Best Movies of 1981
Here are my selections for the best movies of 1981.
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- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo 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.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsMel GibsonMark LeeBill KerrTwo Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 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.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsKlaus Maria BrandauerIldikó BánságiKrystyna JandaIn 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?
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsBurt LancasterSusan SarandonKate ReidIn 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.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsFernando Ramos da SilvaJorge JuliãoGilberto MouraThe life of a boy on the streets of Sao Paulo, involved with crimes, prostitution, and drugs.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsAndre GregoryWallace ShawnJean LenauerTwo old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
- DirectorMark RydellStarsKatharine HepburnHenry FondaJane FondaNorman 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.
- DirectorKarel ReiszStarsMeryl StreepJeremy IronsHilton McRaeAnna 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.
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyDiane KeatonEdward HerrmannA radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsNigel TerryHelen MirrenNicholas ClayMerlin the magician helps Arthur Pendragon unite the Britons around the Round Table of Camelot, even as dark forces conspire to tear it apart.
- DirectorDusan MakavejevStarsSusan AnspachErland JosephsonPer OscarssonA bored wealthy housewife on the verge of insanity cuts loose with some lively Yugoslavian immigrants who delight in their bohemian lifestyle.
- DirectorRalph L. ThomasStarsNick MancusoSaul RubinekMeg FosterDavid is a young man seduced by a religious cult that uses starvation, exhaustion, and brainwashing to mold recruits into money hustling disciples of a messiah-like leader. Chronicles David's chilling transformation into a gaunt, mindless shadow of his former self...and his ultimate salvation when friends and family launch a plan to kidnap and deprogram him.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerRichard CrennaDuring an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJames CagneyElizabeth McGovernHoward E. Rollins Jr.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.
- DirectorTed BermanRichard RichArt StevensStarsMickey RooneyKurt RussellPearl BaileyA 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.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsPaul NewmanSally FieldBob BalabanWhen 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.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsDavid NaughtonJenny AgutterJoe BelcherTwo American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
- DirectorSteve GordonStarsDudley MooreLiza MinnelliJohn GielgudAlcoholic billionaire playboy Arthur Bach must marry a woman he does not love, or he will be cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. But when Arthur falls in love with a poor waitress, he must decide if he wants to choose love or money.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsSean ConneryFrances SternhagenPeter BoyleA federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked for murder.
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsGene HackmanChristopher ReeveMargot KidderSuperman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsTreat WilliamsJerry OrbachRichard ForonjyA 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.
- DirectorFrank RipplohStarsFrank RipplohBernd BroaderupOrpha TerminFrank Ripploh is a rascal: he is a shaggy-haired, bearded teacher who is gay and has a very active sex life plus an interest in making films. He keeps his personal life separate from his personal life, though sometimes he corrects student papers in public toilets as he waits to score. He cruises constantly. One evening, he meets Bernd and they become lovers. Bernd is attentive and caring, but Frank gets bored with him and continues his polymorphous perverse ways. How long will Bernd and Frank tolerate each other's habits, and how long can Frank keep his sexual orientation outside of the classroom? Things "come to a head" (no pun intended) during Berlin's annual Queen's Ball and the morning after.
- DirectorUlu GrosbardStarsRobert De NiroRobert DuvallCharles DurningA worldly ambitious monsignor clashes with his older brother, a cynical Los Angeles homicide detective who is investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsJohn TravoltaNancy AllenJohn LithgowA movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsGeorge C. ScottTimothy HuttonRonny CoxMilitary cadets take extreme measures to ensure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.
- DirectorJim HensonStarsJim HensonFrank OzDave GoelzKermit the Frog, The Great Gonzo, and Fozzie Bear are reporters who travel to Britain to interview a rich victim of jewel thieves and help her along with her secretary, Miss Piggy.
- DirectorMatthew RobbinsStarsPeter MacNicolCaitlin ClarkeRalph RichardsonA young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.
- DirectorBertrand BlierStarsPatrick DewaereAriel BesseMaurice RonetAfter her mother dies, fourteen-year-old Marion falls in love with her stepfather, Remy.
- DirectorAlan AldaStarsAlan AldaCarol BurnettLen CariouThree couples vacation together every season. After one divorces, feelings of betrayal and more spawn criticisms of one another, but the things that keep them together are stronger than those which might pull them apart.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsRichard DreyfussJohn CassavetesChristine LahtiKen Harrison is an artist who makes sculptures. One day he is involved in a car accident, and is paralyzed from his neck down. All he can do is talk, and he wants to die. In hospital he make friends with some of the staff, and they support him when he goes to trial to be allowed to die.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsDonald SutherlandKate NelliganStephen MacKennaA ruthless German spy, trying to get out of Britain with vital information about D-Day, must spend time with a young woman and her crippled husband.
- DirectorAndrzej ZulawskiStarsIsabelle AdjaniSam NeillMargit CarstensenA woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsHans van TongerenRenée SoutendijkToon AgterbergSeveral Dutch teenagers realize the cruel difference between dreams and reality.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreCarole BouquetTopolSecret service agent James Bond is assigned to find a missing British vessel equipped with a weapons encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
- DirectorGlenn JordanStarsMarsha MasonKristy McNicholEd MooreA boozy Broadway actress comes out of a 12-week cure to face the problems of her best friends as well as her needy daughter. She tries to balance the terrors of returning to work with the demands of all around her with humor and insight, while staying off the booze.
- DirectorMichael WadleighStarsAlbert FinneyDiane VenoraEdward James OlmosA New York cop investigates a series of brutal deaths that resemble animal attacks.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsEverett McGillRon PerlmanNicholas KadiThis story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsSean ConneryShelley DuvallJohn CleeseA young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineTab HunterEdith MasseyA 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.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsSteve MartinBernadette PetersJessica HarperDuring the Great Depression, a sheet-music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent schoolteacher.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsPaul NewmanEdward AsnerKen WahlIn New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost.
- DirectorJeremy KaganStarsMaximilian SchellRod SteigerRobby BensonIn 1944, in Brooklyn, two Jewish kids become friends. One is from a very conservative family, and the other is more liberal. The issues of importance of tradition, parental expectations and the formation of Israel cause constant friction.
- DirectorIvan PasserStarsJeff BridgesJohn HeardLisa EichhornRichard spots a man dumping a body, and decides to expose the man he thinks is the culprit with his friend Alex Cutter.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsWilliam HurtSigourney WeaverChristopher PlummerA janitor who claims he's seen a murder becomes romantically involved with the glamorous TV reporter covering the story.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsJacqueline BissetCandice BergenDavid SelbyLiz and Merry become BFFs in college. A decade later, Liz is a serious writer with writer's block, and Merry is a homemaker and a mom who has written a novel. Other bestsellers, riches, and fame follow.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellLee Van CleefErnest BorgnineIn 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.
- DirectorDesmond DavisStarsLaurence OlivierHarry HamlinClaire BloomPerseus must battle Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsJohn BelushiBlair BrownAllen GarfieldA hard-nosed Chicago journalist has an unlikely love affair with an eagle researcher.
- DirectorJohn IrvinStarsCraig WassonAlice KrigeFred AstaireTwo generations of men find themselves haunted by the presence of a spectral woman. When the son of one of the elderly men returns to his hometown after his brother's mysterious death, they attempt to unravel her story.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsAudrey HepburnBen GazzaraPatti HansenA madcap private-eye caper about a team of detectives who are following, and are being followed by, a group of beautiful women.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsDee WallacePatrick MacneeDennis DuganAfter 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.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJennifer O'NeillStephen LackPatrick McGoohanA scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called "scanning" to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.