1981 in Film - Notable Films Released in 1981

Notable Films Released in 1981

U.S.A. unless stated

A

• Absence of Malice, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon
• All Night Long, starring Barbra Streisand, Gene Hackman, Diane Ladd, Dennis Quaid
• ...All the Marbles, starring Peter Falk, Vicki Frederick and Laurene Landon
• American Pop, an animated rotoscope musical by Ralph Bakshi and starring Ron Thompson
• An American Werewolf in London, directed by John Landis, starring David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter - (U.S.A./U.K.)
• Amy, starring Jenny Agutter and Barry Newman
• Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Stephen Elliott, Jill Eikenberry
• 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
• Betrayal (Løperjenten) - (Norway)
• Bianco, rosso e Verdone - (Italy)
• Blind Chance (Przypadek) - (Poland)
• The Blood of Hussain - (Pakistan)
• Blood Wedding (Bodas de sangre), directed by Carlos Saura - (Spain)
• Blow Out, directed by Brian De Palma, starring John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Dennis Franz, John Lithgow
• The Boat Is Full (Das Boot ist voll) - (Switzerland)
• Body Heat, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Ted Danson, Richard Crenna, J.A. Preston, Mickey Rourke
• Body and Soul, starring Jayne Kennedy, Leon Isaac Kennedy, Michael V. Gazzo
• 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, starring Brian Matthews - (U.S.A./Canada)
• Bustin' Loose, starring Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson

C

• The Cannonball Run, directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett
• Carbon Copy, starring George Segal and Denzel Washington
• Cattle Annie and Little Britches, starring Burt Lancaster, Rod Steiger, John Savage, Diane Lane, Amanda Plummer
• Caveman, directed by Carl Gottlieb, starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long
• Chariots of Fire, directed by Hugh Hudson, starring Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers - (U.K.)
• Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen, starring Peter Ustinov, Lee Grant, Angie Dickinson
• Charlotte - (Netherlands)
• The Chosen, starring Robby Benson, Barry Miller, Maximilian Schell, Rod Steiger
• Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, directed by Uli Edel, starring Natja Brunckhorst - (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.)
• Condorman, starring Michael Crawford, Oliver Reed, Barbara Carrera - (U.K.)
• Le confort et l'indifférence (Comfort and Indifference) - (Canada)
• 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, Lisa Eichhorn, John Heard

D

• Dance Craze, concert documentary featuring Madness, The Beat, The Specials and others - (U.K.)
• Dead & Buried, starring James Farantino
• Deadly Blessing. starring Sharon Stone and Ernest Borgnine
• Death Hunt, starring Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Andrew Stevens, Carl Weathers, Angie Dickinson
• 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 Shōhei Imamura - (Japan)
• Ek Duuje Ke Liye (Made for Each Other) - (India)
• Embryo, directed by Ralph Nelson, starring Rock Hudson and Barbara Carrera
• Endless Love, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt
• The Entity, starring Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, Margaret Blye
• Escape from New York, directed by John Carpenter, starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau
• Escape to Victory (aka Victory), directed by John Huston, starring Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, Max von Sydow, Pelé
• The Evil Dead, directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell
• Excalibur, directed by John Boorman, starring Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicol Williamson, Nicholas Clay, Liam Neeson - (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, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer, James Woods

F

• The Fan, starring Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Maureen Stapleton, Michael Biehn
• Fever (Gorączka), directed by Agnieszka Holland - (Poland)
• First Monday in October, starring Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh
• For Your Eyes Only, starring Roger Moore (as James Bond), with Carole Bouquet, Lynn-Holly Johnson - (U.K.)
• Fort Apache the Bronx, directed by Daniel Petrie, starring Paul Newman, Ed Asner, Ken Wahl
• Four Friends, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Craig Wasson and Jodi Thelen
• The Four Seasons, directed by and starring Alan Alda, with Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Sandy Dennis, Len Cariou, Jack Weston
• 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, starring Amy Steel
• Full Moon High, starring Adam Arkin
• The Funhouse, directed by Tobe Hooper

G

• Gallipoli, directed by Peter Weir, starring Mel Gibson - (Australia)
• Gangster Wars, starring Michael Nouri, Joe Penny, Brian Benben, Madeline Stowe
• Garde a vue, starring Romy Schneider and Michel Serrault - (France)
• Gas, starring Susan Anspach, Sterling Hayden, Helen Shaver - (Canada)
• The German Sisters (Die bleierne Zeit), directed by Margarethe von Trotta, starring Barbara Sukowa, Golden Lion winner - (West Germany)
• Ghost Story, starring Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Melvyn Douglas, John Houseman
• The Girl with the Red Hair (Het meisje met het rode haar) - (Netherlands)
• Going Ape!, starring Tony Danza, Stacey Nelkin, Jessica Walter, Danny DeVito
• Goodbye Pork Pie - (New Zealand)
• Graduation Day, starring Christopher George
• The Great Muppet Caper, directed by Jim Henson - (U.S.A./U.K.)
• Gregory's Girl, directed by Bill Forsyth - (U.K.)
• Grendel Grendel Grendel, starring Peter Ustinov - (Australia)

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)
• Hard Country, starring Jan-Michael Vincent and Kim Basinger
• Hardly Working, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis
• Harry's War, starring Edward Herrmann
• Heartbeeps, directed by Allan Arkush, starring Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters
• Heavy Metal, starring John Candy - (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
• Honky Tonk Freeway, starring William Devane, Beau Bridges, Teri Garr, Beverly D'Angelo, Howard Hesseman, Jessica Tandy
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Sobaka Baskerviley) - (U.S.S.R.)
• 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, Stephanie Beacham, Victoria Tennant - (U.K.)
• The Inventor (Der Erfinder) - (Switzerland/West Germany)
• Just Another Missing Kid, winner of Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature - (Canada)

K

• Killing Heat (Gräset Sjunger), starring Karen Black - (Sweden/Zambia)
• The Killing of Angel Street - (Australia)
• Knightriders, starring Ed Harris
• Kranti (Revolution), starring Dilip Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor - (India)

L

• Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, starring Diane Lane and Laura Dern
• Lady Chatterley's Lover, starring Sylvia Kristel and Nicholas Clay
• The Land of Hunger (Aakali Rajyam) - (India)
• The Last Chase, starring Lee Majors
• Lawaaris, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman - (India)
• The Legend of the Lone Ranger, starring Klinton Spilsbury, winner of a Golden Raspberry award for Worst Actor
• Light Years Away (Les Années lumière), starring Trevor Howard - (France)
• Lili Marleen, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hanna Schygulla - (West Germany)
• The Lion of the Desert, starring Anthony Quinn - (Libya)
• The Little Fox (Vuk) - (Hungary)
• Lola, a German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Barbara Sukowa and Armin Mueller-Stahl - (West Germany)
• Looker, directed by Michael Crichton, starring Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey
• Looks and Smiles, directed by Ken Loach - (U.K.)
• The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
• Loophole, starring Albert Finney and Martin Sheen

M

• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, starring Mel Gibson - (Australia)
• Man of Iron (Człowiek z żelaza), directed by Andrzej Wajda - (Poland) - Palme d'Or winner
• Mandala - (South Korea)
• 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)
• Masada, TV miniseries, starring Peter O'Toole, Peter Strauss, Barbara Carrera, David Warner
• The Melody Haunts My Memory (Samo jednom se ljubi) - (Yugoslavia)
• 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, Steve Forrest - winner of five Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Picture and Worst Actress (Dunaway)
• Montenegro, starring Susan Anspach and Erland Josephson - (Sweden)
• Ms. 45, directed by Abel Ferrara
• Muzhiki! - (U.S.S.R.)
• 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)
• The Mystery of the Third Planet (Tayna tretyey planety) - (U.S.S.R.)

N

• Naseeb (Destiny), starring Amitabh Bachchan - (India)
• National Heritage (Patrimonio nacional), directed by Luis García Berlanga - (Spain)
• 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, Billy Dee Williams
• The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, starring Kristy McNichol, Dennis Quaid, Mark Hamill
• Nobody's Perfekt, starring Gabe Kaplan, Alex Karras, Robert Klein

O

• The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians (Pruncul, petrolul şi ardelenii) - (Romania)
• 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, Jane Fonda
• On the Right Track, starring Gary Coleman
• Only When I Laugh, starring Marsha Mason, Kristy McNichol, James Coco, Joan Hackett
• Outland, directed by Peter Hyams, starring Sean Connery and Peter Boyle - (U.K.)

P

• Passion of Love (Passione d'amore), directed by Ettore Scola - (Italy)
• Paternity, directed by David Steinberg, starring Burt Reynolds and Beverly D'Angelo
• La Pelle (The Skin), directed by Liliana Cavani, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale - (Italy)
• Pennies From Heaven, starring Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Jessica Harper, Christopher Walken - based on the TV series by Dennis Potter
• Pixote, directed by Héctor 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
• Priest of Love, starring Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman, Ava Gardner - (U.K.)
• Prince of the City, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Treat Williams and Jerry Orbach
• Private Lessons, starring Sylvia Kristel, Howard Hesseman, Ed Begley, Jr.
• The Prodigal Son (Bai ga jai), directed by and starring Sammo Hung - (Hong Kong)
• The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper, starring Treat Williams, Robert Duvall, Kathryn Harrold

Q

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

R

• Race for the Yankee Zephyr, starring Ken Wahl, Lesley Ann Warren, George Peppard - (New Zealand)
• 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, Brad Dourif
• 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, Gene Hackman, Paul Sorvino
• 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
• Ruckus, starring Dirk Benedict, Linda Blair, Richard Farnsworth

S

• S.O.B., directed by Blake Edwards, starring Julie Andrews, William Holden, Robert Preston, Richard Mulligan
• The Salamander, starring Anthony Quinn, Franco Nero, Eli Wallach, Claudia Cardinale
• 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
• Shaolin and Wu-Tang (Shao Lin yu Wu Dang), Directed by Liu Chia-Hui, starring Adam Cheng, Gordon Liu and Wang Lung Wei - (Hong Kong)
• The Simple-Minded Murder (Den Enfaldige Mördaren), starring Stellan Skarsgård - (Sweden)
• The Sixth (Shestoy) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Smash Palace, directed by Roger Donaldson - (New Zealand)
• Sogni d'oro (Golden Dreams), directed by and starring Nanni Moretti - (Italy)
• Southern Comfort, directed by Walter Hill, starring Keith Carradine and Powers Boothe
• Sphinx, starring Lesley-Anne Down and Frank Langella
• Station (Eki Station) - (Japan)
• Strange Affair (Une étrange affaire), starring Michel Piccoli - (France)
• 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
• Student Bodies
• Suddenly at Midnight (Gipeun bam, gapjagi) - (South Korea)

T

• Take This Job and Shove It, starring Robert Hays, Barbara Hershey, Art Carney
• Tales of Ordinary Madness (Storie di ordinaria follia), starring Ben Gazzara and Ornella Muti - (Italy/France)
• Taps, directed by Harold Becker, starring Timothy Hutton, George C. Scott, Ronny Cox, Sean Penn, 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)
• Teheran 43, starring Alain Delon - (U.S.S.R./France/Switzerland)
• They All Laughed, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazzara
• They Don't Wear Black Tie (Eles Não Usam Black-Tie) - (Brazil)
• 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)
• Threshold, directed by Richard Pearce, starring Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Mare Winningham - (Canada)
• Ticket to Heaven, starring Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster - (Canada)
• Time Bandits, directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall - (U.K.)
• Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Ugo Tognazzi and Anouk Aimée - (Italy)
• Tree of Knowledge (Kundskabens træ) - (Denmark)
• True Confessions, directed by Ulu Grosbard, starring Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, Burgess Meredith, Kenneth McMillan
• 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)
• Útlaginn (Outlaw: The Saga of Gisli) - (Iceland)
• Variola Vera - (Yugoslavia)
• Vernon, Florida, a documentary

W

• Whose Life Is It Anyway?, directed by John Badham, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Bob Balaban, Christine Lahti, John Cassavetes
• Will, starring Robert Conrad
• 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)

Z

• Zoot Suit, starring Edward James Olmos
• Zorro, the Gay Blade, starring George Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Brenda Vaccaro, Ron Leibman