1981 in film

The following is an overview of events in 1981 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1981 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

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.
• July 10 - The Fox and the Hound becomes the highest grossing G-rated film of the year.
• November 29 – Off Santa Catalina Island, 43-year-old actress Natalie Wood drowns during a boating accident.
• Kathleen Turner and Tom Cruise make their acting debuts.
• June 12 – Raiders of the Lost Ark is released. It set a major standard for many action-adventure films to date.

Awards

Years in film
1870s
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: Chariots of Fire – Enigma, The Ladd Company/Warner Bros./20th Century Fox

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

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
• The Amateur, starring John Savage, Christopher Plummer, Marthe Keller
• 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-père, directed by Bertrand Blier – (France)
• Berlin Tunnel 21, starring Richard Thomas and Horst Buchholz
• Die Berührte, directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms – (West Germany)
• 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 (Released in the U.S. 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. – We Children from 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.)
• Dark Night of the Scarecrow
• Dead & Buried, starring James Farentino
• 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 Shohei Imamura – (Japan)
• Ek Duuje Ke Liye (Made for Each Other) – (India)
• 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
• 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, directed by Edward Bianchi, starring Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Maureen Stapleton and 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 II, directed by Steve Miner, starring Amy Steel, John Furey and Adrienne King
• 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, Madeleine Stowe
• Garde à Vue, starring Romy Schneider and Michel Serrault – (France)
• Gas, starring Susan Anspach, Sterling Hayden, Helen Shaver – (Canada)
• 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)
• Gulliver in Lilliput

H

• Halloween II, directed by Rick Rosenthal, 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)
• 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 - Golden Lion winner – (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 István Szabó, 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
• Le Pont du Nord, directed by Jacques Rivette – (France)
• Porky's, directed by Bob Clark, starring Dan Monahan, Wyatt Knight, Kim Cattrall, Boyd Gaines, Alex Karras, Susan Clark
• 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 Miloš 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 DeYoung
• Short Working Day, directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski – (Poland)
• 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)
• Silence of the North, directed by Allan King, Tom Skerritt, Gordon Pinsent and Ellen Burstyn – (Canada)
• The Simple-Minded Murderer (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, Powers Boothe and Fred Ward
• 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)
• The Bushido Blade
• 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

1981 Wide-release movies

Births

• January 6 – Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor
• January 8 – Genevieve Cortese, American actress
• January 21 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress and dancer
• January 22 – Beverley Mitchell, American actress
• January 28 – Elijah Wood, American actor
• January 31 – Justin Timberlake, American singer and actor
• February 9 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor
• February 11 – Kelly Rowland, American singer and actress
• February 12 - Lauri Lagle, Estonian actor, director and screenwriter
• February 17 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
• February 19 – Beth Ditto, American singer-songwriter
• February 22 – Elodie Yung, French actress
• February 23 – Josh Gad, American actor and comedian
• March 2 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
• March 6 – Ellen Muth, American actress
• March 11 – David Anders, American actor
• March 28 – Julia Stiles, American actress
• April 10
  • Laura Bell Bundy, American actress
  • Michael Pitt, American actor
• April 13 – Courtney Peldon, American actress
• April 19
  • Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor
  • Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
• April 28 – Jessica Alba, American actress
• May 5
  • Danielle Fishel, American actress
  • Farid Kamil, Malaysian actor and film director
• May 11 – Austin O'Brien, American actor
• May 12 – Rami Malek, American actor
• May 15 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
• May 28 – Laura Bailey, American voice actress
• June 1 – Amy Schumer, American actress and comedian
• June 7 – Larisa Oleynik, American actress
• June 9 – Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress
• June 10 – Jonathan Bennett, American actor
• June 13 – Chris Evans, American actor
• June 14 – Chauncey Leopardi, American actor
• June 20 – Alisan Porter, former American actress
• July 24 – Summer Glau, American actress
• July 30 – Lisa Wilhoit, American actress
• August 1 – Taylor Fry, former American child actress
• August 3 – Travis Willingham, American voice actor
• August 4
  • Marques Houston, American singer and actor
  • Meghan Markle, American actress and model
  • Abigail Spencer, American actress
• August 8 – Meagan Good, American actress
• August 20 – Ben Barnes, English actor
• August 24 – Chad Michael Murray, American actor
• August 25 – Rachel Bilson, American actress
• August 27 – Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor
• September 4 – Beyoncé Knowles, American singer and actress
• September 8 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
• September 12 – Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
• September 16 – Alexis Bledel, American actress
• September 23 – Misti Traya, American actress
• September 26 – Christina Milian, American singer and actress
• September 29 – Shay Astar, American singer and actress
• September 30 – Ashleigh Aston Moore, former Canadian child actress (d. 2007)
• October 1 – Rupert Friend, English actor
• October 3 – Seth Gabel, American actor
• October 9 – Zachery Ty Bryan, American actor
• October 12 – Tom Guiry, American actor
• October 22 – Michael Fishman, American actor
• November 9 – Scottie Thompson, American actress
• November 16 – Caitlin Glass, American voice actress
• November 18 – Nasim Pedrad, Iranian-American actress and comedian
• November 20 – Andrea Riseborough, English actress
• December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer and actress
• December 3 – Liza Lapira, American actress
• December 13 – Amy Lee, American singer-songwriter (Evanescence)
• December 16 – Krysten Ritter, American actress
• December 18 – Josh Dallas, American actor
• December 27 – Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
• December 28 – Sienna Miller, English actress

Notable deaths

Film debuts

• Ben Affleck – The Dark End of the Street
• Jason Alexander – The Burning
• Christina Applegate – Jaws of Satan
• Kim Basinger – Hard Country
• Bart the Bear – Windwalker
• James Belushi – Thief
• Kenneth Branagh – Chariots of Fire
• Gabriel Byrne – Excalibur
• James Cameron (director) – Piranha II: The Spawning
• Dana Carvey – Halloween II
• Kevin Costner – Malibu Hot Summer
• Tom Cruise – Endless Love
• Jeff Daniels – Ragtime
• Dennis Farina – Thief
• Stephen Fry – Chariots of Fire
• Jami Gertz – Endless Love
• Bob Gunton – Rollover
• Glenne Headly – Four Friends
• Holly Hunter – The Burning
• Ciarán Hinds – Excalibur
• Jennifer Jason Leigh – Eyes of a Stranger
• Peter MacNicol – Dragonslayer
• Alfred Molina – Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Bill Nighy – Eye of the Needle
• Chris Noth – Waitress!
• Demi Moore – Choices
• Sean Penn – Taps
• Ron Perlman – Quest for Fire
• Amanda Plummer – Cattle Annie and Little Britches
• Geoffrey Rush – Hoodwink
• Meg Ryan – Rich and Famous
• Vinessa Shaw – Home Sweet Home
• Fisher Stevens – The Burning
• Madeleine Stowe – Gangster Wars
• Henry Thomas – Raggedy Man
• Kathleen Turner – Body Heat
• Diane Venora – Wolfen
• Hugo Weaving – ...Maybe This Time

See also

• List of American films of 1981
• British films of 1981
• French films of 1981
• List of German films: 1980s
• Bollywood films of 1981
• Italian films of 1981
• Japanese films of 1981
• Swedish films of the 1980s

References