A (Not-So) Brief History Of Adult Cinema

No one really knows what the first true porn movie was, but as long people have been able to put pictures on stuff and make them move that has always included "brief sexuality" and "partial nudity," as the MPAA so quaintly puts it. However, some people take such questions very seriously (much more seriously than us, thankfully) and have strived to make the history of smut a vaild and worthwhile pursuit.

Take writer/historian John Minson, who has MA in English Literature from the University of London, but prefers studying fucking films to romantic poetry. (And why not?) We've been enjoying the latest installment in his in-depth look at erotic cinema—its origins, its leaders and its many, many firsts. If your idea of ancient history is an old VHS copy of "Deep Throat" then you've got a lot to learn about sex in the movies and John is the man to teach you. He even has footnotes! Who says academia is just for nerds who can't get dates? (Nerds, maybe ... but they can have fun too!)

· Before the Green Door + The Wages of Skin (brightlightsfilm.com)