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Joe Bob Briggs
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John Bloom
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Profoundly Erotic: Sexy Movies that Changed History Paperback – October 18, 2005

by Joe Bob Briggs (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
Movie stars do it better, or so it seems. Sex on the silver screen unfolds in such a perfect way and we get sucked in. Whether we want to admit it or not, much of our sexual behavior has been learned from the movies.
From Joe Bob Briggs comes Profoundly Erotic, a collection of essays on sex in film. This guide explores the most seminal films―from cult classics to Hollywood blockbusters―that both shaped and reflected America’s changing mores and codes about sex. Briggs, who has been called the Leonard Maltin of cult movies, makes good on his reputation as an off-kilter and daring movie guru in this revealing look at filmed fornication.
Profoundly Erotic follows Joe Bob’s popular Profoundly Disturbing. Now Joe Bob takes on the key films that turn us on, such as It Happened One Night (1938), Lolita (1962), Belle de Jour (1967), and sex, lies, and videotape (1989). Illustrated with lurid stills and posters, the book strips down the hottest screen moments in history with the bodies we adore, from Rudolf Valentino and Mae West to Brigitte Bardot and Sharon Stone. In addition to the ten main movies, the book features a hundred more capsule reviews in “For Further Frisson” sidebars.
Praise for Profoundly Disturbing:
“A valuable and entertaining survey of movies that broke taboos.”
―Leonard Maltin
“The book merits attention from fans tired of high-minded essays about classics such as Citizen Kane, and explains why crass, tasteless pictures often make more impact than those released with the stamp of respectability.”
―Publishers Weekly
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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Universe
  4. Publication date
    October 18, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    7.03 x 0.89 x 8.98 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0789313146
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0789313140
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joe Bob Briggs is a film critic and creator of Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater, and the equally popular Monstervision on TNT. He is currently developing his own weekly show as well as programming for the new Scream Network, specializing in horror movies and launching nationally in 2005.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Universe; First Edition (US) First Printing (October 18, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0789313146
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0789313140
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.17 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.03 x 0.89 x 8.98 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

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  1. Joe Bob Briggs

    Joe Bob Briggs

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  2. John Bloom

    John Bloom

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    John Bloom is a journalist and entertainer born in Dallas, Texas, who grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and now lives in New York City. While serving as New York bureau chief for United Press International, he was an eyewitness to the events of 9/11 and was nominated by UPI for the Pulitzer Prize. His work for Texas Monthly magazine has been nominated three times for the National Magazine Award, and he has written for dozens of newspapers and magazines, as well as being a columnist for the New York Times Syndicate, the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, and Creators Syndicate. He graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University, where he was a Grantland Rice Scholar for his work as a teenage reporter and columnist for the Arkansas Democrat. In 1982 he created the pseudonym of "Joe Bob Briggs," using that pen name anonymously until he was outed in 1985. He then performed under that name on a number of television shows and at live venues, winning two Cable ACE Awards for a show called "Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater" on The Movie Channel and a similar show called "MonsterVision" on TNT. As an actor he has appeared in a dozen movies, including "Casino" and "Face/Off," in addition to writing, performing and executive producing about 20,000 hours of broadcast television.

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Buzzard
    5.0 out of 5 stars Joe Bob Briggs
    Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Joe Bob's review on several movies. Excellent t book
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  • Steven Daedalus
    4.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, popular review of ten sexy movies.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    It's a little hard to believe that Joe Bob Briggs actually had much to do with the writing of this book, although I guess I believe it. He had an editor, a research assistant, and a copy editor who must have put in any number of sweat-soaked hours keeping this text as cleanly written and as perceptive as it is.

    If you're used to Briggs' engaging, laid-back, eighteen-wheeler-jockey sort of light-hearted and thoroughly low-brow approach to crummy movies, you won't find it here. No counts of beheadings, nude dupas, simulated coitus or any of those familiar devices. Furthermore, the movies themselves are hardly Drive-In fodder. They include:

    1. The Sheik, a silent movie with Rudolph Valentino.
    2. She Done Him wrong, with Mae West.
    3. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, one of the best comedies of its decade.
    4. Picnic, a "major motion picture."
    5. The Immoral Mister Teas, famous trash.
    6. Contempt, another Godard jigsaw puzzle.
    7. Kitten With a Whip, infra dig.
    8. I Am Curious (Yellow), rambling but with bare boobs.
    9. Looking For Mr. Goodbar, a serious moral comment.
    10. 9 1/2 Weeks, big but bloodless.

    Briggs' prose style is thoughtful, analytical, ironic. How could Briggs -- he of the enumerated decapitations -- write something like this?

    "If Godard is our most serious modern filmmaker, as many believe he is, then modern love is dismal indeed.
    If Paul Javal is a contemporary Ulysses, as the movie seems to suggest, then Troy remains unconquered and
    Penelope is abandoned to her suitors. The European lover has become a wimp." (p. 170)

    Now, Joe Bob Briggs is a TV commentator and sometime actor who has claimed his favorite restaurant is some louche barbecue pit in northern Georgia or someplace. And here he's using intensifiers like "indeed"? Now he's alluding to HOMER? What is this guy, a closet egghead?

    I enjoyed it as much as I enjoy his rural proletarian comments on movies like "I Spit On Your Grave." It's a different kind of experience, but it's equally likable. It does contain some thematic analysis -- "Looking For Mr. Goodbar" is a warning against women's patronizing singles bars, so says the text -- but it also establishes the careers of the principal performers and crew before and after their involvement in these ten movies. (I would guess it was the research assistant's job to track down some of the details.)

    I read it all the way through, including the end-of-chapter epilogues called "For Further Frisson." (How many of Brigg's fans will that word, "frisson", drive to the dictionary?)

    It's entertaing and educational. So what more can you expect, even from the unexpected?
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Steve V.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Joe Bob Briggs Really Is a Film Critic
    Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Shedding most of the Joe Bob Briggs demeanor, John Bloom takes center stage in "Profoundly Erotic", a critical analysis of movies that changed the way sex was portrayed on screen and defined what it meant to be sexy in Hollywood. Despite the subject matter, this a far cry from his drive-in column, so fans should be wary that this is a film-centered work with minimal humorous asides.

    Briggs puts together an interesting list this time around (bemoaning that he had already covered two movies he would've chosen, "Deep Throat" and "Mom & Dad", in his previous "Profoundly Disturbing"). Early movies like "The Sheik" and "She Done Him Wrong" focused on star magnetism on-screen and off while later films like "9 1/2 Weeks" hit upon fetishism and self-depreciation. Every argument here is well thought out. I'd dare say Briggs blew his previous film analysis book out of the water with this effort!

    If there's a problem with this book, I can't think of any off the top of my head. For those who want to read something deeper than film reviews, check out this smart essay collection that is given handsome treatment with large photos and exhaustive page design. You won't regret it.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Norm M.
    3.0 out of 5 stars Debatable whether all these movies live up to the title of the book
    Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2022
    I'm not sure all of these movies "changed history". Specifically, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Picnic and Looking for Mr. Goodbar are movies that are neither "sexy" nor films that changed history. The other problem is that the copy for each movie often veers away from the subject and hand and becomes a much more comprehensive history of the director or other issues. For instance, in "Morgan's Creek" Briggs spend way too much narrative on Sturges' film history. Some of the other reviews suffer the same wandering narrative.
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  • R. Reagan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Still making the movies fun!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    I've been a long time fan of Joe Bob Briggs, so while this book does not have the usual irreverence of a Joe Bob Drive-In Movie book (no descriptions of monkey-fu, no head count, no count of naked...well, you get the picture), Joe Bob (a.k.a. John Bloom) does a masterful job of providing fascinating historical context and insightful commentary of films that fall outside of the normal titles you would expect to see framed within this context. Joe Bob's exploration of performers and movies like Valentino within The Sheik or Diane Keaton's performance within Looking for Mr. Goodbar makes this book a must read for those that truly love cinema. I really enjoyed this book and also recommend Profoundly Disturbing equally as much.
    2 people found this helpful
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