Oscar Nominated Movies 1981
All Feature Films Nominated at the 1981 Oscar Ceremony.
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- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsNastassja KinskiPeter FirthLeigh LawsonA strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsJohn SavageDavid MorseDiana ScarwidHandicapped after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, a man finds common ground in the troubled souls at a local dive bar.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsWilliam HurtBlair BrownBob BalabanA psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.