Year 1981 movies and TV shows – page 2
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List of year 1981 movies
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama, History, War
Country: Sweden
Duration: 30 min.
TV show
Story:
In the middle of the Cold War, a Soviet submarine runs aground outside Karlskrona and suddenly Sweden finds itself at the center of events. Prime Minister Thorbjörn Fälldin tries to resolve the conflict and avoid a world war between two nuclear ...
Style:
suspenseful, historical drama, satirical, political drama
Audience:
adult
Plot:
submarine, cold war, satire, prime minister, diplomacy, international crisis, showdown, moral dilemma, based on real people, international law, espionage, biopic ...
Time:
80s, year 1981, 20th century
Place:
soviet union, eastern europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 125 min.
TV show
Story:
A retelling in two parts, from 1977 to 1986, of the education and the rise to power of a group of young graduates of the prestigious ENA school.
Plot:
internship, socialist, young man, politics, assault, elitism, young woman, student, election campaign, elite, conservatism, french politics ...
Time:
year 1981, 70s, 80s
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
A 17 year-old student is forced to get off the fence he has actively sat on all his life to stand up for himself, his whanau (family) and his future in this heartwarming story of identity.
Style:
crying
Plot:
rugby, racism, student, biracial, overweight, coming of age, teenage boy, 17 year old, apartheid, demonstration, outsider, videotaping ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s
Place:
new zealand
Is relevant?
8K
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
A biopic of Barack Obama set during his time as a college student in New York City.
Style:
political
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
president, biopic, u.s. president, racism, columbia university, black history, philosopher, real life, black, runner, inspiration, loneliness ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s
Place:
new york, new york state
Is relevant?
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12K
Genre: Adventure, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
During the war in Afghanistan a Soviet tank crew commanded by a tyrannical officer find themselves lost and in a struggle against a band of Mujahadeen guerrillas in the mountains.
Style:
sexy, gothic, realistic, bleak, retro ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
tank, politics, military, soldier, war in afghanistan, vengeance, international relations, brutality, revenge, anti communist, desert, cavalry ...
Time:
80s, year 1981
Place:
afghanistan, middle east, israel, vietnam, russia ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
The true story about the Canadian cancer amputee hero who decided to run across Canada on only one leg to raise money for cancer research.
Style:
sad, serious, realistic, uplifting, captivating ...
Plot:
running, physical disability, disability, illness, runner, cross country, heroes, child illness, homecoming, terminal illness, on the road, athlete's life ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s, 70s, 20th century
Place:
newfoundland, canada, british columbia
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal ...
Style:
suspenseful, bleak, tense, rough, detective ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
addiction, heroin, sex, police investigation, drug addiction, murder, serial killer, drug, junkie, true crime, drug addict, life is a bitch ...
Time:
20th century, year 1981, y2k, year 2003, 80s ...
Place:
los angeles, pasadena california, usa, sacramento california, california
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
Ambitious young Jodie wants more out of life than the small Texas country town she lives in has to offer. Jodie realizes that in order to pursue her dreams she will have to leave Texas and move to the big city. However, her shiftless factory worker ...
Style:
retro, spaghetti western, independent film, f word
Plot:
voyeur, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, female singer, voyeurism, blonde, cowboy, coming of age, couples, pickup truck, dancing, bare chested male, factory ...
Time:
year 1981
Place:
texas
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
After his aunt dies of a heart attack while fighting the IRS, Harry Johnson decides to take up the cause.
Style:
independent film, realistic, semi serious, thought provoking, captivating ...
Plot:
social relations, courtroom, injustice, society, life is a bitch, fighting the system, rivalry, state affairs, legal, vengeance, rebellion, politics ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
A young wife becomes pregnant, but the child's father is not her husband. Afraid to tell him, she leaves home, and meets an outgoing, free-spirited woman on a bus. Although the two are polar opposites, the wife moves in with the young woman, ...
Style:
independent film, semi serious, realistic, touching, offbeat ...
Plot:
abortion, canuxploitation, partner, pregnancy, infidelity, factory, friendship, alcohol abuse, couples, family relations, friends, buddies ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min.
Story:
Heartbeeps stars Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters as domestic robots who fall in love and run off together.
Style:
psychotronic, surreal, retro, humorous, semi serious
Audience:
pre-teens
Plot:
robot, androids and robots, servant, factory, fish out of water, love, escape, nature, machine, women, cognitive science, dystopian future ...
Time:
future, year 1981, 80s
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: USA, Mexico, UK
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Four American friends, badly needing money, decide to make a commando-like raid into a South American drug lord's compound.
Style:
cult classic, independent film, realistic, semi serious, exciting ...
Plot:
heist, dog, horse, mercenary, crime wave, bandit, drug dealing, chase, jungle, partner, gangster, friends ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s
Place:
latin america
Is relevant?
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Genre: Comedy, History, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
An uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.
Style:
parody, spoof, funny, slapstick, humorous ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
roman empire, spanish inquisition, satire, marijuana, inquisition, empress, torture, ancient, caveman, peplum, revolution, farce ...
Time:
18th century, 20th century, 1st century, year 1981, future ...
Place:
rome italy, france, ancient greece, arizona, greece ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
After being exposed to a bizarre mixture of household chemicals, Pat Kramer begins to shrink. This baffles scientists, makes parenting difficult, warms the hearts of Americans, and captures the attention of a group of people who want to take over ...
Style:
parody, not serious, offbeat, humorous, crying ...
Audience:
family outing, teens
Plot:
satire, shrinking, coming of age, gay, talk show host, humour, family relations, conspiracy, genetic engineering, kidnapping, materialism, disorder ...
Time:
80s, year 1981
Place:
california
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Music, Romance, War
Country: West Germany
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
Lili Marleen is the story of a German singer named Wilkie who while working in Switzerland falls in love with a Jewish composer named Robert who’s family is helping people to flee from the Nazis. Roberts family is skeptical of Walkie thinking she ...
Style:
stylized, clever, witty, art house, romantic drama ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
nazi germany, nazi, wartime, women, world war, wartime life, world war two, dictatorship, nazism, dictator, forbidden love, love ...
Time:
1940s, year 1981, 20th century, 1930s, year 1938
Place:
germany, berlin germany, europe, zurich switzerland, munich germany ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Plastic surgeon Larry Roberts performs a series of minor alterations on a group of models who are seeking perfection. The operations are a resounding success. But when someone starts killing his beautiful patients, Dr. Roberts becomes suspicious and ...
Style:
sexy, suspenseful, erotic, futuristic, psychological ...
Plot:
murder, model, murder mystery, plastic surgeon, amateur detective, serial killer, obsession, greed, technology gone awry, mind game, dishonesty, disorder ...
Time:
80s, year 1981, future
Place:
california, beverly hills, los angeles, san francisco
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
The Tarzan story from Jane's point of view. Jane Parker visits her father in Africa where she joins him on an expedition. A couple of brief encounters with Tarzan establish a (sexual) bond between her and Tarzan. When the expedition is captured ...
Style:
sexy, humorous, fairy tale, semi serious, psychotronic ...
Audience:
boys' night, teens
Plot:
jungle, tarzan, kidnapping, nude bathing, female protagonist, public nudity, sexual awakening, father daughter relationship, skinny dipping, rescue, no bra, voyeur ...
Time:
80s, year 1981, future
Place:
africa, west africa
Is relevant?
960
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
Karl Kinsky, an unbalanced tattoo artist, becomes obsessed with Maddy, a model he meets when he is hired to body-paint several women for a photo shoot, making the women look like they have large tattoos. As Kinsky grows more obsessed with Maddy, he ...
Style:
tense, psychological, slasher, neo noir, realistic ...
Plot:
obsession, kidnapping, tattoo, mentally unstable, danger, bondage, masturbation, dating, nude women, fashion model, prison, nudity ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s, 20th century
Place:
usa, new jersey
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
48K
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Frank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himself complete with a home, wife and kids. To accelerate the process, he ...
Style:
neo noir, noir, retro, cult classic, perverse ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
safecracker, bank robbery, robbery, mafia, organized crime, character study, heist, criminal, bank robber, great ending, violence, betrayal ...
Time:
80s, year 1981, 20th century, 70s
Place:
chicago, usa, illinois, los angeles, new jersey
Is relevant?
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Though several actors portray Elvis Presley at different stages of his life, this documentary is comprised mostly of actual performance footage and interviews with Elvis, his fans and those close to him. This biographical docu-drama features rare ...
Style:
psychotronic, serious, realistic, captivating, sentimental ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night
Plot:
concert, music, biopic, hospital, musician, death, singer, road trip, volunteer, conference, blues, showbiz ...
Time:
year 1981, 60s, 70s, 1950s, 80s ...
Place:
germany, memphis, las vegas, hawaii, new jersey
Is relevant?
571
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Canada
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
The celebrated heart surgeon Dr. Thomas Vrain supports the research of the offbeat scientist Aldo Gehring, who is inventing an artificial heart. Dr. Vrain performs the first artificial human heart transplant against the advice of the Ethics ...
Style:
philosophical, captivating, thought provoking, serious, realistic ...
Plot:
medicine, medical, nudity, power relations, transplant, moral dilemma, society, idealism, introspection, against the rules, doctors and patients, female nudity ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s, 20th century
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
David is a young man seduced by a religious cult that uses starvation, exhaustion, and brainwashing to mold recruits into money hustling disciples of a messiah-like leader. Chronicles David's chilling transformation into a gaunt, mindless ...
Style:
realistic, psychological, serious, thought provoking, tense ...
Plot:
sleep deprivation, religious cult, religion, atheism, religions or cults, sect, hidden treasure, religious sect, mind control, brainwashing, innocence lost, society ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s
Place:
toronto ontario canada, california, usa, san francisco
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
A cop clashes with his priest brother while investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute
Style:
neo noir, detective, intelligent, crime drama, talky ...
Plot:
murder, catholic priest, cop, priest, politics, serial killer, clergy, redemption, police corruption, political corruption, desert, catholic ...
Time:
1940s, year 1981, 20th century, 1950s, 50s
Place:
los angeles, california, usa
Is relevant?
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Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
A crew of interplanetary archaeologists is threatened when an alien creature impregnates one of their members, causing her to turn homicidal and murder them one by one.
Style:
erotic, grindhouse, scary, psychotronic, retro ...
Plot:
pregnancy, impregnation, rape, alien, cave, murder, evil alien, woman in labor, characters killed one by one, space monster, pregnant from rape, trapped in space ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s
Is relevant?
923
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: South Korea, USA, Ireland, Italy
Duration: 140 min.
Story:
A noisy and absurd re-telling of the great 1950 invasion of Inchon during the Korean War which was masterminded by General Douglas MacArthur.
Style:
historical drama, psychotronic, independent film
Plot:
korean war, military industrial complex, american imperialism, historical event, conservative, cold war era, bomb squad, invasion, marines, stalinism, un, voice over narration ...
Time:
1950s, year 1981, year 1950, 80s, 50s
Place:
north korea, seoul, tokyo, usa, korea ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Musical, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Hank and Frannie don't seem to be able to live together anymore. After a five-year relationship, lustful and dreamy Fanny leaves down-to-earth Hank on the anniversary of their relationship. Each one of them meets their dream mate, but as bright ...
Style:
erotic, semi serious, realistic, atmospheric, sentimental ...
Audience:
girls' night, date night
Plot:
dancing, waitress, passion, surrealism, public nudity, motel, voyeur, female nudity, lust, nightclub, marital crisis, casino ...
Time:
year 1981, 80s
Place:
las vegas, nevada, usa, tokyo
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
The son of the owner of a large Italian cheese factory is kidnapped, but as the factory is on the verge of bankruptcy the owner hatches a plan to use the ransom money as reinvestment in the factory.
Style:
suspenseful, tense, serious, realistic, ambiguous ending ...
Plot:
kidnapping, terrorism, missing person, factory, family business, confined, cons and scams, moral dilemma, dishonesty, danger, father son relationship, economist ...
Time:
80s, year 1981
Place:
italy, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
A small midwestern town descends into chaos with the arrival of a motorcycle gang.
Style:
cult classic, period piece, slasher, realistic, serious ...
Plot:
motorcycle, biker, bike, biker gang, gang, nudity, bare breasts, female nudity, teenage girl, blonde, waitress, suburbs ...
Time:
year 1960, year 1981, 50s, 1950s, year 1959
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
Story:
After breaking ties with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X became a man marked for death...and it was just a matter of time before his enemies closed in. Despite death threats and intimidation, Malcolm marched on - continuing to spread the word of ...
Style:
thought provoking, serious, realistic, sincere, controversial
Plot:
racism, african american, civil rights, civil rights movement, black, revenge, book, blaxploitation, bookstore, politics, assassination, jazz ...
Time:
20th century, year 1981, 60s
Place:
america
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Country: Brazil
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Sandra is a rich widow who wants to know the beach house her late husband has left her. She goes there with her lover Odilon, an unscrupulous young man whose studies she's supporting. Helping her with the red tape is dr. Carvalho, a very ...
Style:
erotic, offbeat, pornochanchada, black comedy, absurd ...
Plot:
erotica, sexuality, hippie, class conflict, beach house, satire, social satire, infidelity, female pubic hair, male nudity, female nudity, swinger couple ...
Time:
80s, year 1981
Is relevant?
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