Very much born of the permissive climate of the late sixties, the first issue's editorial stated: “So far the more adult magazines have reserved a few pages for the X cinema ... blood and sex are only lightly touched on.

Seen today, early issues of the magazine appear somewhat faceless, often consisting merely of an editorial followed by film pictorials with short plot synopses.

And in 1975 the magazine produced its own 'X'-rated cinema advertisement, featuring model Nita Blair and directed by Ray Selfe.

A British sex film edition followed (Vol.5, No.1), with Cinema X interviewing the likes of Pete Walker, Derek Ford and Stanley Long.

The then extant policies of UK censorship meant that British films had to remain softcore while the United States and most of Europe headed into the hardcore porno chic era.

But Cinema X discovered that many British filmmakers were shooting hardcore versions of their films for overseas release, while never publicly admitting to doing so.