Released between 1981-01-01 and 1981-12-31 (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
13+ | 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 Adolf Hitler's Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
Votes: 859,708 | Gross: $248.16M
2. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
PG | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond is assigned to find a missing British vessel, equipped with a weapons encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson
Votes: 89,205 | Gross: $62.30M
3. Clash of the Titans (1981)
PG | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Perseus must battle Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.
Director: Desmond Davis | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin, Claire Bloom, Maggie Smith
Votes: 39,560 | Gross: $41.09M
4. Only Fools and Horses.... (1981–2003)
PG | 95 min | Comedy
Comedy that follows two brothers from London's rough Peckham estate as they wheel and deal through a number of dodgy deals and search for the big score that'll make them millionaires.
Stars: David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Roger Lloyd Pack, Buster Merryfield
Votes: 44,586
5. Escape from New York (1981)
14A | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence
Votes: 121,346 | Gross: $25.24M
6. The Evil Dead (1981)
R | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 181,000 | Gross: $2.40M
7. Das Boot (1981)
14A | 149 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
The claustrophobic world of a WWII German U-boat; boredom, filth and sheer terror.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 224,495 | Gross: $11.49M
8. Dynasty (1981–1989)
60 min | Drama, Romance
The trials and tribulations of two feuding families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, both oil rich families in Denver, Colorado.
Stars: John Forsythe, Linda Evans, Joan Collins, Gordon Thomson
Votes: 6,284
9. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
Two American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
Director: John Landis | Stars: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Joe Belcher, Griffin Dunne
Votes: 88,606 | Gross: $30.57M
10. Mad Max 2 (1981)
18+ | 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: 162,434 | Gross: $12.47M
11. Porky's (1981)
R | 94 min | Comedy
In 1954, a group of Florida high-school guys try to help their buddy lose his virginity, which leads them to seek revenge on a sleazy nightclub owner and his redneck sheriff brother for harassing them.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson
Votes: 36,999 | Gross: $111.29M
12. Stripes (1981)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, War
Two friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, John Candy, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates
Votes: 63,353 | Gross: $85.30M
13. Excalibur (1981)
18A | 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: 55,940 | Gross: $34.97M
14. Possession (1981)
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: 23,467 | Gross: $1.11M
15. The Burning (1981)
R | 91 min | Horror
A former summer camp caretaker, horribly burned from a prank gone wrong, lurks around an upstate New York summer camp bent on killing the teenagers responsible for his disfigurement.
Director: Tony Maylam | Stars: Brian Matthews, Leah Ayres, Brian Backer, Larry Joshua
Votes: 14,990
16. Hill Street Blues (1981–1987)
60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The lives and work of the staff of an inner city police precinct.
Stars: Daniel J. Travanti, Michael Warren, Bruce Weitz, James Sikking
Votes: 7,059
17. The Cannonball Run (1981)
95 min | Action, Comedy, Sport
A wide variety of eccentric competitors participate in a wild and illegal cross-country road race. However, the eccentric entrants will do anything to win the road race, including low-down, dirty tricks.
Director: Hal Needham | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise
Votes: 32,197 | Gross: $72.18M
18. Mommie Dearest (1981)
14A | 129 min | Biography, Drama
The abusive and traumatic adoptive upbringing of Christina Crawford at the hands of her mother, screen queen Joan Crawford, is depicted.
Director: Frank Perry | Stars: Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid, Steve Forrest, Howard Da Silva
Votes: 13,892 | Gross: $19.03M
19. Time Bandits (1981)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, John Cleese, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 56,637 | Gross: $42.37M
20. Chariots of Fire (1981)
PG | 125 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew, and the other a devout Christian, compete in the 1924 Olympics.
Director: Hugh Hudson | Stars: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers
Votes: 52,963 | Gross: $58.97M
21. Body Heat (1981)
14+ | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
In the midst of a searing Florida heat wave, a woman persuades her lover, a small-town lawyer, to murder her rich husband.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan | Stars: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson
Votes: 29,881 | Gross: $24.06M
22. History of the World: Part I (1981)
PG | 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: 44,794 | Gross: $31.67M
23. Endless Love (1981)
13+ | 116 min | Drama, Romance
A high-school student's love for a 15-year-old girl is thwarted by parental disapproval, circumstance, and accident; he burns down her family's house and is committed to psychiatric hospital.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray
Votes: 6,954 | Gross: $31.18M
24. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
G | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A little fox named Tod, and Copper, a hound puppy, vow to be best buddies 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: 82,211 | Gross: $63.46M
25. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
18+ | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Mrs. Voorhees is dead, and Camp Crystal Lake is shut down, but a camp next to the infamous place is stalked by an unknown assailant.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King
Votes: 56,505 | Gross: $21.72M
26. Gimme a Break! (1981–1987)
30 min | Comedy
Nell agrees to look after the Kanisky's home, as a special favor to her dying friend, and takes on the role of housekeeper to widowed police chief Carl and a parental figure to his three teenage daughters, and eventually a foster son.
Stars: Nell Carter, Lara Jill Miller, Kari Michaelsen, Lauri Hendler
Votes: 2,458
27. Heavy Metal (1981)
18A | 86 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
A glowing green orb - which embodies ultimate evil - terrorizes a young girl with an anthology of bizarre and fantastic stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
Directors: Gerald Potterton, John Bruno, John Halas, Julian Harris, Jimmy T. Murakami, Barrie Nelson, Paul Sabella, Jack Stokes, Pino Van Lamsweerde, Harold Whitaker | Stars: Richard Romanus, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Don Francks
Votes: 30,588
28. Scanners (1981)
R | 103 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A scientist sends a man with extraordinary psychic powers to hunt others like him.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane
Votes: 46,287 | Gross: $14.23M
29. Cagney & Lacey (1981–1988)
60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two female police detectives cooperate with each other both in their professions and in their personal lives.
Stars: Tyne Daly, Sharon Gless, Al Waxman, John Karlen
Votes: 3,191
30. The Greatest American Hero (1981–1983)
60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
A teacher is asked to be a superhero using a special alien suit with powers he can barely understand or control.
Stars: William Katt, Connie Sellecca, Robert Culp, Michael Paré
Votes: 4,408
31. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
PG | 110 min | Biography, 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: 17,405 | Gross: $5.25M
32. Blow Out (1981)
18A | 108 min | Mystery, Thriller
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: 42,159 | Gross: $13.75M
33. Halloween II (1981)
R | 92 min | Horror
While Sheriff Brackett and Dr. Loomis hunt for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to hospital, and the serial killer is not far behind her.
Director: Rick Rosenthal | Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer
Votes: 71,870 | Gross: $25.53M
34. The Howling (1981)
R | 91 min | Horror
After a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone
Votes: 29,922 | Gross: $17.99M
35. Arthur (1981)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Arthur spends his time with booze and whores. His dad has a wife lined up for him that he keeps rejecting - until it's her or being cut off from $750,000,000. Then he goes shopping where he falls in love with a shoplifter.
Director: Steve Gordon | Stars: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Votes: 25,218 | Gross: $95.46M
36. On Golden Pond (1981)
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: 26,804 | Gross: $119.29M
37. The Fall Guy (1981–1986)
60 min | Action, Adventure
The adventures of a film stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter when movie work is slow.
Stars: Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, Heather Thomas, Markie Post
Votes: 6,077
38. Taps (I) (1981)
126 min | Drama
Military cadets take extreme measures to ensure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.
Director: Harold Becker | Stars: George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Cox, Sean Penn
Votes: 16,191 | Gross: $35.86M
39. La guerre du feu (1981)
14A | 100 min | Adventure, Drama, History
This story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nicholas Kadi, Rae Dawn Chong
Votes: 20,164 | Gross: $20.96M
40. Dragonslayer (1981)
PG | 108 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.
Director: Matthew Robbins | Stars: Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam
Votes: 14,552 | Gross: $14.11M
41. Simon & Simon (1981–1989)
60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two brothers of disparate tastes and manners run a private detective agency.
Stars: Jameson Parker, Gerald McRaney, Mary Carver, Tim Reid
Votes: 4,322
42. Galaxy of Terror (1981)
81 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
Science fiction suspense thriller, in which a rescue space ship crew meets up with horrors projected by their own imaginations.
Director: Bruce D. Clark | Stars: Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Ray Walston, Bernard Behrens
Votes: 6,446
43. Thief (1981)
123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Coming closer to his dream of leading a normal life, a professional safecracker agrees to do a job for the Mafia, who has other plans for him.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi
Votes: 23,949 | Gross: $11.49M
44. A Country Practice (1981–1993)
60 min | Drama, Romance
Follow the highs and lows of the townsfolk of Wandin Valley. This drama TV series revolves around the daily happenings of a 'small town' rural Australian hospital, its doctors, nurses, ... See full summary »
Stars: Shane Porteous, Brian Wenzel, Lorrae Desmond, Joyce Jacobs
Votes: 461
45. Victory (1981)
116 min | Drama, Sport, War
As allied P.O.W.s prepare for a soccer game against the German National Team to be played in Nazi-occupied Paris, the French Resistance and British officers are making plans for the team's escape.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, Pelé, Bobby Moore
Votes: 26,817 | Gross: $10.85M
46. Falcon Crest (1981–1990)
60 min | Drama, Romance
Set in the vineyards of California, this primetime soap opera featured the conflict within the powerful Gioberti family, owners of the vast Falcon Crest Winery.
Stars: Jane Wyman, Lorenzo Lamas, Chao Li Chi, David Selby
Votes: 3,127
47. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
18+ | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The sensuous wife of a lunch wagon proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordidly steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.
Director: Bob Rafelson | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos, Michael Lerner
Votes: 20,964 | Gross: $12.38M
48. Bergerac (1981–1991)
90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Alcoholic and divorced father of a young daughter, DS Jim Bergerac is a true maverick who prefers doing things his own way, and consequently doesn't always carry out his investigations the way his boss would like.
Stars: John Nettles, Terence Alexander, Sean Arnold, Mela White
Votes: 1,195
49. Reds (1981)
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: 20,180 | Gross: $40.38M
50. Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981)
R | 104 min | Drama, Romance
After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.
Director: Just Jaeckin | Stars: Sylvia Kristel, Shane Briant, Nicholas Clay, Ann Mitchell
Votes: 2,365