1981 in film

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Events

• January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it.
• November 29 - Off Santa Catalina Island, 43-year old actress Natalie Wood drowns during a boating accident.
• Kathleen Turner makes her acting debut.
• Tom Cruise makes his acting debut.
• June 12 - Raiders of the Lost Ark is released. It set a major standard for many action-adventure films to date.

Top grossing films (U.S.)

Rank	Title	Studio	Actors	Director	Gross
1.	Raiders of the Lost Ark	Paramount/Lucasfilm	Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott	Steven Spielberg	$384,562,121
2.	On Golden Pond	Universal	Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Dabney Coleman, and Katharine Hepburn	Mark Rydell	$119,285,432
3.	Superman II	Warner Bros.	Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Terence Stamp, and Gene Hackman	Richard Lester	$108,185,706
4.	Arthur	Warner Bros.	Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, and John Gielgud	Steve Gordon	$95,461,682
5.	Stripes	Columbia	Bill Murray and Harold Ramis	Ivan Reitman	$85,297,000
6.	The Cannonball Run	20th Century Fox	Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Sammy Davis Jr., Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, Jamie Farr, Jackie Chan, Terry Bradshaw, and Dean Martin	Hal Needham	$72,179,579
7.	Chariots of Fire	Warner Bros. / The Ladd Company	Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Ian Holm	Hugh Hudson	$58,972,904
8.	For Your Eyes Only	United Artists	Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, and Julian Glover	John Glen	$54,812,802
9.	The Four Seasons	Universal	Alan Alda, Carol Burnett, Sandy Dennis	Alan Alda	$50,427,646
10.	Time Bandits	Embassy	John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, David Warner, Michael Palin, and Sean Connery	Terry Gilliam	$42,365,581

Link: [1]

Awards

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: Chariots of Fire - Enigma, The Ladd Company/Warner Bros.

Best Director: Warren Beatty - Reds

Best Actor: Henry Fonda - On Golden Pond

Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn - On Golden Pond

Best Supporting Actor: John Gielgud - Arthur

Best Supporting Actress: Maureen Stapleton - Reds

Best Foreign Language Film: Mephisto, directed by Istvan Szabo, Hungary

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: On Golden Pond

Best Actor: Henry Fonda - On Golden Pond

Best Actress: Meryl Streep - The French Lieutenant's Woman

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: Arthur

Best Actor: Dudley Moore - Arthur

Best Actress: Bernadette Peters - Pennies from Heaven

Other

Best Director: Warren Beatty - Reds

Best Foreign Film: Chariots of Fire, United Kingdom

Golden Raspberry Awards:

Worst Picture: Mommie Dearest

Worst Director: Michael Cimino - Heaven's Gate

Worst Actor: Klinton Spilsbury - The Legend of the Lone Ranger

Worst Actress: Bo Derek - Tarzan, the Ape Man; Faye Dunaway - Mommie Dearest

Worst Supporting Actor: Steve Forrest - Mommie Dearest

Worst Supporting Actress: Diana Scarwid - Mommie Dearest

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

Man of Iron (Człowiek z żelaza), directed by Andrzej Wajda, Poland

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Marianne and Juliane (Die Bleierne Zeit), directed by Margarethe von Trotta, W. Germany

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Faster, Faster (Deprisa, deprisa / Vivre vite), directed by Carlos Saura, Spain / France

Films released in 1981

U.S.A. unless stated

A

• Absence of Malice, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban and Melinda Dillon
• All Night Long, starring Barbra Streisand, Gene Hackman and Dennis Quaid
• ...All the Marbles, starring Peter Falk, Vicki Frederick and Laurene Landon
• American Pop, an animated musical by Ralph Bakshi
• An American Werewolf in London, directed by John Landis, starring David Naughton, Griffin Dunne and Jenny Agutter - (U.S.A./U.K.)
• Amy, starring Jenny Agutter
• Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli and John Gielgud
• The Aviator's Wife (La femme de l'aviateur), directed by Éric Rohmer - (France)

B

• Back Roads, directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones
• Beau Pere, directed by Bertrand Blier - (France)
• Berlin Tunnel 21, starring Richard Thomas and Horst Buchholz
• Bianco, rosso e Verdone - (Italy)
• Blind Chance (Przypadek) - (Poland)
• Blood Wedding (Bodas de sangre), directed by Carlos Saura - (Spain)
• Blow Out, directed by Brian De Palma, starring John Travolta, Nancy Allen and John Lithgow
• The Boat Is Full (Das Boot ist voll) - (Switzerland)
• Body Heat, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke
• Das Boot (American release in 1982), directed by Wolfgang Petersen, starring Jürgen Prochnow - (West Germany)
• Buriki no kunsho - (Japan)
• Buddy Buddy, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau
• The Burning
• Bustin' Loose, starring Richard Pryor

C

• The Cannonball Run, directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Jackie Chan
• Carbon Copy, starring George Segal and Denzel Washington
• Caveman, directed by Carl Gottlieb, starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, and Shelley Long
• Chariots of Fire, directed by Hugh Hudson, starring Ben Cross, Ian Charleson and Nigel Havers - (U.K.)
• Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, directed by Uli Edel - (West Germany)
• Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, directed by David Lowell Rich, starring Carol Burnett and Alan Arkin
• Circle of Deceit (Die Fälschung), directed by Volker Schlöndorff, starring Bruno Ganz, Hanna Schygulla and Jerzy Skolimowski - (West Germany)
• Clash of the Titans, starring Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith - (U.S.A./U.K.)
• Come On, Granpa's!
• Condorman, starring Michael Crawford, Oliver Reed and Barbara Carrera - (U.K.)
• Continental Divide, starring John Belushi, Blair Brown, Allen Garfield
• Coup de torchon, directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Philippe Noiret and Isabelle Huppert - (France)
• Cutter's Way, starring Jeff Bridges

D

• Dance Craze, concert documentary featuring Madness, The Beat, The Specials and others
• Dead & Buried, starring James Farantino
• Deadly Blessing. starring Sharon Stone and Ernest Borgnine
• The Decline of Western Civilization, a documentary film
• Deprisa, Deprisa (Hurry, Hurry!), directed by Carlos Saura - (Spain) - Golden Bear winner
• The Devil and Max Devlin, starring Elliott Gould and Bill Cosby
• Diva, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix - (France)
• Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (Sjecas li se Doli Bel?) - (Yugoslavia)
• Dragonslayer, starring Peter MacNicol
• Dreszcze (Shivers) - (Poland)

E

• Eijanaika (Why Not?), directed by Shohei Imamura - (Japan)
• Ek Duuje Ke Liye - (India)
• Endless Love, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt
• Escape from New York, directed by John Carpenter, starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef and Ernest Borgnine
• Escape to Victory, starring Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, Max von Sydow and Pelé
• The Evil Dead, directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell
• Excalibur, directed by John Boorman, starring Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicol Williamson and Nicholas Clay - (U.K.)
• An Eye for an Eye, starring Chuck Norris
• Eye of the Needle, starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan - (U.K.)
• Eyewitness, directed by Peter Yates, starring William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver

F

• The Fan, starring Lauren Bacall and James Garner
• For Your Eyes Only, starring Roger Moore as James Bond - (U.K.)
• Fort Apache the Bronx, directed by Daniel Petrie, starring Paul Newman, Ed Asner, Ken Wahl
• The Four Seasons, directed by and starring Alan Alda with Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Sandy Dennis
• The Fox and the Hound, with the voices of Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey
• The French Lieutenant's Woman, directed by Karel Reisz, starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons - (U.K.)
• Friday the 13th Part 2
• Full Moon High
• The Funhouse, directed by Tobe Hooper

G

• Gallipoli, directed by Peter Weir, starring Mel Gibson - (Australia)
• Gangster Wars
• Garde a vue, starring Romy Schneider and Michel Serrault - (France)
• Gas - (Canada)
• The German Sisters, Golden Lion winner
• Going Ape!, starring Tony Danza, Stacey Nelkin, Jessica Walter and Danny DeVito
• The Great Muppet Caper
• Gregory's Girl, directed by Bill Forsyth - (U.K.)

H

• Halloween II, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence
• The Hand, directed by Oliver Stone, starring Michael Caine
• Hands Up!, (Ręce do góry), directed by Jerzy Skolimowski - (Poland) - originally made in 1967 but withheld
• Happy Birthday to Me, starring Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford - (Canada)
• Hardly Working, starring Jerry Lewis
• Harry's War, starring Edward Herrmann
• Heartbeeps, directed by Allan Arkush, starring Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters
• Heavy Metal - (Canada)
• Hell Night, starring Linda Blair
• History of the World: Part I, directed by and starring Mel Brooks with Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman
• The Howling, directed by Joe Dante, starring Dee Wallace and Patrick Macnee

I-J

• I Love You (Eu Te Amo), starring Sônia Braga - (Brazil)
• The Incredible Shrinking Woman, starring Lily Tomlin and Charles Grodin
• Inseminoid, starring Judy Geeson - (U.K.)
• The Inventor (Der Erfinder) - (Switzerland/West Germany)

K

• The Killing of Angel Street - (Australia)
• Knightriders, starring Ed Harris

L

• The Land of Hunger
• The Last Chase, starring Lee Majors
• Lawaaris - (India)
• The Legend of the Lone Ranger, starring Klinton Spilsbury, winner of a Golden Raspberry award for Worst Actor
• Lili Marleen, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hanna Schygulla - (West Germany)
• The Lion of the Desert, starring Anthony Quinn - (Libya)
• Lola, a German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Barbara Sukowa and Armin Mueller-Stahl - (West Germany)
• Looker, starring Albert Finney
• The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie

M

• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, starring Mel Gibson - (Australia)
• Man of Iron, directed by Andrzej Wajda - (Poland) - Palme d'Or winner
• Marianne and Juliane (Die bleierne Zeit), directed by Margarethe von Trotta, starring Barbara Sukowa - (West Germany)
• Il Marchese del Grillo, directed by Mario Monicelli, starring Alberto Sordi - (Italy)
• Mephisto, directed by Istvan Szabo, starring Klaus Maria Brandauer - (Hungary/West Germany/Austria)
• Il minestrone, starring Roberto Benigni - (Italy)
• Modern Romance, directed by and starring Albert Brooks with Kathryn Harrold and Bruno Kirby
• Mommie Dearest, starring Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid and Steve Forrest - winner of five Golden Raspberry Awards including the Worst Picture and the Worst Actress (Dunaway).
• Ms. 45, directed by Abel Ferrara
• My Bloody Valentine - (Canada)
• My Dinner with Andre, starring Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory
• The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (Tajemství hradu v Karpatech) - (Czechoslovakia)

N

• Neighbors, starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd
• The Nesting starring Bill Rowley, Gloria Grahame
• Nice Dreams, a Cheech & Chong film
• Nighthawks, starring Sylvester Stallone, Rutger Hauer and Billy Dee Williams
• Nobody's Perfekt

O

• Omen III: The Final Conflict, starring Sam Neill, Rossano Brazzi - (U.S.A./U.K.)
• On Golden Pond, directed by Mark Rydell, starring Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Jane Fonda
• On the Right Track, starring Gary Coleman
• Only When I Laugh, starring Marsha Mason, Kristy McNichol, James Coco and Joan Hackett
• Outland, directed by Peter Hyams, starring Sean Connery and Peter Boyle - (U.K.)

P

• Pacific Banana
• Paternity, starring Burt Reynolds and Beverly D'Angelo
• Pennies From Heaven, directed by Herbert Ross, starring Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters and Christopher Walken - based on the 1978 BBC Television serial by Dennis Potter.
• Pixote, directed by Hector Babenco - (Brazil)
• Polyester, directed by John Waters, starring Divine
• Possession, starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill - (France/West Germany)
• The Postman Always Rings Twice, directed by Bob Rafelson, starring Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange
• Prince of the City, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Treat Williams
• The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper

Q

• Quartet, directed by James Ivory, starring Alan Bates, Maggie Smith and Isabelle Adjani - (U.K.)
• Quest for Fire (aka La Guerre du feu), directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud - (Canada/France/U.S.A.)

R

• Raggedy Man, starring Sam Shepard and Sissy Spacek
• Ragtime, directed by Milos Forman, starring James Cagney, Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Elizabeth McGovern, Mandy Patinkin, Mary Steenburgen
• Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Harrison Ford and Karen Allen
• Reds, directed by and starring Warren Beatty with Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Maureen Stapleton
• Rich and Famous, directed by George Cukor, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen
• Ritam zločina - (Yugoslavia)
• Roadgames, directed by Richard Franklin, starring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis - (Australia)
• Rollover, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Jane Fonda and Kris Kristofferson

S

• S.O.B., directed by Blake Edwards, starring Julie Andrews, William Holden, Robert Preston, Richard Mulligan
• Saturday the 14th, starring Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin
• Scanners, directed by David Cronenberg - (Canada)
• Sharky's Machine, directed by and starring Burt Reynolds, with Rachel Ward, Henry Silva, Vittorio Gassman, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman
• Shaukeen, starring Ashok Kumar - (India)
• Shikake-nin Baian - (Japan)
• Shock Treatment, starring Jessica Harper and Cliff De Young (received a limited release)
• The Simple-Minded Murder (Den Enfaldige Mördaren), starring Stellan Skarsgård - (Sweden)
• Sogni d'oro
• Southern Comfort, directed by Walter Hill, starring Keith Carradine and Powers Boothe
• Strange Behavior, starring Michael Murphy and Louise Fletcher - (New Zealand)
• Stripes, directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, John Larroquette, John Candy
• Suddenly at Midnight (Gipeun bam, gapjagi) - (South Korea)
• Sweet & Sour Cops

T

• The Tale of Today, Tomorrow, and the Day After
• Taps, directed by Harold Becker, starring Timothy Hutton, George C. Scott, Sean Penn and Tom Cruise
• Tarzan, the Ape Man, starring Bo Derek and Richard Harris
• Tattoo, starring Bruce Dern and Maud Adams
• Taxi zum Klo (Taxi to the Toilet) - (West Germany)
• They All Laughed, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazzara
• They Don't Wear Black Tie
• Thief (aka Violent Streets), directed by Michael Mann, starring James Caan, Tuesday Weld, James Belushi, Robert Prosky
• This is Elvis, a documentary
• Three Brothers (Tre fratelli), directed by Francesco Rosi - (Italy)
• Time Bandits, directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Cleese, Sean Connery and Shelley Duvall - (U.K.)
• Tree of Knowledge (Kundskabens træ) - (Denmark)
• True Confessions, directed by Ulu Grosbard, starring Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall
• The True Story of Ah Q (Ā Q zhèng zhuàn) - (China)
• Tuck Everlasting

U-V

• Under the Rainbow, starring Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher and Billy Barty
• Les Uns et les Autres, directed by Claude Lelouch - (France)
• Vernon, Florida, a documentary

W

• Whose Life Is It Anyway?, directed by John Badham, starring Richard Dreyfuss
• Will
• Wolfen, starring Albert Finney, Diane Venora and Gregory Hines
• The Woman Next Door (La Femme d'à côté), directed by François Truffaut, starring Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant - (France)
• Woman Who Exposes Herself (Misetagaru onna) - (Japan)
• Women We Salute You!

XYZ

• Zoot Suit, starring Edward James Olmos

Wide-release movies

October–December

• November 18, 1981

Absence of Malice

Births (future actors)

• January 28 – Elijah Wood, actor
• January 31 - Justin Timberlake, singer and actor
• February 17 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, actor
• April 10 - Michael Pitt, actor
• April 19 - Hayden Christensen, actor
• April 19 - Catalina Sandino Moreno, actress
• April 28 - Jessica Alba, actress
• May 15 - Samantha Noble, actress
• June 9 - Natalie Portman (Natalie Hershlag), actress
• July 24 - Summer Glau, actress
• September 12 - Jennifer Hudson, singer and actress
• December 2 - Britney Spears, singer and actress

Deaths

• January 10 - Richard Boone, actor
• January 11 - Beulah Bondi, actress
• January 16 - Bernard Lee, actor
• February 1 - Wanda Hendrix, actress
• July 27 - William Wyler, director
• August 1 - Paddy Chayefsky, screenwriter
• August 4 - Melvyn Douglas, actor
• August 18 - Anita Loos, writer
• September 27 - Robert Montgomery, actor
• October 24 - Edith Head, costume designer
• November 12 - William Holden, actor
• November 27 - Lotte Lenya, actress
• November 29 - Natalie Wood, actress
• December 17 - Ada Kramm, actress
• December 28 - Allan Dwan, pioneer film director

Film debuts

• Ben Affleck
• Jason Alexander - The Burning
• Kim Basinger - Hard Country
• James Belushi - Thief
• Gabriel Byrne - Excalibur
• James Cameron
• Kevin Costner
• Tom Cruise - Endless Love
• Jeff Daniels - Ragtime
• Dennis Farina - Thief
• Jami Gertz - Endless Love
• Holly Hunter - The Burning
• Ciarán Hinds - Excalibur
• Alfred Molina - Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Demi Moore - Choices
• Sean Penn - Taps
• Amanda Plummer - Cattle Annie and Little Britches
• Geoffrey Rush - Hoodwink
• Meg Ryan - Rich And Famous
• Madeleine Stowe
• Henry Thomas - Raggedy Man
• Kathleen Turner - Body Heat
• Denzel Washington - Carbon Copy