sublime Judi Dench reprises her role as M.

Note from Sadie – I included this film because of the torture scene later in the film. For those of you into cock & balls torture (CBT) James Bond gets tortured quite intensely in this manner. I have to say this is most definitely NOT a film to take your kids to. Other than this scene, I found the film unremarkable. I was not aware that this was a "prequel" so James Bond's character is not the character we are all used to. IE he falls in love, acts all ooey gooey and all that and hardly sleeps around at all. Kinda dull actually.

From www.netflix.com:
After years of separation, Irina (Nastassja Kinski) and her minister brother, Paul (Malcolm McDowell), reunite in New Orleans in this erotic tale of the supernatural from director Paul Schrader. When zoologists capture a wild panther, Irina is drawn to the cat -- and the zoo curator (John Heard) is drawn to her. Soon, Irina's brother will have to reveal the family secret: that when sexually aroused, they turn into predatory jungle cats.

Review of Cat People, By Gary Switch

Notes from Sadie: Frankly, I wasn't very impressed by this film as a whole. There were a few interesting scenes, but as a whole I thought it was fairly weak.

From www.netflix.com:
After a serial killer brutally murders several gay men in New York's S&M and leather districts, cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) goes undercover on the streets, where he must learn the complex rules of the underground gay subculture if he's to catch the psycho. Karen Allen co-stars as Burns's girlfriend in this gritty 1980 thriller, which sparked protests from gay rights groups at the time of its release but has since developed a minor cult status.

Read Sadie's Review of this excellent film

From www.netflix.com:
In this 1970s existential action epic, four suburban friends (Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty) take a canoeing trip down a Georgia river. But what begins as a lighthearted adventure becomes a voyage into the heart of darkness when redneck locals descend on the foursome and force them to kill or be killed. A masterpiece of grace and power, Deliverance still terrifies and enthralls today.

Note from Sadie – I included this one because of the famous rape scene toward the beginning. I watched this recently and even though it was made in the 1970's it held up very well. Seeing Burt Reynolds in his prime was worth it in itself! Whew, is it hot in here?

From www.netflix.com:
The work of the Marquis de Sade is the inspiration for this 1969 French drama by famed director Jesus Franco. A gorgeous tropical island provides the backdrop as the once-innocent Eugenie (Marie Liljedahl) undergoes her sexual initiation at the hands of Dolmance (Christopher Lee). Soon, she becomes irrevocably enmeshed in a world of pain, drugs, murder and sadomasochism in this controversial exploration of sexual extremes.
 

Exit to Eden

From www.netflix.com:
When Elliot (Paul Mercurio) goes to a sex resort on the island of Eden to live out his submissive fantasies, he falls in love with dominatrix Lisa (Dana Delany), the headmistress of the island -- who, much to her own surprise, returns his affections. Meanwhile, diamond smugglers and two detectives (Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Aykroyd) are after Elliot because he possesses the only existing photographs of the smugglers at work.

Notes from Sadie: This comedy/drama actually gives the scene a fair shake under the wisecracking narrator voice of Dominatrix-to-be Rosie O'Donnell. This film is unquestionably BDSM-Lite. That is, there are a lot of fabulous outfits, beautiful toys, and gorgeous, well-toned male and female submissives, but not much in the way of actual scenes. The plot revolves around a resort a la Fantasy Island where all your BDSM fantasy dreams come true. 

There is one intimate scene between Mistress Lisa and Elliot which is moving, but stops at what most of us would call a nice spanking That said, the film respects our lifestyle in every way and really, who could resist Rosie O'Donnell in a corset?  

Don't miss the very cute first scene where we find out where Elliot got his start in childhood. 

My favorite line from the film is where Rosie O'Donnell's slave says "What can I do for you Mistress?" and she says "Paint my house!"

From www.netflix.com:
After uncovering a sexually charged Web site that features morbidly obese women being held captive and taunted with fattening food, Australian cop Richard (Jack Thompson) travels to Ohio to investigate. Viewing the Aussie's appearance as an opportunity for a fun game rather than a reason for him to go offline, the site's sadistic webmaster (Alex O'Loughlin) lures Richard into a dangerous game that's unappetizing, to say the least.

NOTE: This Netflix blurb is incorrect in that these women are neither held captive or taunted with food. In fact, they are participating freely in a Dominant/Submissive relationship where they are being fed to excess by their Feeders.

Read Sadie's Review of this film

Hard Candy

From www.netflix.com:
In this suspenseful drama from director David Slade, Hayley (Ellen Page) is an intelligent teen who's been spending time with Geoff (Patrick Wilson), a much older man she met online. Even though Geoff is a charming, good-looking photographer, Hayley should know better than to go home with a guy in his early thirties, especially since he may have ulterior motives. Of course, Hayley may have underlying motives of her own. …

Note from Sadie: While the consensuality in this remarkable independent film in a bit in the fuzzy area, there's plenty of dominance, submission, and bondage to go around even though it's not exactly in a sexual context. Not for the faint hearted. This is a film that the directors said people either love or they hate. I loved it.

The Image

From www.netflix.com:
This sadomasochistic yarn directed by Radley Metzger has become an underground classic and brings writer Jean de Berg's erotic story to film. A worldly Parisian, Jean (Carl Parker) thinks he's seen and done it all until he meets an entertainer, Claire (Marilyn Roberts), and her young protégé, Anne (Mary Mendum), who introduce him to a sensual but dangerous world of sexual cruelty, bondage and emotional manipulation.

Review of The Image, By Julian Robinson

From www.netflix.com:
Public high school is a private hell for the teachers and weaker students at Donner High; a beautiful young teacher is molested at gunpoint, and several students are beaten and intimidated. But that's all before the arrival of Mr. Walmsley, a new substitute who decides to teach the bullies a lesson they won't forget. Soon, his savage "reform school" becomes a house of horrors where students only survive if they truly learn their lesson...

From www.netflix.com:
Jang Sun Woo's highly controversial film chronicles the bizarre sexual relations of a 38 year-old married man, J, and and 18 year-old student. After the initial encounter, they embark on a sexual odyssey toward the realms of obsession and sadomasochism. No common love affair, theirs tests the limits of both body and mind.

Review by Sadie:
This film purports to be a highly controversial film about sadomasochism, but it was all I could do to watch it to the end, and to wit, I used my fast forward through all the dialogue scenes which were tedious to the max. This nearly two hour foreign film details the very long affair of an Asian couple who explore vanilla sex, and eventually find their way to sadomasochism. Unfortunately, the only thing they did was whip each other with a wide variety of implements. There was no dominance and submission element, no scene setting, and no other element of BDSM as we in the scene know it. I could not have been less turned on, although I suppose people who are into this particular kink and some vanilla people may be. After a very long beginning 45 minutes or so of tedious and not very imaginative vanilla sex, the older man spanks/whips her, then she spanks him, then they switch, then it’s self flagellation, then they go crazy with their sexual obsession and pretty much beat the hell out of each other. It may have been that the content in between scenes explained more of the story but it was too circuitous for me to take the time to watch. In a bizarre aside, the director and the actors occasionally entered the film to comment on different parts – making this a kind of surreal experience and keeping us from getting into the film as a true experience. I give this one two thumbs down.

From www.netflix.com:
Petty thief Olivier (Gerard Depardieu) is entranced by his charming next-door neighbor Ariane (Bulle Ogier), who happens to be a skilled dominatrix. The mismatched neighbors begin to fall for each other after Ariane finds Olivier burglarizing her apartment, leading Ariane to teach her new friend a thing or two about her kinky profession.

From www.netflix.com:
Although she longed to be an actress, an unassuming girl from Nashville, Tenn., would ultimately become the nation's first bona fide bondage queen. Provocative filmmaker Mary Harron delivers an intimate biopic about 1950s pinup girl Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol), who whetted many a male appetite with her raven locks and sadomasochistic poses before becoming the target of a U.S. Senate investigation and converting to Christianity.

Note from Sadie: I thoroughly enjoyed this film! A great story both about Bettie as well as about the history of sexuality and BDSM in the 1950's.

Bettie Page Bondage Queen – *Bettie's Actual Bondage Films

Irving Klaw began selling pin-up photos in the 1950s, many of which featured the legendary Bettie Page. When he began to receive requests from his customers for images of girls in what would today be considered S & M and bondage situations, he complied. Making 16mm films out of his own home featuring Bettie and other glamour girls of the era, Klaw created an oeuvre which today's fetish material continues to reference. Much of this work was burned when Klaw was accused of purveying pornography, and the films collected here are rarities not previously available. Surreal and strangely innocent, the films and photos are obviously staged in someone's basement, while the fetishwear--not widely attainable in those days--was mostly homemade, lending the work an immediacy and tender intimacy not to be found in similar, more contemporary, films. *This is available on Amazon.com although you can probably find it cheaper on eBay http://www.amazon.com/Bettie-Page-Bondage-Queen/dp/B0007989LG

The Piano Teacher

From www.netflix.com:
Isabelle Huppert stars as Erika, an emotionally repressed piano teacher still tied to her obsessive mother (Annie Girardot) and fast approaching spinsterhood. When an attractive student (Benoit Magimel) in her class becomes smitten with her, Erika sees him as a potential player in her dark sexual fantasies. Huppert is fascinating to watch in this disturbing character study based on Nobel Literature Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek's novel.

Review by Sensuous Sadie
The piano teacher in this film has secret BDSM desires which she eventually expresses to her lover. Unfortunately she doesn't have a community like ours to tell her that surprising a person is a bad idea. This movie is sadly stereotypical in that she descends into mental illness. The BDSM that does happen however is intriguing, although some of it is clearly linked toward mental illness issues as opposed to a happy healthy approach. Nevertheless, I found the movie quite riveting. It's French with subtitles, but don't let that scare you, there's not much talking.

Preaching To the Perverted

From www.netflix.com:
British Parliament member Henry Harding (Tom Bell) enlists a young, virginal, aspiring politician named Peter (Christian Anholt) to help him shut down a new S&M club that's been opened in England. Set on putting the club out of business, Harding is sure that Peter's secret evidence of the club's happenings will do the trick. What he didn't bet on was that Peter would take a liking to what the club had to offer -- and to its owner, Tanya Cheex.

Sadie's Review
A novice employee of the British House of Commons is sent undercover to BDSM clubs in order to document illegal goings-on. It's a combination of Moulon Rouge and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, with highly stylized and theatrical BDSM happening on the club stage as well as in private. They did a good job of making it clear that all play was Safe, Sane and Consensual, but there were a few spots where you could tell the actors had not been properly coached in flogging technique. For example, a female Dominant hit her Submissive's head with some kind of whip.
 
Overall I thought they did a good job with this entertaining film, although it didn't have much to do with real life BDSM people. I didn't like the fact that it was entirely Female Dominant/Male Submissive. I think that approach makes it easier for people to laugh at the story (because inside they don't believe that's really happening), but does not show a balanced lifestyle at all. From everything I've read, the Male Dominant/Female Submissive is by far the majority of lifestylers. But then of course they couldn't make the film about that because then it would be "abuse." A British film.
 

Quills

From www.netflix.com:
The Marquis de Sade (Geoffrey Rush) was a provocateur so addicted to words he used his own blood as ink while locked away in an insane asylum headed by the Abbe du Coulmier (Joaquin Phoenix). Although the outraged Doctor Royer-Collard (Michael Caine) tries to stop the Marquis from writing, a young worker (Kate Winslet) takes his dictation in this Oscar-nominated drama from director Phillip Kauffman (The Right Stuff).

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

From www.netflix.com:
Come to the lab, and see what's on the slab! This notorious horror parody -- a fast-paced potpourri of camp, sci-fi and rock 'n' roll, among other things -- tracks the exploits of naïve couple Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) after they stumble across the lair of transvestite vampire Dr. Frank-N-Furter (a brilliant Tim Curry). The film bombed in its initial release but later gained a cult following at midnight showings.  

Note from Sadie: There is one whipping scene in this film, as well as some fun crossdressing and lots of sexy foolishness. As they recently pointed out on some television show, it's basically a movie about a guy who creates a hot guy to have sex with. I never thought of it that way...

Salo; 120 Days of Sodom

Read Sadie's Review on this controversial film

For a more detailed review of the storyline and the metaphor behind that storyline, please read Mike Bracken’s excellent review on this film:
http://www.flipsidemovies.com/salo.html

Note: This film is not available on Netflix.com, but copies can be had fairly inexpensively on eBay and elsewhere.

 

Secretary

From www.netflix.com:
Recently released from a mental hospital after treatment for self-mutilating tendencies, a young woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal) gets a job as a secretary for a successful attorney (James Spader) with a tendency toward angry disapproval. The mix of self-loathing (her) and egomania (him) leads them into a unique relationship charged with sadomasochism. This twisted, humorous tale of repressed passion marks Gyllenhaal's first starring role.

Review of Secretary, By Julian Robinson

Review of Secretary, by Danielle

Note from Sadie: This film is another one of those "gal with mental illness also is into BDSM" films which pisses me off by virtue of that very thing. Aside from that, it's a pretty interesting film, if only because protagonists James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal have such a fascinating sexual energy together.

Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist

From www.netflix.com:
Performance artist Bob Flanagan suffered from cystic fibrosis throughout his short life. This disturbing, poignant and very funny documentary examines his personal odyssey to gain a measure of control over his body by inflicting pain on himself. We learn about his fight against the illness, the creative -- and disturbing -- things he did to his ailing body and the importance of his long-term dominatrix/partner, Sheree Rose. Not for the squeamish!

Note from Sadie & SCENE SPOILER: I was nervous about watching this really odd film but it turned out to be quite entertaining and moving. The most memorable - and freaky - scene is of Bob hammering a nail through his penis. I know I'm giving something away but this may be an attraction for those of you who really want to see how this is done, and for those of you who can't handle it - maybe best not to rent this film.

From www.netflix.com:
Three friends develop a tight bond during the turbulent 1960s in this drama. Harvard students Jessica (Karen Allen), Leo (Brad Davis) and Nick (Jameson Parker) grow close as they undergo personal metamorphoses, but the friendship is jeopardized when both men fall in love with Jessica. After Leo is drafted, Jessica makes the surprising decision that the threesome should move in together.

Read Sadie's Review - This looks like a garden-variety coming of age flick, but actually it is a positive portrayal of polyamory. Please read my review to see how director Rob Cohen made this remarkable film.

The Story of O

From www.netflix.com:
In a strange, secluded chateau, a woman known only as O (Corinne Clery) is introduced to sadomasochism by her lover: He whips her, chains her and watches her make love to and inflict pain on others. In the process of "proving her love" for him, she gives up everything -- even agreeing to be branded -- to provide him with pleasure. French director Just Jaeckin (Emmanuelle) helmed this adaptation of Pauline Réage's best-selling erotic novel.  

Notes from Sadie: I had high expectations of this film because of it's reputation, hopes which were dashed within the first 30 minutes, after which I turned the darn thing off because I was so bored. According to this film, the definition of BDSM is a combination of sex on demand by submissive females, and being whipped on the back and front (not safe). That's it, nothing else. This is an R rated film as well, so while we saw full frontal nudity of women, there wasn't any nudity of men, and no actual shots of sex of any sort or actual whipping. What you see is "O" being tossed around and yelling and moaning a lot. Of course she never exhibited any marks either, so it was frankly pretty difficult to believe any of it. There was zero character development on the part of any of the characters, and no overt consent of any sort and so I dub this film:  Total Drek.

From www.netflix.com:
The controversial horror/fantasy film about a 19th century nobleman (Lee) who is ostracized from his village after being convicted of whipping a local girl to near-death. Soon after he's found dead, but his spirit returns as an apparition... He finds that his fiancé (Lavi) has now married his brother while acting as a mistress to their father. In retaliation, he viscously flogs the woman, only to discover she's a sadomasochist.

Notes from Sadie: this is actually an updated/digitized version of a film made several decades ago. As such is has the pacing and lurid drama styling of the 1950's. It's basically a melodramatic murder mystery set in a big mansion with lots of dark shadows, creepy sounds and long pregnant pauses. Frankly, the movie struck me as strikingly silly. That said, there are two excellent scenes where the female protagonist gets whipped and then has sex with the dominant bad guy/ghost. The first one is less than 20 minutes in and you can fast forward to the next one if you can't abide the actual film. Considering when this movie was made, it's pretty darn amazing to see this kind of kinky prelude to sex, although of course there isn't any real nudity. There is, however, a real whip and lots of actual marks on her back.

Films with a BDSM/Spirituality Element

These are films that show elements of submission and masochism in the context of spirituality.

From www.netflix.com:
Billy Jack, a half-breed Native American and ex-Green Beret, returns to Arizona. When tensions flare between the progressive local students and narrow-minded bigots, he becomes the school's protector.

Note from Sadie: This classic 1971 film holds up very well as a film reflecting the mores of it's time. There are two key scenes of interest to us BDSM folk. One is where Billy Jack goes through a traditional Native American snake ceremony where he is bitten multiple times by a rattler and experiences both great pain as well as a spiritual experience. The second is a rape scene where the woman is tied down to the ground. Although this scene is non-consensual, I mention it because it was my first awareness of bondage and one of the reasons I watched this film many times as a young girl.

Note from Sadie: While this movie doesn't hold a candle to the original book, it's still a reasonably exciting and fast paced adventure film. The key scenes of interest here are when the albino monk self flagellates himself. Director Ron Howard could easily have softened these scenes but instead he chose to let us see it in all it's violent and intense glory. Not for the faint of heart.

From www.netflix.com:
Move over, Dances with Wolves! In perhaps his greatest role, Richard Harris plays an English aristocrat who's captured by Dakota Sioux in 1825 and eventually becomes their leader. The most famous scene has Harris undergoing a bloody initiation ritual that involves being suspended in the air by blades inserted beneath his pectoral muscles. Part of the revisionist view (prevalent in '70s movies) of American Indian life on the Great Plains.

Note from Sadie: This film is quite long and not all that interesting from my perspective, although it's considered a great classic. The scene that is famous as mentioned above is the Sundance Ceremony which was filmed both with great detail and respect to validity. The cinematography of this part is incredibly moving and if you haven't seen what this looks like, it's worth renting just for this. The DVD includes a scene index so you can skip to it if you wish.

Sexuality Themed Films

Inside Deep Throat (documentary) 

From www.netflix.com:
This fascinating documentary by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato examines the goings-on behind the porn film that grew to become an icon: Deep Throat. Released in 1972, the film made more money than its producers anticipated and ignited a sexual and social revolution. Features interviews with the movie's stars, Linda Lovelace and Harry Reams, plus commentary by director John Waters and writers Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal.

**Sadie gave this four stars!

Kinsey 

From www.netflix.com:
Liam Neeson provides a fascinating portrait of theorist and zoologist Dr. Alfred Kinsey, whose name has been associated with human sexuality ever since he interviewed thousands of people about their sex lives and released his findings in a groundbreaking 1948 book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. The book caused ripples in the scientific community and paved the way for further inquiry into the subject. Laura Linney and Peter Sarsgaard co-star.

**Sadie gave this four stars!

Porn Flicks

Note from Sadie: If you're looking for a pussy-fest, look no further. Well-known and creative producer Andrew Blake directed this video which is a highly polished series of sexual vignettes, some of which have a mildly fetish theme. Mostly women together and alone, and exotically esoteric. The women are stunning models over six feet tall who don't sweat, are gorgeously perfect in every way, and don't actually seem to orgasm even though they have sex throughout this film. Lots and lots of close-ups of pussies, so many that I got a bit pussied-out. (not quite my cup-o-tea anyhow)

There are two sides to the DVD so there's plenty of material, but on side one there's only one vignette with a man which was only marginally creative and he was completely dressed except for his penis sticking out - pathetic if you ask me. There is no audio, just electronic new age music so the entire DVD has a surreal quality which I personally did not find arousing, but you may (I want to hear people moan dammit!)On the good side, the production values, settings, and overall quality is absolutely beautiful.

(From Good Vibrations – great women-owned sex toy & book online store http://www.goodvibes.com/)
If we had to describe Jenna Jameson in one word, "versatile" would have to be it. She can act, top and be submissive (in addition to her many other god-given talents). Clearly a woman in charge, her pleasure in dominating is apparent to the viewer. Equally enjoyable is watching such a beautifully cruel woman bound and bridled. The all-female cast of this flick is loaded with talent -- the editing is superb and legendary BDSM filmmaker Ernest Green directs while adult superstar Nina Hartley lends a hand. 2005, 80 min.

Note from Sadie:  Jenna Jamison is a famous porn star so you can expect a totally hot actress, fabulous outfits, amazing hairdos, great sets, and spectacular production values. The director is Ernest Greene, editor of Taboo Magazine so the action is at least realistic visually. The DVD includes an excellent interview with Green which is well worth watching.

There was one spectacularly good scene which makes this video worth buying (you can get it for $10 or so on eBay). That is the one with Jenna and famed porn star Nina Hartley who just happens to be the wife of Greene. This explains everything as they are actually a genuine BDSM couple and the scene looked and felt real to me. My partner and I got off big time on it!

That said, you should know that I found all the rest of the scenes completely inauthentic in the sense of emotional content. The audience is clearly men which means that the actors are all women, the BDSM was thinly veiled and clearly "acted" in that there was no sweat, no creativity and little variety as I saw it.

I also have to mention a plot construct which felt completely ridiculous. Jenna often is seen writing in her diary and you can hear the voiceover, which sounds like a writer wrote it - a writer who has never actually done any real BDSM play. It's very well written - and extremely poetic - but sounds ridiculous to my ear. The voiceover repeats constantly throughout the video so you have to work to ignore it at times. Here's a sample:

I get so excited just thinking about the unique satisfaction of total surrender. What I found was a whole world, a world in which our freedom enslaves us, and our slavery frees us. I didn't just find myself, I found two of me. One a willing submissive, the other a willful dominant

I didn't find a review of this, but a friend of mine said that this is one of the few that is real rather than acted and has a nice DS dynamic.

http://www.lyndondistributors.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1490 

Gender Benders

From www.netflix.com:
Drag queens Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and Felicia (Guy Pearce) team up with transsexual Bernadette (Terence Stamp) on a trip across Australia in a pink bus named Priscilla. Along the way, the friends change into their most outrageous costumes and put on lip-synch performances to popular disco tunes (including plenty of ABBA) for locals in the outback. They eventually make enough money to get to the next town, defeating homophobia as they go.

Review by Gary Switch

The Badge

From www.netflix.com:
It's High Noon for the new millennium when a small-town sheriff (Billy Bob Thornton) teams up with a stripper (Patricia Arquette) to investigate a transsexual's grisly death -- only to discover that some of the state's highest-ranking politicos may be involved. Despite his own homophobia, the sheriff is ostracized by the townsfolk for continuing the investigation. Sela Ward co-stars as Thornton's ex-wife, the district attorney handling the case.

Note from Sadie: Billy Bob Thornton is remarkable as a completely self-centered and asshole sheriff who is forced to change not by airy fairy goodness, but by the usual political and economic means of society. By the by, he also gets a little redemption. It's not so much about transgendered people as it is about the rest of us and how we respond to them. This film really surprised me with the depth of the character development and it held me to the very last minute.

Boys Don't Cry

From www.netflix.com:
Teena Brandon (Hilary Swank) moves to a small Nebraska town in search of a new life. Preferring to cross-dress and taking the name Brandon Teena, she passes herself off as a boy, begins dating Lana (Chloë Sevigny) and makes friends among the town's redneck men ... until the truth is revealed. Swank's Oscar-winning portrayal of this real-life character illuminates one woman's voyage of self-discovery -- and the events that cut it short. 

**Sadie gave this four stars!

Orlando

From www.netflix.com:
Director Sally Potter adapts Virginia Woolf's 1928 allegorical novel about a woman who lives for 400 years -- the first half as a man -- in this surrealist study of sex and gender roles throughout the ages. The transition from man to woman and from the 16th to the 20th century is realized by Tilda Swinton's breakthrough performance and the film's Oscar-nominated costumes and art direction. Quentin Crisp plays Queen Elizabeth I.

Note from Sadie: We rented this for a kinky film party and frankly, I was bored and didn't really see what the story was about. It's a very long film and  complex and stretches over several centuries. You might like it better than I did.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

From www.netflix.com:
In this wacky comedy, three New York drag queens (Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo) on their way to Hollywood for a beauty pageant get stranded in a small Midwestern town for the entire weekend when their car breaks down. While waiting for parts for their Cadillac convertible, the flamboyant trio shows the local homophobic rednecks that appearing different doesn't mean they don't have humanity in common.

Stage Beauty

From www.netflix.com:
Edward "Ned" Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is England's most celebrated leading "lady" (circa 1660), using his beauty and skill to make the great female roles his own. But when Charles II tires of seeing the same old performers, the ruler allows women to tread the boards and decrees that men may no longer play women's parts. Overnight, Ned becomes a nonentity -- that is, until his ex-dresser, Maria (Claire Danes), helps him become a real man again.

Note from Sadie: Very nice handling of gender and sexuality issues in the context of the mid 1600's theatre. Spectacularly subtle and sexy performances by Claire Danes and Billy Crudup.

Transamerica

From www.netflix.com:
Bree (Felicity Huffman) gets the shock of her life when a week before her final sex change surgery she discovers a son she didn't know she had. After bailing him out of jail the two set out on a cross-country journey riddled with road bumps. Huffman won numerous awards (and an Oscar nomination) for her role as a man longing to be a woman. Elizabeth Pena, Burt Young, Kevin Zegers and Graham Greene co-star.

Educational DVDs

Born in a Barn

From the Internet Movie Database:
An intimate and occasionally humorous look into the extraordinary erotic lives of four seemingly ordinary people, Born in a Barn takes us deep into the world of ponyplay, a fetish in which enthusiasts role-play as human ponies and handlers. Revealing the complex motives that drive each character to pursue this unusual passion and following them as they each confront the questions that being an erotic equine present, Born in a Barn is a film about finding an identity in the pursuit of an unconventional desire

Order Here: http://www.equuseroticus.com/BIAB.htm

Liberty in Restraint is an innovative "behind-the-scenes" feature length documentary exposing the controversial life and work of photographer, Noel Graydon, who delves deeply into the Sydney fetish scene of bondage/discipline, dominance/submission and sado-masochism. It has numerous interviews with Sydney's best kinksters... including Hellfire's own Ultra, and Sydney Leather Pride Greg Bloye, DV8 House Mark, Mistress Synna, and SM performance artists like Puck, Zoo, and Master Tony and angel... amongst many others.... not to forget the great photography of Noel Graydon too!

http://www.libertyinrestraint.com/dvd.html
 

The Pain Game, By Cleo Dubois

Review by Sensuous Sadie

****Sadie Gives this Four Stars!

Shibari Fumo Ryu Gakùnen 1 (Shibari Fumo Style - Level One), a.k.a. Shibari, the art of Japanese Bondage, an informational CD Rom

   
SM Tech Flogging and Mummification

Vol. 1 - Mummification: Down at the End of Bondage Street
Presented by Joseph W. Bean

Vol. 2 - Flogging: The Basics and Beyond
Presented by Joseph W. Bean

Review pf Dem Lab Studios Presents S/M Tech DVDs

(DVDs with Accompanying Books)
Review by Julian Robinson
 

Tie me Up!, By Cleo Dubois

Review by Sensuous Sadie

****Sadie Gives this Four Stars!

Note from Sadie: I admit I was expecting another one of those videos introducing BDSM and boring me half to the grave. And so I was pleasantly surprised by this DVD which not only offered something to novices, but kept me watching all the way through to the end, a very generous one and a half hours. The production values were excellent, and it was clear that this film was made by professionals who put a great deal of time, effort and love into their work.

It was quite a thrill to see so many famous authors and personalities interviewed, and even more so that they were very real and very normal people. The producers deliberately chose not 25 year-old BDSM personalities dressed up in leather and flash. Instead we got to see people with credibility, many of who also happen to be in their 40's and 50's just like me. I was also impressed with the spectacular art used as segues throughout the film. Also included were a number of interesting extras including a section on edge play and a montage of the paintings included. I could see buying some of those artworks. Altogether a very fine job indeed.

From www.netflix.com:
This documentary closely examines the sensationalized story of a man from Seattle who died from a ruptured colon after having sex with a horse in a barn. Director Robinson Devor transcends the shocking headlines to explore the circle of people who secretly possess an interest in bestiality. Two friends of the man who died as well as a horse advocate provide narration for much of the film.

Read Sadie's Review on this Controversial Film