Movie Archive - Top Best 1981 Films
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- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonBruce SpenceMichael PrestonIn the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community to get rid of a horde of bandits.
- DirectorHal NeedhamStarsBurt ReynoldsRoger MooreFarrah FawcettA 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.
- DirectorDesmond DavisStarsLaurence OlivierHarry HamlinClaire BloomPerseus must battle Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsJames CaanTuesday WeldWillie NelsonAn ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
- DirectorMatthew RobbinsStarsPeter MacNicolCaitlin ClarkeRalph RichardsonA young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.
- DirectorBruce D. ClarkStarsEdward AlbertErin MoranRay WalstonA ragtag spaceship crew sent on a rescue mission encounter a formidable enemy, their worst fears projected by their own imaginations.
- DirectorBruce MalmuthGary NelsonStarsSylvester StalloneRutger HauerBilly Dee WilliamsWhen one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.
- DirectorBurt ReynoldsStarsBurt ReynoldsRachel WardVittorio GassmanTom Sharky is demoted to vice after a bust goes terribly wrong. He and his team stumble across a mob murder tied to prostitution and government.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsKeith CarradinePowers BootheFred WardDuring a routine exercise, a team of National Guardsmen are threatened by angry and violent locals.
- 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.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge HamiltonLauren HuttonBrenda VaccaroZorro, the legendary swordsman, has passed on his weapon and his sense of duty to his noble son, Diego, a dashing swashbuckler like his father. But after an injury sidelines Diego, he is forced to hand the mask over to his twin, Ramon.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsEd HarrisGary LahtiTom SaviniA medieval reenactment troupe struggles to maintain its family-like dynamic amid pressure from local authorities, interest from talent agents, and their "King's" delusions of grandeur.
- DirectorCharles JarrottStarsMichael CrawfordOliver ReedBarbara CarreraCartoonist Woody becomes the superhero he draws. Using his gadgets he helps a Soviet spy defect to the West.
- DirectorPeter R. HuntStarsCharles BronsonLee MarvinAndrew StevensIn 1931 Canada, Yukon trapper Johnson has a feud with a dog owner who later retaliates by publicly accusing Johnson of murder and thus triggering a police manhunt in the wilderness.
- DirectorMenahem GolanStarsFranco NeroSusan GeorgeShô KosugiAfter passing a ninja master test in Japan, Cole visits a war buddy in the Philippines. He helps him fight men, who want his buddy's plantation.
- DirectorSteve CarverStarsChuck NorrisChristopher LeeRichard RoundtreeA SFPD undercover narcotics cop aims to avenge his partner's death and destroy a drug-smuggling ring operated by the Chinese Triads.
- DirectorTim BurstallStarsJohn Phillip LawMel GibsonSam NeillA group of Australian commandos launch a secret mission against Japanese forces in World War II.
- DirectorStewart RaffillStarsJames BrolinAnthony QuinnLindsay WagnerFour naive Americans, in need of easy cash, decide to fly to Colombia and raid the safe of a notorious drug lord with connections to the corrupt military regime.
- DirectorTsugunobu KotaniStarsRichard BooneToshirô MifuneMike StarrA steel samurai blade that was to be given to the American ambassador by the Emperor of Japan is stolen. American sailors and Japanese samurai are sent to find it.
- DirectorDavid SheldonStarsLucinda DoolingJohn RandolphMel NovakA cheerleader goes undercover to fight drug dealers because her brother OD'd and her fellow cheerleaders are hooked.
- DirectorMax H. BouloisStarsPeter CushingClaudine AugerHugo StiglitzSir Thomas Bedford orchestrates the heist of a Spanish casino, with the aid of a singer performing there. The police are aware of their activities, and a hostage situation arises.
- DirectorTony ZarindastStarsPeter GravesAlbert SalmiCameron MitchellTwo turn of the Century fortune hunters (Peter Graves and Cameron Mitchell) discover oil in Persia and attempt to claim it. Serious resistance is met.
- DirectorJohn LiuStarsJohn LiuHo WangRoger PaschyKung fu champ John is given the chance to train CIA agents in martial arts by using self-hypnosis. But when he discovers the reason he escapes and the CIA go after him. John must fight for his life all over Europe as he flees the CIA.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsDan MonahanMark HerrierWyatt KnightIn 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.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayJohn CandyHarold RamisTwo friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun.
- 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.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsMel BrooksGregory HinesDom DeLuiseMel 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.
- DirectorAlan MyersonJames FargoStarsSylvia KristelHoward HessemanEric BrownAn immigrant housemaid seduces a 15-year-old boy and later fakes her own death as part of his chauffeur's blackmail plot. Troubles arise when the two start to fall in love.
- DirectorCarl GottliebStarsRingo StarrDennis QuaidShelley LongA caveman seeks revenge on a much larger competitor for the hand of a beautiful cavewoman.
- DirectorTommy ChongStarsCheech MarinTommy ChongBenita BarrieDisguised as ice cream vendors, Cheech and Chong make--and subsequently lose--millions of dollars selling a batch of marijuana with an unusual side effect.
- DirectorHoward R. CohenStarsRichard BenjaminPaula PrentissJeffrey TamborA family inherits an old mansion which houses the dangerous 'Book of Evil' that has all the monsters of the world trapped inside it.
- 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.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydKathryn WalkerA quiet man's peaceful suburban lifestyle is threatened by the new, obnoxious couple that moves in next door.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsPeter FalkVicki FrederickLaurene LandonSmall timer female wrestling team "The California Dolls" and their manager must face the hardship of their sport and life to suceed.
- DirectorSteve RashStarsChevy ChaseCarrie FisherEve ArdenA visiting dignitary, a CIA agent, a Nazi spy, Japanese tourists, an assassin and a group of "midget" actors from The Wizard of Oz (1939) all check into an elite Los Angeles hotel called Under the Rainbow.
- DirectorOz ScottMichael SchultzStarsRichard PryorCicely TysonAngel Ramirez Jr.Failed parolee Joe Braxton has one last shot at redemption: by driving school kids from Philadelphia to Washington State.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsBetsy PalmerAmy SteelJohn FureyFive years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings.
- 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.
- DirectorGeorge MihalkaStarsPaul KelmanLori HallierNeil AffleckA decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer's order and people start turning up dead.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorJames CameronOvidio G. AssonitisMiller DrakeStarsTricia O'NeilSteve MarachukLance HenriksenA scuba diving instructor, her biochemist boyfriend, and her police chief ex-husband try to link a series of bizarre deaths to a mutant strain of piranha fish whose lair is a sunken freighter ship off a Caribbean island resort.
- DirectorNorman J. WarrenStarsRobin ClarkeJennifer AshleyStephanie BeachamA crew of interplanetary archaeologists is threatened when an alien creature impregnates one of their members, causing her to turn homicidal and murder them one by one.
- DirectorMichael CrichtonStarsAlbert FinneyJames CoburnSusan DeyThree of four models, who had plastic surgery done by Larry after a computed list, are dead. Neither the cops nor Larry believe they're suicides. Larry investigates and stays with the fourth model. Who's behind the lists and murders?
- DirectorJames L. ConwayStarsRebecca BaldingFred McCarrenAnne-Marie MartinOtherworldly creatures are released from the bootleg tunnels underneath a small-town mining community, and begin chomping on the locals.
- DirectorRichard PearceStarsDonald SutherlandJohn MarleySharon AckerIn this gripping sci-fi drama, a celebrated heart surgeon (Donald Sutherland, "The Hunger Games") collaborates with an offbeat scientist (Jeff Goldblum, "Jurassic Park") to perform the first artificial heart transplant.
- 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.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsMichael CaineSylvester StallonePeléAs 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.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsHanna SchygullaGiancarlo GianniniMel FerrerIn 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.
- 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.
- DirectorJohn DerekStarsBo DerekRichard HarrisMiles O'KeeffeWhile on an African expedition with her father, Jane Parker meets Tarzan, and the two become fascinated by each other.
- DirectorErnest PintoffStarsArt CarneyDavid HuffmanCassie YatesDramatization of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The movie begins with the volcano's awakening on March 20, 1980 and ends with its eruption on May 18.
- DirectorRoger SpottiswoodeBuzz KulikStarsRobert DuvallTreat WilliamsKathryn HarroldD.B. Cooper parachutes with his stolen money and proceeds to contact his wife. Meanwhile, his former army sergeant, who now works as an insurance investigator, manages to identify him and decides to track him down.
- DirectorErnest DayAnthony SimmonsStarsRyan O'NealAnne ArcherOmar SharifA down on his luck engineer gets involved in an adventure with a mysterious woman and an emerald magnate.
- DirectorRobert L. CollinsStarsTom SkerrittMichelle PhillipsShawn StevensA family in Africa finds itself under attack by a pride of lions.
- DirectorClaude JutraStarsJoseph BottomsKathleen BellerR.H. ThomsonA young girl and her friends set off on an expedition into the wilderness in order to find her missing father.
- 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.
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJack NicholsonJessica LangeJohn ColicosThe sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsZoë LundBogeyAlbert SinkysA timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRoger VadimStarsWayne RogersMarie-France PisierLloyd BochnerA master art forger and his partner in crime, an art expert who can vouch for the authenticity of the forgeries, are making a bundle. An art dealer figures out their scheme but agrees to keep quiet if they forge some art lost in WWII.
- DirectorBigas LunaStarsDennis HopperMichael MoriartyAntonella MurgiaA man discovers that his girlfriend is a "stigmata" (someone whose hands and feet mysteriously bleed in the same places where Jesus Christ was crucified) and tries to keep her out of the hands of a greedy TV preacher who plans to exploit her to make money for himself.
- DirectorRick RosenthalStarsJamie Lee CurtisDonald PleasenceCharles CyphersWhile Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her.
- 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.
- DirectorJeff LiebermanStarsGeorge KennedyMike KellinChris LemmonFive young people venture into the backwoods of Oregon to claim a property, and find themselves being stalked by a hulking, machete-wielding psychopath.
- 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.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsScott GlennRedmond GleesonWilliam RussIn 19th-century Oklahoma, two teen girls who love stories about outlaws are on a quest to meet and join up with them. They find a shadow of a former gang and, although disappointed, still try to help them escape from a vigorous Marshal.
- DirectorRon MaxwellStarsKristy McNicholDennis QuaidMark HamillA small-town stud wants to go to Nashville to be a big country star. His ambitious kid sister works as his manager. Their dream hits jeopardy when they cross paths with a small-town sheriff.
- DirectorMalcolm LeoAndrew SoltStarsElvis PresleyDavid ScottPaul Boensch IIIThe life and career of Elvis Presley are chronicled in home movies, concert footage, and dramatizations. Subjects include early performances, army service, Ed Sullivan Show appearance, marriage, 1968 comeback, health decline and death.
- DirectorJoseph MandukeStarsDavid LeonMitch WeissmanTom TeeleyFour guys who look and sound moderately like the Beatles play a plethora of Lennon/McCartney classics, while footage of memorable sixties events flashes by.
- DirectorFrank PerryStarsFaye DunawayDiana ScarwidSteve ForrestThe abusive and traumatic adoptive upbringing of Christina Crawford at the hands of her mother, screen queen Joan Crawford, is depicted.
- DirectorChristopher MilesStarsIan McKellenJanet SuzmanAva GardnerFollowing the banning and burning of his novel, "The Rainbow", D.H. Lawrence and his wife, Frieda, move to the United States, and then to Mexico. When Lawrence contracts tuberculosis, they return to England for a short time, then to Italy, where Lawrence wrote "Lady Chatterley's Lover".
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsBrooke ShieldsMartin HewittShirley KnightParental disapproval of a passionate romance between two teenagers leads to arguments, circumstance, insanity and tragedy.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorDavid FisherStarsMatt DillonCindy FisherHoyt AxtonA poor kid elopes with a banker's daughter.
- 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.