Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
2018
7.1/10

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
6.0/10

The Celluloid Closet
1996
7.1/10

Welcome to Chechnya
2020
6.8/10

Cameraperson
2016
6.7/10

Frida
2024
6.7/10

Woody Allen: A Documentary
2011
6.9/10

LA Originals
2020
7.0/10

Milius
2013
7.0/10

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
2013
6.9/10

I Am Heath Ledger
2017
7.4/10

20,000 Days on Earth
2014
7.0/10

Howard
2018
6.8/10

Love, Antosha
2019
7.4/10

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
2018
7.5/10

Tupac: Resurrection
2003
7.9/10

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
2022
7.2/10

My Mom Jayne
2025
8.0/10

McQueen
2018
7.5/10

Naqoyqatsi
2002
6.1/10
The Third Way
2014
0/10