From Gustave Dore’s depictions of Andromeda chained to the rock, to British author Alex Comfort’s “sex manual”—The Joy of Sex, bondage has been an omnipresent feature in the annals of sex history and art. Yet while it still seems like a dirty secret that few bring up in conversation, the deviant minds of various film directors have used it as ideal inspiration for their cinematic creations.

Join the GATA team as we take a whirlwind journey into the dark dungeon of cinematic history. A place that very few dare to tread; and a place that once you enter, will forever change you.

THE SECRETARY (2002)

Steven Shainberg

First on our list is a socially awkward, erotic tale from director Steven Shainberg, who aimed to bring BDSM relationships into the mainstream. Inspired by films such as My Beautiful Laundrette—which normalised gay relationships in the 1980s —Shainberg managed to create a light hearted take on the power dynamics between dominant and submissive individuals.

An erotically charged and playful story of sensual spanking and pet play, Secretary follows Maggie Gyllenhal as lead character Lee Holloway—an innocent and emotionally sensitive woman who finds herself entangled in a passionate relationship with her boss. Torn between a desire for a normal “vanilla” life and the excitement of her domineering boss’ behaviour, the film gives voice to its character’s desires, free from condescending judgment.

A breakout role for Gyllenhaal, the film resulted in the actress being nominated for and winning several awards, including a Golden Globe and a Paris Film Festival nomination.

PIERCING (2018)

Nicolas Pesce

An eerie and surreal take on the erotic genre, Piercing is one of the latest entries from American director Nicolas Pesce. Based upon the novel by Japanese writer Ryū Murakami, the film plays with themes of murder, power and narcotics. A film that packs equal doses of sexiness, brutality and horror into a single frame, you’ll be squirming in your seat; unsure how to react to the images pulsing through the screen.

Piercing tells the disturbing story of Reed, a businessman full of murderous desires, who decides to one day live out his fantasies, by checking into a hotel room, calling an escort service and murdering an unassuming prostitute. Yet just like the words of the great American writer John Steinbeck, “the best-laid plans of mice and men...”

DOGS DON’T WEAR PANTS (2019)

J-P Valkeapää

“Bad Dog!” Next up is a film bathed in so much red that you would have thought that director J-P Valkeapää, had forgotten about the rest of the colour spectrum. A Finnish erotic black comedy, Dogs Don’t Wear Pants follows the story of widower Juhan who after a chance encounter with a dominatrix, finds that during asphyxiation, he enters a hallucinatory state in which he is reunited with his dead wife. What follows is a tale of erotic obsession and perverted violence, that subverts expectations at every turn. For those who can take the punishment and have a strong stomach; this is the film for you.

LOVE HOTEL (1985)

Shinji Sōmai

It seems like it would be impossible to make a list of bondage classics without taking a trip to the Mecca of fetishes—Tokyo, Japan. A quintessential example of Japan’s “pink” film genre—a group of films known for their sexually explicit content—Love Hotel was the brain child of Nikkatsu Corporation, one of Japan’s oldest entertainment companies.

Directed by Shinji Sōmai, the film marks his only foray into the sub-genre named “Roman porno”. The film tells the story of disgraced businessman Tetsuro Muraki, who after declaring bankruptcy, falls into trouble with gangsters, who rape his wife and use her to pay off his debts. In the midst of deep depression Muraki hires a prostitute and books a hotel room, with only two things on his mind—sex and suicide.

QUILLS (2000)

Philip Kaufman

Sometimes we forget it, but they were getting freaky just as hard during the late 18th century as they do today. Set during the “Reign of Terror”—a period of political instability during the French Revolution, which involved a series of public executions and massacres—Quills reimagines the final few years of the Marquis de Sade in an insane asylum.

Directed by Philip Kaufman and adapted from the 1995 award-winning play by Doug Wright, Quills encompasses strong performances from Geoffrey Rush and Kate Winslet. Exploring themes of censorship, pornography, mental illness and of course sex, Quills is a film that pays full tribute to the godfather of debauchery himself—the Marquis de Sade

TOKYO DECADENCE (1992)

Ryū Murakami

Let’s leave 18th century revolutionary France for just a minute and return to the kinky paradise that is Tokyo for this 90s cult classic—the dark and erotic Tokyo Decadence.

Actually directed this time by counter-cultural author Ryū Murakami and with music composed by the legendary musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tokyo Decadence is packed with so much cruel and graphic content that is was actually banned from several countries, including Australia and South Korea.

Containing a multitude of deviant sexual acts, including sodomy, sadomasochism and bondage, by the end of its two hour runtime, you will feel like you’ve had crash course in extreme sexual experimentation.

STORY OF O (1975)

Pauline Réage

To continue our journey into the depths of bondage fantasy, we have a soft core cult classic, that spent the best part of the latter century being banned from cinemas and has only in recent years been labelled safe for public viewership.

Story of O is photographer, turned director Just Jaeckin’s follow up to the highly popular Emmanuel. Expressing the journey of a young woman’s sexual awakening, told through the extreme tale of sexual sadomasochism, Story of O gardened both squeals of delight and heckles of condemnation from critics at the time of its release.

Based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Pauline Réage, the story follows fashion photographer “O” and her experiences as a sex slave in the French castle of “Chateau Roissy”. Playing with ideas of obsession, unconditional love and soft core pornography, Story of O is not a cinematic classic in any sense of the word. The film however is bold in that it attempted to play with ideas that were novel at the time.

FLOWER AND SNAKE (1974)

Masaru Konuma

Another entry from the deviant minds of those working at Nikkatsu productions, comes a film that saved the over a hundred-year-old company from financial collapse—Flower and Snake. Famous for inspiring the “Roman Porno” series which blurred the line between soft-core pornography and feature films, Flower and Snake proved the age-old adage that “sex sells”.

Directed by Masaru Konuma and starring Naomi Tani—who was dubbed the “Queen of Pink” during the 1970s, the film is a devilish creation that takes no prisoners, in its lack of censorship and filter. Featuring graphic scenes of bondage, sexual impotence and enema-induced sexual arousal, this is definitely a film you don’t want to find in your parents collection.

SWEET WHIP (2013)

Takashi Ishii

Oh my, if bondage films was an olympic event, then there is no question Japan would be atop the podium. Another entry in our list from Japanese cinema, is 2013’s Sweet Whip. Directed by Takashi Ishii and based upon the novel by Kei Ōishi, Sweet Whip is a tale of imprisonment, vengeance and graphic violence. In terms of accolades it won Best Music at the Yokohama Film Festival.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY (2014)

Peter Strickland

The British are known for being the prudes of Europe, sexually repressed with a reluctance to even mention the “s word”, but with 2014 film The Duke of Burgundy, the metaphorical shackles are off and everything is fair game.

Centred around the relationship between Evelyn and Cynthia, a relationship marred with unequal power dynamics, obsessive OCD cleanliness and a fascination with lepidopterology—the study of moths and butterflies, The Duke of Burgundy was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews by critics when it was first reviewed. Described as “stylish, sensual and smart” The Duke of Burgundy proved that erotic cinema didn’t have to be superficial fluff and could in fact have a deep substantial substance to it.