The Surprising History of Sex and Love is a documentary presented by Terry Jones, looking at the different and surprising attitudes to sex and love throughout history. The documentary traces the story of changing social and religious attitudes to sex through a broad swathe of history. Starting with the place of ’sacred sex’ in the ancient world and ending with a discussion of the contemporary relationship between sex, marketing and prurience, the film offers some kind of map of how we got from there to here, and indicates that changes in sexual attitudes are connected with issues of power and control.
Acting
Terry Jones's mischievous narration — scholarly with a wink.
Writing
Script balances academic rigor with Python-esque absurdity.
Director
Alan Ereira
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was part of Jones's late-career pivot toward serious historical documentaries, proving Python brains had real scholarly chops.
The film's 'sacred prostitution' segment drew academic fire — some scholars now dispute how widespread the practice actually was in ancient Near East.
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