1981
by ill_bonel | created - 20 Sep 2012 | updated - 1 week ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
G | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A 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.
Directors: Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Art Stevens, David Hand, Wolfgang Reitherman | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson
Votes: 101,991 | Gross: $63.46M
2. Heavy Metal (1981)
R | 86 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
A glowing green orb that embodies ultimate evil terrorizes a young girl with an anthology of bizarre and fantastic stories.
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: 38,184
3. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
PG | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Secret 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.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson
Votes: 108,332 | Gross: $62.30M
4. Enter the Ninja (1981)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After 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.
Director: Menahem Golan | Stars: Franco Nero, Susan George, Shô Kosugi, Christopher George
Votes: 5,490
5. 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: 120,592 | Gross: $30.57M
6. 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: 40,227 | Gross: $17.99M
7. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 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: 232,500 | Gross: $2.40M
8. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Five 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.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King
Votes: 77,800 | Gross: $21.72M
9. Halloween II (1981)
R | 92 min | Horror
While Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her.
Director: Rick Rosenthal | Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer
Votes: 101,749 | Gross: $25.53M
10. Scanners (1981)
R | 103 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A 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.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane
Votes: 61,798 | Gross: $14.23M
11. Escape from New York (1981)
R | 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: 157,602 | Gross: $25.24M
12. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
R | 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: 193,852 | Gross: $12.47M
13. Time Bandits (1981)
PG | 110 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: 68,394 | Gross: $42.37M
14. Outland (1981)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
A 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.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Sean Connery, Frances Sternhagen, Peter Boyle, James Sikking
Votes: 32,377 | Gross: $17.37M
15. 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: 47,789 | Gross: $41.09M
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
PG | 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 the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
Votes: 1,037,233 | Gross: $248.16M
17. Excalibur (1981)
PG | 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: 67,206 | Gross: $34.97M
18. Quest for Fire (1981)
R | 100 min | Adventure, Drama
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: 24,137 | Gross: $20.96M
19. Prince of the City (1981)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett
Votes: 9,526 | Gross: $8.12M
20. True Confessions (1981)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama
A worldly ambitious monsignor clashes with his older brother, a cynical Los Angeles homicide detective who is investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.
Director: Ulu Grosbard | Stars: Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, Kenneth McMillan
Votes: 8,865 | Gross: $10.20M
21. Southern Comfort (1981)
R | 106 min | Action, Thriller
During a routine exercise, a team of National Guardsmen are threatened by angry and violent locals.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales
Votes: 21,940 | Gross: $5.00M
22. Sphinx (1981)
PG | 118 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
Egyptologist Erica Baron finds more than she bargained for during her long-planned trip to The Land of the Pharoahs: murder, theft, betrayal, love, and a mummy's curse.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Lesley-Anne Down, Frank Langella, Maurice Ronet, John Gielgud
Votes: 1,730 | Gross: $2.02M
23. Blow Out (1981)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
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: 63,347 | Gross: $13.75M
24. Thief (1981)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi
Votes: 39,056 | Gross: $11.49M
25. Nice Dreams (1981)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Crime
Disguised as ice cream vendors, Cheech and Chong make--and subsequently lose--millions of dollars selling a batch of marijuana with an unusual side effect.
Director: Tommy Chong | Stars: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Benita Barrie, Sandra Bernhard
Votes: 8,136 | Gross: $33.98M
26. The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
G | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Kermit 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.
Director: Jim Henson | Stars: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson
Votes: 16,733 | Gross: $31.21M
27. History of the World: Part I (1981)
R | 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: 55,253 | Gross: $31.67M
28. Arthur (1981)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Alcoholic 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.
Director: Steve Gordon | Stars: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Votes: 31,111 | Gross: $95.46M
29. Stripes (1981)
R | 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: 80,043 | Gross: $85.30M
30. Zorro: The Gay Blade (1981)
PG | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Zorro, 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.
Director: Peter Medak | Stars: George Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Brenda Vaccaro, Ron Leibman
Votes: 4,848 | Gross: $11.12M
31. 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: 45,763 | Gross: $111.29M
32. Obsession (1981)
PG | 106 min | Drama
The story of the impossible love between a schoolgirl and a sixty-year-old painter.
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Tatum O'Neal, Norma Dell'Agnese, Donann Cavin, Elan Ross Gibson
Votes: 692
33. The Rocky Horror Treatment (1981 TV Movie)
22 min | Documentary
Documentary about the cult phenomenon of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and the making-of its spin-off, "Shock Treatment."
Director: Don Kline | Stars: Sal Piro, Richard O'Brien, Michael White, Nell Campbell
Votes: 29
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