Top 10 Films of 1981...

The ORIGINAL CallaghanFilms Best Of List TM
Accept no substitute.
​

1981...

We sadly lost a truly incredible actress in Natalie Wood - A prolonged MLB Strike forced better than a third of all ballgames to be scratched - MTV was launched, thus lowering the attention span of a generation to exactly 1.156 seconds

Please try to do a top 10 in order (hard as it may be) with an optional two or three "honorable mentions".


The Callaghan Best Films of 1981 List:

01 Raiders of the Lost Ark
02 Excalibur
03 Clash of the Titans
04 An American Werewolf in London
05 Body Heat
06 Das Boot
07 The Road Warrior
08 Escape From New York
09 History of the World Part I
10 The Fox and the Hound


Honorable Mentions:

-Gallipoli

-Arthur

-Tie: Time Bandits -and- Dragonslayer


Also...

The Oscars; Who Won, and Who Shoulda Won IMHO

Best Picture
Who Won: Chariots of Fire
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Shoulda Won: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Best Director
Who Won: Warren Beatty (Reds)
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Shoulda Won: Steven Spielberg (Raiders of the Lost Ark)

Best Actor
Who Won: Henry Fonda (On Golden Pond)
Shoulda Won: Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark) *Not even nominated
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Best Actress
Who Won: Katharine Hepburn (On Golden Pond)
Shoulda Won: Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark) *Not even nominated
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Best Supporting Actor
Who Won: John Gielgud (Arthur)
Shoulda Won: Ronald Lacey (Raiders of the Lost Ark) *Not even nominated
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Best Supporting Actress
Who Won: Maureen Stapleton (Reds)
Shoulda Won: Helen Mirren (Excalibur) *Not even nominated
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Best Cinematography
Who Won: Vittorio Storaro (Reds)
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Shoulda Won: Douglas Slocombe (Raiders of the Lost Ark)

Best Score
Who Won: Vangelis (Chariots of Fire)
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Shoulda Won: John Williams (Raiders of the Lost Ark)



Forgot Which Films Came Out That Year?
Have No Fear - The IMDB Is Here...
http://us.imdb.com/List?year=1981&&...ing=7;Most popular titles;1981 by total votes

-and-

The Oscar Nods & Winners...
http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1982

 
Last edited:
01 Raiders of the Lost Ark
02 Excalibur
03 Clash of the Titans
04 Das Boot
05 Escape From New York
06 An American Werewolf in London
07 History of the World Part I
08 Body Heat
09 The Road Warrior
10 The Evil Dead

Honorable Mentions:

-Arthur

Also...

The Oscars; Who Won, and Who Shoulda Won IMHO

Best Picture
Who Won: Chariots of Fire
Shoulda Won: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Best Director
Who Won: Warren Beatty (Reds)
Shoulda Won: Steven Spielberg (Raiders of the Lost Ark)

Best Actor
Who Won: Henry Fonda (On Golden Pond)
Shoulda Won: Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark) *Not even nominated

Best Actress
Who Won: Katharine Hepburn (On Golden Pond)
Shoulda Won: I concur

Best Supporting Actor
Who Won: John Gielgud (Arthur)
Shoulda Won: Jack Nicholson (Reds)

Best Supporting Actress
Who Won: Maureen Stapleton (Reds)
Shoulda Won: I concur

Best Cinematography
Who Won: Vittorio Storaro (Reds)
Shoulda Won: Douglas Slocombe (Raiders of the Lost Ark)

Best Score
Who Won: Vangelis (Chariots of Fire)
Shoulda Won: John Williams (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
 
Ha, been waiting for 1981; a good year for film.
Like your list, Callaghan.

It also was a FANTASTIC YEAR for New Zealand film:

Goodbye Pork Pie (dir: Geoff Murphy - "Freejack" (urgghh)
and
Smash Palace (dir: Roger Donaldson - "The Bounty", "The Worlds fastest Indian")


 
A LOT of good movies to choose from that year!

01. Body Heat
02. Raiders of the Lost Ark
03. Gallipoli
04. Outland
05. Time Bandits
06. Road Warrior
07. Escape From New York
08. The Postman Always Rings Twice
09. The Dogs of War
10. An American Werewolf in London


Honorable Mention
Excalibur
Absence of Malice
History of the World: Part I


EDIT: How the hell did I forget Excalibur? Updated...
 
Really surprised not to see Time Bandits on your list, Callaghan. :huh:

And then there's High Noon in space...Outland!
 
I always enjoyed Time Bandits...what a fun ride. I have always thought of Terry Gilliam as Tim-Burton-minus-the-dark-side. Like you said, though, A LOT to choose from. Outland, on the other hand, I was never a big fan of. It felt flat to me.

Now about your list:
I see you went back and added Excalibur, but not Clash of the Titans...
 
CallaghanFilms said:
I always enjoyed Time Bandits...what a fun ride. I have always thought of Terry Gilliam as Tim-Burton-minus-the-dark-side. Like you said, though, A LOT to choose from. Outland, on the other hand, I was never a big fan of. It felt flat to me.

Now about your list:
I see you went back and added Excalibur, but not Clash of the Titans...
I don't know... I respect what Ray Harryhausen was doing with his "animation" but it just never felt "real" to me. I could never get into any of his movies. Army of Darkness was much the same but I was able to enjoy it because I saw it as a comedy but I would still cringe when I saw the skeletons attacking...:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
I have decided that The Road Warrior did not come out until 1982 in America; therfore it did not count in American Box Office so I will leave it on my 1982 list (As it is one of my favorite all time films)

The Hudson Films of 1981 List:

01 Raiders of the Lost Ark
02 Escape from New York
03 Blow Out
04 Mommie Dearest
05 Taps (Underrated; run out and see this)
06 Halloween II
07 Gallipoli
08 For Your Eyes Only
09 Superman II
10 Omen 3: The Final Conflict


Honorable Mentions:

= Chariots of Fire
= History of the World: Part I
= Scanners


Also...
The Oscars; Who Won, and Who Shoulda Won IMHO

Best Picture
Who Won: Chariots of Fire
Shoulda Won: Raiders of the Lost Ark


Best Director
Who Won: Warren Beatty (Reds)
Shoulda Won: Steven Spielberg (Raiders of the Lost Ark)


Best Actor
Who Won: Henry Fonda (On Golden Pond)
Shoulda Won: I concur


Best Actress
Who Won: Katharine Hepburn (On Golden Pond)
Shoulda Won: Faye Dunaway (Mommie Dearest) *Unreal She Was Not even nominated ! Proof the Academy is full of ****.


Best Supporting Actor
Who Won: John Gielgud (Arthur)
Shoulda Won: Ronald Lacey (Raiders of the Lost Ark) *Not even nominated


Best Supporting Actress
Who Won: Maureen Stapleton (Reds)
Shoulda Won: Nancy Allen (Blow Out) *Not even nominated


Best Cinematography
Who Won: Vittorio Storaro (Reds)
Shoulda Won: Douglas Slocombe (Raiders of the Lost Ark)


Best Score
Who Won: Vangelis (Chariots of Fire) (Still a great Score but not as cool as...)
Shoulda Won: John Williams (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
 
01 Raiders of the Lost Ark (spielberg)
02 The Aviator's Wife (rohmer)
03 The Road Warrior (miller)
04 Escape From New York (carpenter)
05 Stripes (reitman)
06 The Evil Dead (raimi)
07 Blow Out (de palma)
08 Time Bandits (gilliam)
09 The Great Muppet Caper (henson)
10 For Your Eyes Only (glenn)

honorable mention... Modern Problems... for being the movie that taught me what cocaine was.
 
cygnet74 said:
01 Raiders of the Lost Ark (spielberg)
02 The Aviator's Wife (rohmer)
03 The Road Warrior (miller)
04 Escape From New York (carpenter)
05 Stripes (reitman)
06 The Evil Dead (raimi)
07 Blow Out (de palma)
08 Time Bandits (gilliam)
09 The Great Muppet Caper (henson)
10 For Your Eyes Only (glenn)

honorable mention... Modern Problems... for being the movie that taught me what cocaine was.
:evil:I think we're starting to wear off on ya:evil:

Kidding, I'm kidding.
 
'81 is an anomoly, i guess. just not alot of obscure foreign or american independent films that i like from that year.
 
Following your lead, Hudson, I'm keeping Road Warrior on my '82 list, rather than putting it here.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (also on my top 10 all-time favorites)
Gallipoli (also on my top 10 all-time favorites)
Pennies From Heaven
On Golden Pond
My Dinner With Andre
For Your Eyes Only
The Evil Dead
Arthur
 
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