Top 10 Films of 1981

1. "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" (Steven Spielberg, USA)

2. "My Dinner With André" (Louis Malle, USA)

3. "Quest For Fire" (Jean-Jacques Annaud, France)

4. "The Road Warrior" (George Miller, Australia)

5. "Mis" (Stanislaw Bareja, Poland)

6. ''Atlantic City'' (Louis Malle, USA)

7. ''Body Heat'' (Lawrence Kasdan, USA)

8. ''Excalibur'' (John Boorman, USA)

9. "Diva" (Jean-Jacques Beineix, France)

10. "Smash Palace" (Roger Donaldson, New Zealand)

Other great films:

Amanda By Night

American Pop

Arthur

Beau pere (France)

Blow Out

Byl Jazz (Poland)

Cannibal Ferox

Chariots Of Fire (UK)

Christiane F (Germany)

Cover Girl
Czlowiek z zelaza (Poland)

Dreszcze (Poland)

Dr Jekyll et les femmes (France)

The Entity

A Fêmea do Mar (Brazil)

La Femme de l'aviateur (France) 

For Your Eyes Only

Fox And The Hound
French Lieutenant's Woman

Les Fruits de la passion (France)

Heaven's Gate

Heavy Metal

Hokusai manga (Japan)

Il faut tuer Birgitt Haas (France)

Jeux de la Comtesse Dolingen de Gratz (France)
Kobieta samotna (Poland)

Lili Marleen (Germany)

Linda

Love And Lies (Soviet Union)

Martial Club (Hong Kong)

Mein vater Alfons (East Germany)

Mephisto (Hungary)

Montenegro (Sweden)

Pennies From Heaven

Pixote (Brazil)

Possession (France)

Puberty Blues (Australia)

Only When I Laugh

Ragtime

Reds

Sadomania

Shortcuts (Czechoslovakia)

Storie di ordinaria follia (Italy)

Short Top 3:

1. "Seeing In The Rain" (Chris Gallagher, Canada)

2. "The Man Who Could Not See Far Enough" (Peter Rose, USA)

3. "Les Photos d'Alix" (Jean Eustache, France)

Other great shorts:

Couples And Robbers (UK)
Woody y yo (Spain)

Top 3 Music Videos:

1. "Once In A Lifetime" (Toni Basil, Talking Heads)

2. "Don't You Want Me" (Steve Barron, Human League)

3. "Girls On Film" (Godley and Creme, Duran Duran)

Top Commercial:

"Fast Paced World" (Fedex)

TV Top 3:

1. "Taxi: Latka The Playboy" (James Burrows, ABC)

2. "Yes Minister: The Death List" (Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, BBC, UK)

3. "Yes Minister: A Question Of Loyalty" (Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, BBC, UK)

Other great TV shows:

07 zglos sie 3 (Poland)

Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Chor (Poland)

Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej; Misiek (Poland)

Yes Minister: Doing The Honours (UK)
Yes Minister: The Compassionate Society (UK)
Yes Minister: The Devil You Know (UK)
Yes Minister: The Greasy Pole (UK)

Cartoon Top 3:

1. "Crac!" (Frédéric Back, NFB, Canada)

2. "Erection" (Guido Manuli, Italy)

3. "The Creation" (Will Vinton, USA)

Other great cartoons:

La Tendresse du maudit (France)

Weak films of 1981:

Bloody Moon
Dreadnaught (Hong Kong)
Ms 45
On Golden Pond

Thief
Victory

Weak cartoons:

Priorité absolue (Canada)
Tale For The Road (Soviet Union)
The Tender Tale Of Cinderella Penguin (Canada)

Weak TV shows:

Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Jajko (Poland)

Top Musical of 1981

"Pennies From Heaven" (Herbert Ross, MGM)

My Dinner With André (1981) *****

A long, but fascinating conversation between André Gregory and Wallace Shawn, filmed by Louis Malle. A masterpiece of cinematic art.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) *****

Classic adventure film. One of the best of its kind.

For Your Eyes Only (1981) ****

Czlowiek z zelaza (1981) ****

Polish film about the creation of the "Solidarity" trade union. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Atlantic City (1981) ****

Mis (1981) ****

The Road Warrior (1981) ****

Quest For Fire (1981) ****

Smash Palace (1981) ****

Diva (1981) ****

Excalibur (1981) ****

Body Heat (1981) ****

Kobieta samotna (1981) ***

Wstrzasajacy film Agnieszki Holland.

Love And Lies (1981) ***

A superb theme song, "The Last Poem".

The Entity (1981) ***

Pennies From Heaven (1981) ***

Reds (1981) ***

Ragtime (1981) ***

American Pop (1981) ***

Blow Out (1981) ***

Heavy Metal (1981) ***

Heaven's Gate (1981) ***

Arthur (1981) ***

Arguably Dudley Moore's best film (with "Bedazzled" not far behind).

Chariots Of Fire (1981) ***

Sport drama set during the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. A legendary musical score by Vangelis.

Fox And The Hound (1981) ***

Entertaining Disney movie.

The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) ***

Excellent adaptation of John Fowles' novel.

Byl Jazz (1981) ***

Ciekawy film o grupie muzykow jazzowych w czasach stalinowskich, napotykajacych na wielorakie trudnosci ze strony urzednikow i aktywistow partyjnych. Jeden z nielicznych filmow antykomunistycznych, ukonczonych przed ogloszeniem stanu wojennego. Pokazano go podczas festiwalu filmowego w Gdansku w 1981 roku, ale niezdazyl wejsc na ekrany przed 13 grudnia.

Dreszcze (1981) ***

Dramat o czasach stalinowskich. Film wszedl na ekrany 23 listopada 1981, lecz po trzech tygodniach zostal zakazany.

Il faut tuer Birgit Haas (1981) ***

Birgitt Haas is a former German terrorist. A French secret service team is ordered to kill her and disguise it as an ordinary murder.

Lili Marleen (1981) ***

Interesting film set during World War II.

Only When I Laugh (1981) ***

An excellent adaptation of a Neil Simon's play. Marsha Mason gives a great performance.

La Femme de l'aviateur (1981) ***

Une comédie très intelligente sur les relations humaines.

Martial Club (1981) ***

Possession (1981) ***