We could spend a long time discussing why modern audiences remain so fascinated with the movies (and, indeed, the wider popular culture) of the 1980s. However, it seems fair to say that at least one of the key reasons for this contemporary appeal is the sense that the 80s were the last time Hollywood had a real 'anything goes' attitude. Political correctness had not yet been fully embraced by the mainstream, and as such, ideas about what constituted 'family entertainment' were not quite the same as they are today. From a British perspective, it was a particularly strange period. From 1984 onwards, with the passing of the notorious Video Recordings Act, video retailers saw scores of blacklisted horror and exploitation titles forcibly removed from shelves as video nasties - and yet, that same decade saw scores of movies passed with PG certificates boasting content that would never fly with the BBFC today. While this of course extends to violent content (who can forget the shocking gore of the somehow PG-rated Jaws and Indiana Jones movies), for the purposes of this article we're going to keep the focus primarily on... whisper it... the naughty bits. Given that 2015 saw Pixels given a 12A seemingly on the strength of a very mild gag about a character wanting to have a threesome, it's pretty much impossible to imagine the second least restrictive certificate being granted to any of the following smut-ridden films (indeed, some of them have been subsequently reclassified with a higher rating). But, as someone once said, it was acceptable in the 80s...
