Production of erotic films commenced almost immediately after the invention of the motion picture.Two of the earliest pioneers were Frenchmen Eugène Pirou and Albert Kirchner.Today, pornographic films can be sold or rented on DVD, shown through Internet streaming and special channels and pay-per-view on cable and satellite, and in rapidly disappearing adult theaters.They are generally not permitted to be shown in mainstream cinemas or on free-to-air television.Subgenres can also be classified into the characteristics of the performers or the type of sexual activity on which it concentrates, and not necessarily on the market to which each subgenre appeals.The subgenres usually conform to certain conventions, and each may appeal to a particular audience.was released as a short nickelodeon kinetoscope/film featuring a gyrating belly dancer named Fatima.
Only in the 1970s, during the Golden Age of Porn, were pornographic films semi-legitimized; and by the 1980s, pornography on home video achieved wider distribution.A distinction is sometimes made between "erotic" films and "pornographic" films on the basis that the latter contain more explicit sexuality, and focus more on arousal than storytelling, but the distinction is highly subjective.Pornographic films are produced and distributed on a variety of media, depending on demand and the technology available, including traditional film stock in various formats, video for home viewing, DVDs, Internet download, cable TV and other media.Pornographic films, or sex films, are films that present sexually explicit subject matter for the purpose of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction of the viewer.Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotically stimulating material such as nudity and depictions of sexual intercourse.