Best Movies of 1981 by Rank
88
1
Steven Spielberg
Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies
Action / Adventure / Family
USA
English
229
2
Hugh Hudson
Ian Charleson, Ben Cross
Drama / Sports / Period Film / Family
UK
English
254
3
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton
Drama / Epic / History / Biography / Romance
USA
English
283
4
Wolfgang Petersen
Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Drama / War / Adventure
West Germany
German
655
6
Jean-Jacques Beineix
Frédéric Andréi, Wilhelmenia Fernandez
Action / Drama / Mystery / Romance / Thriller / Music / Gangster / Cult
France
French
656
7
István Szabó
Klaus Maria Brandauer, Krystyna Janda
Drama
West Germany / Hungary / Austria
Hungarian
660
8
Peter Weir
Mark Lee, Mel Gibson, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins, Charles Lathalu Yunipingli
Drama / War
Australia
English
720
9
George Miller
Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps
Action / Sci-Fi / Adventure / Crime / Cult
Australia
English
1053
12
Lawrence Kasdan
William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson
Crime / Thriller / Post-Noir
USA
English
1066
13
John Landis
David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine, Lila Kaye
Comedy / Horror / Romance / Thriller
USA / UK
English
1079
14
Sidney Lumet
Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy
Drama / Crime / Detective
USA
English
1163
15
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Barbara Sukowa, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mario Adorf
Drama
West Germany
German
1181
16
Bill Forsyth
John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Jake D'Arcy, Clare Grogan
Comedy / Romance / Drama
UK
English
1449
17
Sam Raimi
Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly
Horror / Cult
USA
English
1465
18
Louis Malle
Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler
Drama / Comedy
USA
English
1574
20
Ivan Passer
Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn, Ann Dusenberry
Drama / Thriller / Crime
USA
English
1635
21
Karel Reisz
Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae, Emily Morgan
Drama / Romance / Period Film
UK
English
1836
22
Steve Gordon
Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Comedy / Romance / Drama
USA
English
1865
23
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nicholas Kadi, Rae Dawn Chong
Fantasy / Adventure / Drama
Canada / France / USA
English (No Dialogue)
1896
24
Terry Gilliam
John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm
Fantasy / Adventure / Comedy / Family / Cult
UK
English
1912
25
Brian De Palma
John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz, Peter Boyden, Curt May
Mystery / Thriller / Cult
USA
English
1958
26
Jeremy Paul Kagan
Maximilian Schell, Rod Steiger, Robby Benson, Barry Miller
Drama / Religion
USA
English
1980
27
Sydney Pollack
Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2002
28
Frank Perry
Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid, Steve Forrest, Howard Da Silva, Mara Hobel
Biography / Drama / Cult
USA
English
2161
29
Volker Schlöndorff
Bruno Ganz, Hanna Schygulla, Jean Carmet, Jerzy Skolimowski, Gila von Weitersha
Drama / War
France / West Germany
German
2171
30
Ulu Grosbard
Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, Kenneth McMillan, Ed Flanders
Crime / Drama / Detective / Religion
USA
English
2226
31
Walter Hill
Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, T.K. Carter
Drama / Thriller / War / Action
USA / Switzerland / UK
English
2227
32
John Boorman
Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey
Adventure / Fantasy
USA / UK
English
2227
32
John Badham
Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, Christine Lahti, Bob Balaban, Kenneth McMillan
Drama
USA
English
2268
33
Herbert Ross
Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Walken, Jessica Harper
Comedy / Drama / Musical / Romance / Period Film
USA
English
2279
34
Milos Forman
James Cagney, Elizabeth McGovern, Brad Dourif, Moses Gunn
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
2296
35
Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks, Kathryn Harrold, Tyann Means, Bruno Kirby
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2296
35
Bernardo Bertolucci
Ugo Tognazzi, Anouk Aimée, Laura Morante, Victor Cavallo, Olimpia Carlisi
Drama
Italy
Italian
2322
36
Bertrand Blier
Patrick Dewaere, Ariel Besse, Maurice Ronet, Geneviève Mnich
Drama / Romance
France
French
2356
37
Margarethe von Trotta
Jutta Lampe, Barbara Sukowa, Rüdiger Vogler, Doris Schade
Drama / History
West Germany
German
2358
38
Roger Donaldson
Bruno Lawrence, Anna Maria Monticelli, Greer Robson
Drama
New Zealand
English
2420
39
Markus Imhoof
Tina Engel, Hans Diehl, Martin Walz, Curt Bois
Drama / War
Switzerland / West Germany / Austria
German
2482
40
Alan Alda
Alan Alda, Carol Burnett, Len Cariou, Sandy Dennis
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2502
41
Desmond Davis
Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress
Action / Adventure / Fantasy / Family / Romance
UK
English
2502
41
Ivan Reitman
Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, P.J. Soles, Sean Young, John Candy
Comedy / War
USA
English
2502
41
Michael Wadleigh
Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Edward James Olmos, Gregory Hines, Tom Noonan
Horror / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2524
42
John Carpenter
Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes
Action / Adventure / Crime / Sci-Fi / Thriller
UK / USA
English
2570
43
Ralph L. Thomas
Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster, Kim Cattrall
Drama / Religion
Canada
English
2575
44
Luis Valdez
Daniel Valdez, Edward James Olmos, Charles Aidman, Tyne Daly
Drama / Musical / Period Film
USA
English
2599
45
Shohei Imamura
Kaori Momoi, Shigeru Izumiya, Ken Ogata, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
Drama / Comedy / Period Film
Japan
Japanese
2605
46
Jean-Claude Tramont
Gene Hackman, Barbra Streisand, Diane Ladd, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Dobson
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2605
46
Eric Rohmer
Philippe Marlaud, Marie Rivière, Anne-Laure Meury, Mathieu Carrière
Drama / Comedy
France
French
2605
46
Murray Lerner
David Golub, Isaac Stern, Tan Shuzhen
Documentary / Music / History
USA
English
2605
46
Frederick King Keller
Margaret Chamberlain, Paul Flessa, Fred A. Keller, James McGuire, Sonia Raimi
Drama / Fantasy / Family
USA
English
2667
47
Michael Mann
James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, James Belushi
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Post-Noir / Caper
USA
English
2689
48
Richard Marquand
Donald Sutherland, Stephen MacKenna, Philip Martin Brown, Kate Nelligan
Thriller / War / Spy
UK
English
2689
48
Peter Yates
William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer, James Woods, Irene Worth
Thriller / Mystery / Romance / Crime
USA
English
2689
48
John Glen
Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian Glover
Action / Adventure / Thriller / Spy / Family / Cult
UK / USA
English
2689
48
Daniel Petrie
Paul Newman, Edward Asner, Ken Wahl, Danny Aiello, Rachel Ticotin, Pam Grier
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2689
48
Jim Henson
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Charles Grodin
Family / Comedy / Musical / Adventure / Detective
UK
English
2689
48
Gerald Potterton
Richard Romanus, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Rodger Bumpass, Jackie Burroughs
Animation / Adventure / Fantasy / Horror / Sci-Fi / Cult / Comic / Music
Canada
English
2689
48
Joe Dante
Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski
Horror / Mystery / Thriller
USA
English
2689
48
John Waters
Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, David Samson, Mary Garlington, Ken King
Comedy
USA
English
2689
48
Bob Rafelson
Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos, Michael Lerner, John P. Ryan
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Romance / Post-Noir
USA / West Germany
English
2689
48
David Cronenberg
Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane, Michael Ironside
Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Tech-Noir
Canada
English
2689
48
Harold Becker
George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Cox, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, Brendan Ward
Drama / Action
USA
English
2717
50
Andrzej Zulawski
Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neil, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent, Johanna Hofer
Drama / Horror / Experimental
France / West Germany
English
2740
51
Francis Veber
Gérard Depardieu, Pierre Richard, Corynne Charbit
Comedy / Adventure
France / Mexico
French
2756
52
Penelope Spheeris
Black Flag, The Germs, X, Alice Bag Band, The Circle Jerks, Catholic Discipline
Documentary / Music / Biography
USA
English
2775
53
Peter Hyams
Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen, James Sikking, Kika Markham
Crime / Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi / Adventure / Detective / Gangster
UK
English
2779
54
Alain Tanner
Trevor Howard, Mick Ford, Bernice Stegers, Henri Virlojeux
Drama / Sci-Fi
Switzerland / France
English
2783
55
Arthur Penn
Craig Wasson, Jodi Thelen, Michael Huddleston, Jim Metzler, Scott Hardt
Drama / Romance / Comedy
USA
English
2783
55
Dusan Makavejev
Susan Anspach, Erland Josephson, Marianna Jacobi, James Marsh, John Zacharias
Drama / Comedy
Sweden / UK
Swedish
2783
55
Nils Malmros
Eva Gram Scholdager, Jan Johansen, Line Arlien-Søborg, Marian Wendelbo
Drama / Biography
Denmark
Danish
2788
56
Frank Ripploh
Frank Ripploh, Bernd Broaderup, Orpha Termin, Peter Fahrni, Dieter Godde
Comedy / Drama
West Germany
German
2789
57
Blake Edwards
Julie Andrews, William Holden, Marisa Berenson, Larry Hagman
Comedy
USA
English
2791
58
François Truffaut
Gérard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant, Henri Garcin
Drama / Romance
France
French
2792
59
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks, Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn
Comedy
USA
English
2792
59
Yaki Yosha
Shraga Harpaz, Shimon Finkel, Hanna Meron, Nitza Shaul
Drama
Israel
Hebrew
2792
59
Sara Driver
Suzanne Fletcher, Evelyn Smith, Luc Sante
Horror / Drama
USA
English
2801
60
Uli Edel
Eberhard Auriga, Natja Brunckhorst, Thomas Haustein, Jens Kuphal, Peggy Russiek
Biography / Drama
West Germany
German
2801
60
Jack Fisk
Sissy Spacek, Eric Roberts, Sam Shepard, William Sanderson, Tracey Walter
Drama
USA
English
2801
60
Malcolm Leo, Andrew Solt
Elvis Presley, David Scott, Paul Boensch III, Johnny Harra, Lawrence Koller
Documentary / Biography / Drama / Music
USA
English
2807
61
Billy Wilder
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Paula Prentiss, Klaus Kinski, Dana Elcar
Comedy
USA
English
2860
62
Emir Kusturica
Slavko Stimac, Slobodan Aligrudic, Ljiljana Blagojevic, Mira Banjac
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Yugoslavia
Serbo-Croatian
2860
62
Manoel de Oliveira
Teresa Menezes, Diogo Dória, Mario Barroso, Silvia Rato
Drama / Romance / Period Film
Portugal
Portuguese
2860
62
Peter Bogdanovich
Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, Patti Hansen, John Ritter
Comedy / Romance / Detective
USA
English
