Oscars 1981
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- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
- DirectorLewis John CarlinoStarsRobert DuvallBlythe DannerMichael O'KeefeAs he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated Marine pilot.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsAnthony HopkinsJohn HurtAnne BancroftA Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsJack LemmonRobby BensonLee RemickA shallow Broadway press agent learns he is dying just as his son by his ex-wife arrives for a visit.
- DirectorRichard RushStarsPeter O'TooleSteve RailsbackBarbara HersheyA fugitive stumbles onto a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out and falls for the leading lady while facing off with his manipulative director.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsDonald SutherlandMary Tyler MooreJudd HirschThe accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsPaul Le MatJason RobardsElizabeth CheshireThe story of hard-luck Melvin E. Dummar, who claimed to have received a will naming him an heir to the fortune of Howard Hughes.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsSissy SpacekTommy Lee JonesLevon HelmThe fictionalized life of singer Loretta Lynn, a girl who rose from humble beginnings to become a country music star in the 1960s/70s.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsEllen BurstynSam ShepardRichard FarnsworthA woman enters the afterlife briefly after a car crash that kills her husband. But she survives - and finds herself possessing strange powers.
- DirectorHoward ZieffStarsGoldie HawnEileen BrennanArmand AssanteA sheltered young high-society woman joins the United States Army on a whim and finds herself in a trickier situation than she ever expected.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsBuck HenryJulie CarmenWhen a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsJohn SavageDavid MorseDiana ScarwidHandicapped after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, a man finds common ground in the troubled souls at a local dive bar.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsNastassja KinskiPeter FirthLeigh LawsonA strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTsutomu YamazakiKen'ichi HagiwaraA petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsBrooke ShieldsChristopher AtkinsLeo McKernIn the Victorian period, two children are shipwrecked on a tropical island in the South Pacific. With no adults to guide them, the two make a simple life together, unaware that sexual maturity will eventually intervene.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsGeorge C. ScottMarlon BrandoMarthe KellerThe synthetic fuel production formula, invented by the Nazis at the end of World War II, is sought after by some who aim to sell it, and by others who wish to destroy it.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsJudy DavisSam NeillWendy HughesA proud young woman in early 20th century Australia must choose between marriage and independence.
- DirectorJeannot SzwarcStarsChristopher ReeveJane SeymourChristopher PlummerA Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to travel back in time and meet the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.
- DirectorJames GoldstoneStarsPaul NewmanJacqueline BissetWilliam HoldenAn active volcano threatens a south Pacific island resort and its guests as a power struggle ensues between the property's developer and a drilling foreman.
- DirectorMurray LernerStarsIsaac SternDavid GolubDelun LiIsaac Stern's cultural tour of China is seen, with the master violinist performing and mentoring young Chinese musicians. He visits rehearsals of the Peking Opera, meeting with their musicians who use traditional Chinese instruments, and also visits a sports academy and other venues. The lingering effects of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), which opposed any western influences and oppressed those who introduced western approaches, are evident in the lack of skill development among many of the young musicians and the emphasis on technical skill rather than artistic interpretation.
- DirectorRoss SpearsStarsJames AgeeMia AgeeMae BurroughsAgee is the only film biography of a major American writer to be nominated for and Academy Award. Ever.
- DirectorJon ElseStarsHans BetheHolm BursomHaakon ChevalierScientists and witnesses involved in the creation and testing of the first ever atomic bomb reflect on the Manhattan project and its fascinating leader, J. Robert Oppenheimer, who upon completion of his wonderful and horrible invention became a powerful spokesperson against the nuclear arms race.
- DirectorDavid BradburyStarsRichard OxenburghNeil DavisA profile of Tasmanian-born combat cameraman Neil Davis, particularly his time in South Vietnam and Cambodia in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
- DirectorDieter HildebrandtStarsAlexander ScourbyHolger HagenHelga Mayer-MaynardWith a great archive footage coming from 16 countries, this Oscar nominated documentary briefly presents some of the most important facts about the Nazist persecution against Jews in Europe, starting with Hitler's rise to the power.
- DirectorRoland HalléPeter W. LadueStarsKarl HessKevin BurnsBarry GoldwaterA look at Karl Hess, libertarian intellectual and activist, from his background as a magazine editor in his youth to his work as a Republican speechwriter, as he became simultaneously a writer for Barry Goldwater and a member of Students for a Democratic Society. In the late 1960s he embarked on a new period in his life, moving to rural West Virginia and becoming involved in movements promoting alternative technologies and renewable energy. He discusses his views opposing large institutions, ranging from government to corporations to universities.
- At eighty-four, Bill Underwood is a specialist in his own brand of self defense, which he still teaches to police, students and senior citizens.
- DirectorGeorge CaseyStarsRobert FoxworthMarvel at the awesome power of nature as photography displays the change evoked by a massive volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens and the renewal process which followed when the entire side of the mountain was blown away in billowing clouds of ash.
- DirectorDick YoungStarsTom SullivanIt's the Same World depicts disabled individuals across the globe who seek full participation and equality.
- DirectorJorge PreloranThis documentary short is about 94-year-old Luther Metke who has been building cabins since he was 15. It also recounts his time in the Spanish-American War and his family life.
- DirectorJoel OlianskyStarsRichard DreyfussAmy IrvingLee RemickPaul Dietrich, at almost 30 years old, is a fading piano prodigy. Heidi Schoonover is a talented young pianist with a promising future. When Paul hears of an upcoming competition that could make his career, he dedicates himself to winning.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsEddie BarthIrene CaraLee CurreriA chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
- DirectorVladimir MenshovStarsVera AlentovaAleksey BatalovIrina MuravyovaThree young provincial women come to Moscow in search of what people in all the capitals of the world are looking for - love, happiness and prosperity. Their destinies develop exactly as the character of each of the girls suggests.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsIldikó BánságiPéter AndoraiOszkárné GombikDuring WW2 Hungarian resistance hides a married couple from the officials. The woman is sent to act as the wife of one of the resistance members who is also in hiding and pretending to be somebody else. They slowly begin to fall in love.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsCatherine DeneuveGérard DepardieuJean PoiretIn occupied Paris, an actress married to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Germans while doing both of their jobs.
- DirectorJaime de ArmiñánStarsHéctor AlterioAna TorrentLuis PolittiIn a town near Salamanca, an eccentric 60-year-old widower is captivated by an imp, a precocious 13-year-old. Alejandro is wealthy and alone, passing time with music, chess, and his shotgun. Gregoria (Goyita), the daughter of a weak-willed policeman and his bullying wife, is a budding naturalist who conspires to meet Alejandro. Although he knows the village is talking, Alejandro spends time with Goyita, on walks, horseback rides, and dinners. He's enchanted and tells his friend the village priest that he's living for the first time. Goyita makes new demands on Alejandro, and he must decide how to be true to his ethics and to this Platonic yet highly-charged relationship.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsWilliam HurtBlair BrownBob BalabanA psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
- DirectorColin HigginsStarsJane FondaLily TomlinDolly PartonThree female employees of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot find a way to turn the tables on him.
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsWillie NelsonDyan CannonAmy IrvingBuck is a country singer on the road caught in a romantic triangle with Viv and Lily, the daughter of his longtime musical sidekick.
- DirectorFerenc RofuszA fine day in the life of a fly presented completely from the fly's point of view. A fine day until something dreary happens, that is.
- DirectorFrédéric BackAn illustration of beings in a world where countless plant and animal species rapidly become extinct, and resources run dry due to greed. However, it is possible to avoid disaster by conserving and sharing what we have.
- DirectorMichael MillsStarsVlasta VranaMichael MillsAn interpretation of the history of the World in Three Minutes.
- DirectorRoger ChristianStarsRobert UrquhartRikki FultonJonathan McNeilLight-hearted tale about an enterprising Edinburgh boarding school boy who sets up an insurance scheme for fellow pupils in 1953 against getting caned, which quickly earns him a small fortune
- DirectorNat YoungAustralian extremes sports documentary featuring freestyle skiing, hang-gliding and surfing and made by Nat Young.
- DirectorSally HeckelStarsDiane de LorianDorothy LancasterSheila HinchliffeA farm woman is accused of murdering her husband in early 1900's Midwest America.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsEdward WoodwardJack ThompsonJohn WatersThree Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsRobert RedfordYaphet KottoMorgan FreemanThe new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsGérard DepardieuNicole GarciaRoger PierreThe intersecting stories of three people who face difficult choices in life-changing situations are used to illustrate the theories espoused by Henri Laborit about human behavior and the relationship between the self and society.