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, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott	Steven Spielberg	$384,562,121
2.	On Golden Pond	Universal	Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda	Mark Rydell	$119,285,432
3.	Superman II	Warner Bros.	Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Terence Stamp	Richard Lester	$108,185,706
4.	Arthur	Warner Bros.	Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, 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, Farrah Fawcett	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	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, Michael Palin, 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

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 American Werewolf in London, directed by John Landis, starring David Naughton, Griffin Dunne and Jenny Agutter
• 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

B

• Back Roads, directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones
• Beau Pere
• Berlin Tunnel 21, starring Richard Thomas and Horst Buchholz
• Blind Chance (Przypadek)
• Blow Out, directed by Brian De Palma, starring John Travolta, Nancy Allen and John Lithgow
• The Boat Is Full
• Body Heat, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke
• Buriki no kunsho
• Buddy Buddy, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau
• Bustin' Loose, starring Richard Pryor
• The Burning

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
• Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, directed by Uli Edel
• 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
• Clash of the Titans, starring Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith
• Clean Slate (Coup de Torchon), directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Philippe Noiret and Isabelle Huppert
• Come On, Granpa's!
• Condorman
• Continental Divide, starring John Belushi, Blair Brown, Allen Garfield
• Coup de torchon, directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Philippe Noiret and Isabelle Huppert
• Cutter's Way, starring Jeff Bridges

D

• Das Boot (1982 US release), directed by Wolfgang Petersen, starring Jürgen Prochnow
• Dead & Buried
• Deadly Blessing. starring Sharon Stone
• Deprisa, Deprisa, Golden Bear winner
• The Devil and Max Devlin, starring Elliott Gould and Bill Cosby
• Diva
• Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (Sjecas li se Doli Bel?)
• Dragonslayer, starring Peter MacNicol

E

• 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
• Eye For An Eye, starring Chuck Norris
• Eye of the Needle, starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan
• 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
• 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
• Friday the 13th Part 2
• Full Moon High
• The Funhouse, directed by Tobe Hooper

G

• Gallipoli, directed by Peter Weir, starring Mel Gibson
• Gangster Wars
• Garde a vue, starring Romy Schneider and Michel Serrault
• Gas
• The German Sisters, Golden Lion winner
• The Great Muppet Caper
• Gregory's Girl, directed by Bill Forsyth

H

• Halloween II, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence
• Hell Night, starring Linda Blair
• The Hand, directed by Oliver Stone, starring Michael Caine
• Hands Up!, (Ręce do góry), directed by Jerzy Skolimowski - originally made in 1967 but withheld
• Happy Birthday to Me, starring Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford
• Hardly Working, starring Jerry Lewis
• Harry's War, starring Edward Herrmann
• Heavy Metal
• 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

• I Love You
• The Incredible Shrinking Woman, starring Lily Tomlin
• Inseminoid

K

• The Killing of Angel Street
• Knightriders

L

• The Land of Hunger
• The Last Chase
• 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
• The Lion of the Desert
• Lola, a German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Barbara Sukowa and Armin Mueller-Stahl
• Looker, starring Albert Finney
• The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie

M

• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, starring Mel Gibson
• Man of Iron, directed by Andrzej Wajda - Palme d'Or winner
• Marianne and Juliane (Die bleierne Zeit), directed by Margarethe von Trotta, starring Barbara Sukowa
• Mephisto, directed by Istvan Szabo, starring Klaus Maria Brandauer
• 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 5 Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Picture and Worst Actress.
• Ms. 45, directed by Abel Ferrara
• My Bloody Valentine
• My Dinner with Andre, starring Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory

N

• Neighbors, starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd
• The Nesting starring Bill Rowley, Gloria Grahame
• Nice Dreams
• Night Crossing, starring John Hurt and Beau Bridges
• Nighthawks, starring Sylvester Stallone and Rutger Hauer
• Nobody's Perfekt

O

• Omen III: The Final Conflict, starring Sam Neill, Rossano Brazzi
• 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

P

• Pacific Banana
• 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
• Polyester, directed by John Waters, starring Divine
• Possession, starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill
• 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
• Quest for Fire also called La Guerre du feu

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
• Roadgames, directed by Richard Franklin, starring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis

S

• Saturday the 14th, starring Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin
• Scanners, directed by David Cronenberg
• Sharky's Machine, directed by and starring Burt Reynolds, with Rachel Ward, Henry Silva, Vittorio Gassman, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman
• Shikake-nin Baian
• Shock Treatment, starring Jessica Harper and Cliff De Young (received a limited release)
• S.O.B., directed by Blake Edwards, starring Julie Andrews, William Holden, Robert Preston, Richard Mulligan
• Sogni d'oro
• Southern Comfort, directed by Walter Hill, starring Keith Carradine and Powers Boothe
• Strange Behavior
• Stripes, directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, John Larroquette, John Candy
• Suddenly at Midnight
• Sweet & Sour Cops

T

• The Tale of Today, Tomorrow, and the Day After
• Taps, directed by Harold Becker, starring George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn
• Tarzan, the Ape Man, starring Bo Derek and Richard Harris
• Tattoo, starring Bruce Dern and Maud Adams
• Taxi zum Klo
• They All Laughed, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazzara
• They Don't Wear Black Tie
• Thief, 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
• Time Bandits, directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Cleese and Shelley Duvall
• True Confessions, directed by Ulu Grosbard, starring Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall
• Tuck Everlasting

U

• Utilities, directed by Harvey Hart, starring Robert Hays, Brooke Adams and John Marley

V

• Violent Streets

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, directed by François Truffaut, starring Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant
• Woman Who Exposes Herself
• Women We Salute You!

Z

• Zoot Suit, starring Edward James Olmos

Wide-release movies

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

• November 18, 1981

Absence of Malice

Births (future actors)

• January 28 – Elijah Wood, 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

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