Year by year: 1981
by cafg-0 | created - 16 Sep 2012 | updated - 10 months ago | PublicMy 50 favorite films of 1981
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1. Ragtime (1981)
PG | 155 min | Drama
A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence and other nostalgic events in early 1900s New York City.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: James Cagney, Elizabeth McGovern, Howard E. Rollins Jr., Brad Dourif
Votes: 10,552 | Gross: $21.02M
2. Reds (1981)
PG | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
A radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.
Director: Warren Beatty | Stars: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Herrmann, Jerzy Kosinski
Votes: 24,708 | Gross: $40.38M
3. Excalibur (1981)
PG | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Merlin the magician helps Arthur Pendragon unite the Britons around the Round Table of Camelot, even as dark forces conspire to tear it apart.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi
Votes: 67,139 | Gross: $34.97M
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
PG | 115 min | Action, Adventure
In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
Votes: 1,036,556 | Gross: $248.16M
5. Time for Revenge (1981)
R | 112 min | Drama, Thriller
Two coworkers fake an accident to blackmail the company they work for for a sum of money. However, the plan goes awry and one of them dies. The surviving employee demands a compensation, but the company refuses to pay him.
Director: Adolfo Aristarain | Stars: Federico Luppi, Haydée Padilla, Julio De Grazia, Ulises Dumont
Votes: 1,312
6. Man of Iron (1981)
PG | 156 min | Drama, History
A few years after the events of Man of Marble (1977), a journalist investigates Mateusz Birkut's son Maciek Tomczyk, now an activist leading a shipyard strike.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Krystyna Janda, Marian Opania, Wieslawa Kosmalska
Votes: 3,794
7. Pixote (1980)
TV-MA | 128 min | Crime, Drama
The life of a boy on the streets of Sao Paulo, involved with crimes, prostitution, and drugs.
Director: Hector Babenco | Stars: Fernando Ramos da Silva, Jorge Julião, Gilberto Moura, Edilson Lino
Votes: 9,228
8. Atlantic City (1980)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
In a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid, Michel Piccoli
Votes: 18,285
9. Mephisto (1981)
Unrated | 146 min | Drama
In early-1930s Germany, a passionate stage actor faces a dilemma: renounce his apolitical stance and comply with the Reich's doctrine, or face oblivion. But, Faustian bargains never end well. What is the price of success?
Director: István Szabó | Stars: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Ildikó Bánsági, Krystyna Janda, Rolf Hoppe
Votes: 11,589
10. The Aviator's Wife (1981)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Romance
A young student is devastated when he finds that his girlfriend is cheating on him. In order to find out why she did it, he decides to spy on her and her lover.
Director: Éric Rohmer | Stars: Philippe Marlaud, Marie Rivière, Anne-Laure Meury, Mathieu Carrière
Votes: 5,177
11. The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
R | 124 min | Drama, Romance
Anna and Mike portray two characters in a film set in 19th century England who fall in love despite the fact that Mike's character is engaged.
Director: Karel Reisz | Stars: Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae, Emily Morgan
Votes: 15,059 | Gross: $22.60M
12. The Woman Next Door (1981)
R | 106 min | Drama, Romance
Two ex-lovers wind up living next door to each other with their respective spouses. Forbidden passions ensue.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant, Henri Garcin, Michèle Baumgartner
Votes: 8,807
13. They Don't Wear Black Tie (1981)
120 min | Drama
Union leader's son doesn't want to engage in a strike, because his wife is pregnant, thus disregarding his father's tradition of political activism.
Director: Leon Hirszman | Stars: Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, Fernanda Montenegro, Carlos Alberto Riccelli, Bete Mendes
Votes: 1,819
14. Possession (1981)
R | 124 min | Drama, Horror
A woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.
Director: Andrzej Zulawski | Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent
Votes: 42,787 | Gross: $1.11M
15. Marianne & Juliane (1981)
106 min | Drama
Two sisters both fight for women's rights. Juliane is a journalist and Marianne a terrorist. When Marianne is jailed, Juliane feels obligated to help her despite their differing views on how to live.
Director: Margarethe von Trotta | Stars: Jutta Lampe, Barbara Sukowa, Rüdiger Vogler, Doris Schade
Votes: 2,621
16. El crack (1981)
M | 131 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Private detective Germán Areta gets a terminally ill client who wishes to see his long lost, runaway daughter before he dies. But when Areta starts looking into case, it leads him to the ... See full summary »
Director: José Luis Garci | Stars: Alfredo Landa, María Casanova, Manuel Tejada, Miguel Rellán
Votes: 1,892
17. Lili Marleen (1981)
R | 120 min | Drama, Music, Romance
In 1938, a German singer falls in love with a Jewish composer in Zurich, who helps Jews flee Nazi Germany. She wants to help but is forced back to Germany. Her song "Lili Marleen" becomes a hit with soldiers and the Nazi top brass.
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Stars: Hanna Schygulla, Giancarlo Giannini, Mel Ferrer, Karl-Heinz von Hassel
Votes: 4,291
18. Chariots of Fire (1981)
PG | 125 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.
Director: Hugh Hudson | Stars: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers
Votes: 65,864 | Gross: $58.97M
19. Passion of Love (1981)
117 min | Drama, History, Romance
In the 1860s, Giorgio (Giraudeau), a young Italian soldier, is sent to a remote post, far away from his lover, Clara (Antonelli). He is lodged in the house of the colonel (Girotti). He ... See full summary »
Director: Ettore Scola | Stars: Valeria D'Obici, Bernard Giraudeau, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Massimo Girotti
Votes: 1,020
20. Lola (1981)
R | 115 min | Drama, Romance
A seductive cabaret singer-prostitute pits a corrupt building contractor against the new straight-arrow building commissioner, launching an outrageous plan to elevate herself in a world where everything-and everyone-is for sale.
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Stars: Barbara Sukowa, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mario Adorf, Matthias Fuchs
Votes: 6,821
21. Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981)
PG | 116 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
An Italian businessman decides whether to pay a ransom for his abducted son or not.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Ugo Tognazzi, Anouk Aimée, Laura Morante, Victor Cavallo
Votes: 1,133
22. Body Heat (1981)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
During an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan | Stars: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson
Votes: 40,117 | Gross: $24.06M
23. Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (1981)
Not Rated | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young man's personality is shaped, involving some weird happenings around.
Director: Emir Kusturica | Stars: Slavko Stimac, Slobodan Aligrudic, Ljiljana Blagojevic, Mira Banjac
Votes: 6,791
24. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community escape a horde of bandits.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps
Votes: 193,604 | Gross: $12.47M
25. Prince of the City (1981)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett
Votes: 9,518 | Gross: $8.12M
26. Gallipoli (1981)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Two Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins
Votes: 41,945 | Gross: $5.73M
27. The Boat Is Full (1981)
PG | 101 min | Drama, War
During World War II, Switzerland severely limited refugees: "Our boat is full." A train from Germany halts briefly in an isolated corner of Switzerland. Six people jump off seeking asylum: ... See full summary »
Director: Markus Imhoof | Stars: Tina Engel, Hans Diehl, Martin Walz, Curt Bois
Votes: 702
28. Genocide (1982)
PG | 90 min | Documentary, Drama, History
Orson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor compassionately narrate this harrowing documentary about Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany, which soon turned into a notoriously industrious plan to wipe them from existence.
Director: Arnold Schwartzman | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Orson Welles, Simon Wiesenthal, Neville Chamberlain
Votes: 681
29. Fever (1981)
116 min | Drama, History
The film is set in 1905, in a time of feverish revolutionary underground activity in Poland partitioned between three neighbours. All the characters are committed anarchists. The bomb maker... See full summary »
Director: Agnieszka Holland | Stars: Barbara Grabowska, Adam Ferency, Boguslaw Linda, Olgierd Lukaszewicz
Votes: 288
30. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.
Director: Bob Rafelson | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos, Michael Lerner
Votes: 25,770 | Gross: $12.38M
31. Zoot Suit (1981)
R | 103 min | Drama, Musical
When barrio leader Henry Reyna and his friends are unjustly convicted on circumstantial evidence, activist lawyers Alice Bloomfield and George Shearer fight the blatant racially motivated miscarriage of justice to win them their freedom.
Director: Luis Valdez | Stars: Daniel Valdez, Edward James Olmos, Charles Aidman, Tyne Daly
Votes: 1,343 | Gross: $3.26M
32. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler
Votes: 25,761 | Gross: $5.25M
33. Four Friends (1981)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of four friends form strong bonds while in high school in the early 1960s, then desperately cling to that love during the turbulent counterculture movement and social upheavals that marked the end of the decade.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Craig Wasson, Jodi Thelen, Michael Huddleston, Jim Metzler
Votes: 2,013
34. Thief (1981)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi
Votes: 38,943 | Gross: $11.49M
35. Muddy River (1981)
105 min | Drama
In post-War Japan, a boy from a noodle store-owning family befriends a neighboring boy living in poverty.
Director: Kôhei Oguri | Stars: Takahiro Tamura, Mariko Kaga, Nobutaka Asahara, Makiko Shibata
Votes: 1,036
36. Pennies from Heaven (1981)
R | 108 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
During the Great Depression, a sheet-music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Jessica Harper, Vernel Bagneris
Votes: 6,173 | Gross: $9.18M
37. Three Brothers (1981)
PG | 113 min | Drama
Three men face their mother's death.
Director: Francesco Rosi | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Michele Placido, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Andréa Ferréol
Votes: 1,794
38. Heaven's Gate (1980)
R | 219 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston
Votes: 17,138 | Gross: $3.48M
39. On Golden Pond (1981)
PG | 109 min | Drama
Norman is a curmudgeon with an estranged relationship with his daughter Chelsea. At Golden Pond, he and his wife nevertheless agree to care for Billy, the son of Chelsea's new boyfriend, and a most unexpected relationship blooms.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Doug McKeon
Votes: 34,843 | Gross: $119.29M
40. The Grilling (1981)
87 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A police inspector, suspecting an attorney of two child sex murders, has him held for a questioning session that goes on for hours.
Director: Claude Miller | Stars: Lino Ventura, Michel Serrault, Romy Schneider, Guy Marchand
Votes: 5,336
41. Deprisa, Deprisa (1981)
99 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Angela begins to hang around with Pablo and his gang of young robbers.
Director: Carlos Saura | Stars: Berta Socuéllamos, Jose Antonio Valdelomar González, Jesús Arias, José María Hervás Roldán
Votes: 1,776
42. Absence of Malice (1981)
PG | 116 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
When a prosecutor leaks to a Miami reporter that a liquor wholesaler is suspected in the murder of a union head, the man's life begins to unravel.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon
Votes: 14,753 | Gross: $40.72M
43. Blow Out (1981)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz
Votes: 63,214 | Gross: $13.75M
44. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
G | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A fox named Tod and a hound named Copper vow to be best friends forever. But as Copper grows into a hunting dog, their unlikely friendship faces the ultimate test.
Directors: Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Art Stevens, David Hand, Wolfgang Reitherman | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson
Votes: 101,866 | Gross: $63.46M
45. Tree of Knowledge (1981)
101 min | Drama
We follow the Danish students in a class at Århus Katedralskole late 1950s, from age 13 till 16.
Director: Nils Malmros | Stars: Eva Gram Schjoldager, Jan Johansen, Line Arlien-Søborg, Marian Wendelbo
Votes: 1,873
46. History of the World: Part I (1981)
R | 92 min | Comedy, History, Musical
Mel Brooks brings his one-of-a-kind comic touch to the history of mankind covering events from the Old Testament to the French Revolution in a series of episodic comedy vignettes.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Mel Brooks, Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn
Votes: 55,210 | Gross: $31.67M
47. Looks and Smiles (1981)
104 min | Drama
Mick and Alan, two friends who have just left school, are full of dreams for the future. But against the background of Thatcher's Britain, the two soon wake up to reality. From acclaimed Director Ken Loach.
Director: Ken Loach | Stars: Graham Green, Carolyn Nicholson, Tony Pitts, Roy Haywood
Votes: 484
48. Cutting it Short (1981)
93 min | Comedy
An evocation of the childhood memories of Bohumil Hrabal in his provincial town of Nymburk, dominated by the local brewery.
Director: Jirí Menzel | Stars: Magda Vásáryová, Jirí Schmitzer, Jaromír Hanzlík, Rudolf Hrusínský
Votes: 2,715
49. Christiane F. (1981)
R | 138 min | Biography, Drama
A teen girl in 1970s Berlin becomes addicted to heroin. Everything in her life slowly begins to distort and disappear as she befriends a small crew of junkies and falls in love with a drug-abusing male prostitute.
Director: Uli Edel | Stars: Natja Brunckhorst, Eberhard Auriga, Peggy Bussieck, Lothar Chamski
Votes: 29,383
50. Polyester (1981)
R | 86 min | Comedy
A suburban housewife's world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.
Director: John Waters | Stars: Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, David Samson
Votes: 9,001
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