Best Movies of 1981 by Rank
90
1
Steven Spielberg
Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies
Action / Adventure / Family
USA
English
225
2
Hugh Hudson
Ian Charleson, Ben Cross
Drama / Sports / Period Film / Family
UK
English
249
3
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton
Drama / Epic / History / Biography / Romance
USA
English
284
4
Wolfgang Petersen
Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Drama / War / Adventure
West Germany
German
656
6
Jean-Jacques Beineix
Frédéric Andréi, Wilhelmenia Fernandez
Action / Drama / Mystery / Romance / Thriller / Music / Gangster / Cult
France
French
664
7
István Szabó
Klaus Maria Brandauer, Krystyna Janda
Drama
West Germany / Hungary / Austria
Hungarian
665
8
Peter Weir
Mark Lee, Mel Gibson, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins, Charles Lathalu Yunipingli
Drama / War
Australia
English
719
9
George Miller
Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps
Action / Sci-Fi / Adventure / Crime / Cult
Australia
English
1049
12
Sidney Lumet
Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy
Drama / Crime / Detective
USA
English
1061
13
Lawrence Kasdan
William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson
Crime / Thriller / Post-Noir
USA
English
1104
14
John Landis
David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine, Lila Kaye
Comedy / Horror / Romance / Thriller
USA / UK
English
1192
15
Bill Forsyth
John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Jake D'Arcy, Clare Grogan
Comedy / Romance / Drama
UK
English
1194
16
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Barbara Sukowa, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mario Adorf
Drama
West Germany
German
1442
17
Louis Malle
Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler
Drama / Comedy
USA
English
1509
19
Sam Raimi
Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly
Horror / Cult
USA
English
1599
20
Karel Reisz
Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae, Emily Morgan
Drama / Romance / Period Film
UK
English
1620
21
Ivan Passer
Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn, Ann Dusenberry
Drama / Thriller / Crime
USA
English
1824
22
Steve Gordon
Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Comedy / Romance / Drama
USA
English
1860
23
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nicholas Kadi, Rae Dawn Chong
Fantasy / Adventure / Drama
Canada / France / USA
English (No Dialogue)
1872
24
Brian De Palma
John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz, Peter Boyden, Curt May
Mystery / Thriller / Cult
USA
English
1943
25
Terry Gilliam
John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm
Fantasy / Adventure / Comedy / Family / Cult
UK
English
1963
26
Jeremy Paul Kagan
Maximilian Schell, Rod Steiger, Robby Benson, Barry Miller
Drama / Religion
USA
English
1981
27
Sydney Pollack
Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2025
28
Frank Perry
Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid, Steve Forrest, Howard Da Silva, Mara Hobel
Biography / Drama / Cult
USA
English
2181
29
Walter Hill
Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, T.K. Carter
Drama / Thriller / War / Action
USA / Switzerland / UK
English
2220
30
Volker Schlöndorff
Bruno Ganz, Hanna Schygulla, Jean Carmet, Jerzy Skolimowski, Gila von Weitersha
Drama / War
France / West Germany
German
2221
31
Milos Forman
James Cagney, Elizabeth McGovern, Brad Dourif, Moses Gunn
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
2223
32
Ulu Grosbard
Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, Kenneth McMillan, Ed Flanders
Crime / Drama / Detective / Religion
USA
English
2254
33
Bernardo Bertolucci
Ugo Tognazzi, Anouk Aimée, Laura Morante, Victor Cavallo, Olimpia Carlisi
Drama
Italy
Italian
2266
34
John Boorman
Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey
Adventure / Fantasy
USA / UK
English
2266
34
John Badham
Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, Christine Lahti, Bob Balaban, Kenneth McMillan
Drama
USA
English
2274
35
Roger Donaldson
Bruno Lawrence, Anna Maria Monticelli, Greer Robson
Drama
New Zealand
English
2278
36
Herbert Ross
Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Walken, Jessica Harper
Comedy / Drama / Musical / Romance / Period Film
USA
English
2302
37
Bertrand Blier
Patrick Dewaere, Ariel Besse, Maurice Ronet, Geneviève Mnich
Drama / Romance
France
French
2303
38
Markus Imhoof
Tina Engel, Hans Diehl, Martin Walz, Curt Bois
Drama / War
Switzerland / West Germany / Austria
German
2315
39
Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks, Kathryn Harrold, Tyann Means, Bruno Kirby
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2337
40
Margarethe von Trotta
Jutta Lampe, Barbara Sukowa, Rüdiger Vogler, Doris Schade
Drama / History
West Germany
German
2434
41
Alan Alda
Alan Alda, Carol Burnett, Len Cariou, Sandy Dennis
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2449
42
Desmond Davis
Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress
Action / Adventure / Fantasy / Family / Romance
UK
English
2449
42
Ivan Reitman
Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, P.J. Soles, Sean Young, John Candy
Comedy / War
USA
English
2449
42
Michael Wadleigh
Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Edward James Olmos, Gregory Hines, Tom Noonan
Horror / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2463
43
Ralph L. Thomas
Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster, Kim Cattrall
Drama / Religion
Canada
English
2465
44
John Carpenter
Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes
Action / Adventure / Crime / Sci-Fi / Thriller
UK / USA
English
2470
45
Luis Valdez
Daniel Valdez, Edward James Olmos, Charles Aidman, Tyne Daly
Drama / Musical / Period Film
USA
English
2562
46
Michael Mann
James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, James Belushi
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Post-Noir / Caper
USA
English
2587
47
Shohei Imamura
Kaori Momoi, Shigeru Izumiya, Ken Ogata, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
Drama / Comedy / Period Film
Japan
Japanese
2591
48
Jean-Claude Tramont
Gene Hackman, Barbra Streisand, Diane Ladd, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Dobson
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2591
48
Eric Rohmer
Philippe Marlaud, Marie Rivière, Anne-Laure Meury, Mathieu Carrière
Drama / Comedy
France
French
2591
48
Murray Lerner
David Golub, Isaac Stern, Tan Shuzhen
Documentary / Music / History
USA
English
2591
48
Frederick King Keller
Margaret Chamberlain, Paul Flessa, Fred A. Keller, James McGuire, Sonia Raimi
Drama / Fantasy / Family
USA
English
2604
49
Andrzej Zulawski
Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neil, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent, Johanna Hofer
Drama / Horror / Experimental
France / West Germany
English
2628
51
Richard Marquand
Donald Sutherland, Stephen MacKenna, Philip Martin Brown, Kate Nelligan
Thriller / War / Spy
UK
English
2628
51
Peter Yates
William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer, James Woods, Irene Worth
Thriller / Mystery / Romance / Crime
USA
English
2628
51
John Glen
Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian Glover
Action / Adventure / Thriller / Spy / Family / Cult
UK / USA
English
2628
51
Daniel Petrie
Paul Newman, Edward Asner, Ken Wahl, Danny Aiello, Rachel Ticotin, Pam Grier
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2628
51
Jim Henson
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Charles Grodin
Family / Comedy / Musical / Adventure / Detective
UK
English
2628
51
Gerald Potterton
Richard Romanus, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Rodger Bumpass, Jackie Burroughs
Animation / Adventure / Fantasy / Horror / Sci-Fi / Cult / Comic / Music
Canada
English
2628
51
Joe Dante
Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski
Horror / Mystery / Thriller
USA
English
2628
51
John Waters
Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, David Samson, Mary Garlington, Ken King
Comedy
USA
English
2628
51
Bob Rafelson
Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos, Michael Lerner, John P. Ryan
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Romance / Post-Noir
USA / West Germany
English
2628
51
David Cronenberg
Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane, Michael Ironside
Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Tech-Noir
Canada
English
2628
51
Harold Becker
George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Cox, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, Brendan Ward
Drama / Action
USA
English
2645
52
Francis Veber
Gérard Depardieu, Pierre Richard, Corynne Charbit
Comedy / Adventure
France / Mexico
French
2661
53
Penelope Spheeris
Black Flag, The Germs, X, Alice Bag Band, The Circle Jerks, Catholic Discipline
Documentary / Music / Biography
USA
English
2673
54
Alain Tanner
Trevor Howard, Mick Ford, Bernice Stegers, Henri Virlojeux
Drama / Sci-Fi
Switzerland / France
English
2688
55
Nanni Moretti
Nanni Moretti, Dario Cantarelli, Nicola Di Pinto, Alessandro Haber, Laura Morante
Comedy / Drama
Italy
Italian
2688
55
Leon Hirszman
Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, Fernanda Montenegro, Carlos Alberto Riccelli, Bete Mendes
Drama
Brazil
Portuguese
2690
56
Carlos Saura
Berta Socuéllamos, Jose Antonio Valdelomar González
Crime / Drama / Romance
Spain / France
Spanish
2694
57
Arthur Penn
Craig Wasson, Jodi Thelen, Michael Huddleston, Jim Metzler, Scott Hardt
Drama / Romance / Comedy
USA
English
2694
57
Dusan Makavejev
Susan Anspach, Erland Josephson, Marianna Jacobi, James Marsh, John Zacharias
Drama / Comedy
Sweden / UK
Swedish
2694
57
Nils Malmros
Eva Gram Scholdager, Jan Johansen, Line Arlien-Søborg, Marian Wendelbo
Drama / Biography
Denmark
Danish
2697
58
Mrinal Sen
Satya Banerjee, Radhamohan Bhattacharya, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Reba Roy Chowdhury
Drama
India
Bengali
2697
58
Wojciech Marczewski
Tomasz Hudziec, Teresa Marczewska, Marek Kondrat, Zdzislaw Wardejn
Drama / History
Poland
Polish
2699
59
Frank Ripploh
Frank Ripploh, Bernd Broaderup, Orpha Termin, Peter Fahrni, Dieter Godde
Comedy / Drama
West Germany
German
2700
60
Blake Edwards
Julie Andrews, William Holden, Marisa Berenson, Larry Hagman
Comedy
USA
English
2703
61
François Truffaut
Gérard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant, Henri Garcin
Drama / Romance
France
French
2712
62
Uli Edel
Eberhard Auriga, Natja Brunckhorst, Thomas Haustein, Jens Kuphal, Peggy Russiek
Biography / Drama
West Germany
German
2712
62
Jack Fisk
Sissy Spacek, Eric Roberts, Sam Shepard, William Sanderson, Tracey Walter
Drama
USA
English
2712
62
Malcolm Leo, Andrew Solt
Elvis Presley, David Scott, Paul Boensch III, Johnny Harra, Lawrence Koller
Documentary / Biography / Drama / Music
USA
English
2713
63
Peter Hyams
Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen, James Sikking, Kika Markham
Crime / Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi / Adventure / Detective / Gangster
UK
English
2719
64
Billy Wilder
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Paula Prentiss, Klaus Kinski, Dana Elcar
Comedy
USA
English
2751
65
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks, Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn
Comedy
USA
English
2751
65
Yaki Yosha
Shraga Harpaz, Shimon Finkel, Hanna Meron, Nitza Shaul
Drama
Israel
Hebrew
2751
65
Sara Driver
Suzanne Fletcher, Evelyn Smith, Luc Sante
Horror / Drama
USA
English
2776
66
Emir Kusturica
Slavko Stimac, Slobodan Aligrudic, Ljiljana Blagojevic, Mira Banjac
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Yugoslavia
Serbo-Croatian
2776
66
Manoel de Oliveira
Teresa Menezes, Diogo Dória, Mario Barroso, Silvia Rato
Drama / Romance / Period Film
Portugal
Portuguese
2776
66
Peter Bogdanovich
Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, Patti Hansen, John Ritter
Comedy / Romance / Detective
USA
English
