Movies Set in 1981

85 movies found (page 1/3):

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(2001)

4.0/5 (with 12,814 votes)

Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard—with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to harness his newfound powers with the help of the school's kindly headmaster, Harry uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths—and about the villain who's to blame.

Directed by Chris Columbus - With Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, ...

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Joker(2019)

| 2h 2min | Crime, Thriller, Drama

4.1/5 (with 11,834 votes)

During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.

Directed by Todd Phillips - With Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, Bryan Callen, Marc Maron, ...

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Forrest Gump(1994)

2h 22min | Comedy, Drama, Romance / Love

4.3/5 (with 12,194 votes)

A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis - With Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Sally Field, Robin Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Haley Joel Osment, ...

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The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It(2021)

| 1h 52min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

3.8/5 (with 2,478 votes)

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren encounter what would become one of the most sensational cases from their files. The fight for the soul of a young boy takes them beyond anything they'd ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.

Directed by Michael Chaves - With Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson

A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984)

| 1h 31min | Horror

3.7/5 (with 2,352 votes)

Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...

Directed by Wes Craven - With Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Johnny Depp, John Saxon, Charles Fleischer, Ronee Blakley, ...

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Bohemian Rhapsody(2018)

PG-13

| 2h 15min | Music, Drama, History

4.0/5 (with 7,768 votes)

Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.

Directed by Bryan Singer - With Rami Malek, Mike Myers, Lucy Boynton, Joseph Mazzello, Ben Hardy, Allen Leech, ...

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(2008)

PG-13

| 2h 46min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance / Love

3.8/5 (with 5,674 votes)

I was born under unusual circumstances. And so begins The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. We follow his story, set in New Orleans, from the end of World War I in 1918 into the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man's life can be. Benjamin Button, is a grand tale of a not-so-ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time.

Directed by David Fincher - With Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Tilda Swinton, Mahershala Ali, ...

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Rocky III(1982)

| 1h 39min | Drama

3.5/5 (with 1,830 votes)

Now the world champion, Rocky Balboa is living in luxury and only fighting opponents who pose no threat to him in the ring, until Clubber Lang challenges him to a bout. After taking a pounding from Lang, the humbled champ turns to former bitter rival Apollo Creed for a rematch with Lang.

Directed by Sylvester Stallone - With Mr. T, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Burgess Meredith, Tony Burton, ...

The Pursuit of Happyness(2006)

PG-13

| 1h 57min | Drama

4.0/5 (with 4,623 votes)

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.

Directed by Gabriele Muccino - With Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Dan Castellaneta, Kurt Fuller, Brian Howe, ...

Bloodsport(1988)

| 1h 32min | Action, Drama

3.5/5 (with 749 votes)

U.S. soldier Frank Dux has come to Hong Kong to be accepted into the Kumite, a highly secret and extremely violent martial arts competition. While trying to gain access into the underground world of clandestine fighters, he also has to avoid military officers who consider him to be AWOL. After enduring a difficult training and beginning a romance with journalist Janice Kent, Frank is given the opportunity to fight. But can he survive?

Directed by Newt Arnold - With Jean-Claude Van Damme, Roy Chiao, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Bolo Yeung, Forest Whitaker, ...

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Stripes(1981)

| 1h 46min | Action, Comedy

3.3/5 (with 379 votes)

John Winger, an indolent sad sack in his 30s, impulsively joins the U.S. Army after losing his job, his girlfriend and his apartment.

Directed by Ivan Reitman - With Bill Murray, Warren Oates, P. J. Soles, Sean Young, John Candy, Harold Ramis, ...

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Gold(2016)

| 2h 1min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller

3.3/5 (with 713 votes)

Kenny Wells, a modern-day prospector, hustler, and dreamer, is desperate for a lucky break. Left with few options, Wells teams up with an equally luckless geologist to execute a grandiose, last-ditch effort: to find gold deep in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.

Directed by Stephen Gaghan - With Matthew McConaughey, Édgar Ramírez, Bryce Dallas Howard, Corey Stoll, Toby Kebbell, Bill Camp, ...

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American Made(2017)

| 1h 55min | Action, Crime, Comedy

3.4/5 (with 1,951 votes)

The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.

Directed by Doug Liman - With Tom Cruise, Lola Kirke, Domhnall Gleeson, Jesse Plemons, Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Wright, ...

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Omen III: The Final Conflict(1981)

| 1h 48min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

2.9/5 (with 224 votes)

Damien Thorn has helped rescue the world from a recession, appearing to be a benign corporate benefactor. When he then becomes U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Damien fulfills a terrifying biblical prophecy. He also faces his own potential demise as an astronomical event brings about the second coming of Christ.

Directed by Graham Baker - With Sam Neill, Don Gordon, Rossano Brazzi, Barnaby Holm, Tony Vogel, Lisa Harrow, ...

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The Dirt(2019)

1h 48min | Drama, Music, History, Comedy

3.8/5 (with 522 votes)

The story of Mötley Crüe and their rise from the Sunset Strip club scene of the early 1980s to superstardom.

Directed by Jeff Tremaine - With Douglas Booth, Machine Gun Kelly, Daniel Webber, Iwan Rheon, Pete Davidson, Leven Rambin, ...

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A Most Violent Year(2014)

| 2h 5min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

3.3/5 (with 629 votes)

A thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.

Directed by J. C. Chandor - With Oscar Isaac, Elyes Gabel, Jessica Chastain, Christopher Abbott, Matthew Maher, Albert Brooks, ...

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Sleepers(1996)

| 2h 27min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

3.8/5 (with 1,526 votes)

Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.

Directed by Barry Levinson - With Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Vittorio Gassman, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, ...

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Boogie Nights(1997)

| 2h 36min | Drama

3.8/5 (with 1,450 votes)

Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams, a hot young talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around. Adams' rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, "Dirk Diggler". Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams' dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson - With Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Heather Graham, Don Cheadle, ...

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Remember the Titans(2000)

| 1h 53min | Drama

3.8/5 (with 1,217 votes)

After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.

Directed by Boaz Yakin - With Will Patton, Donald Faison, Nicole Ari Parker, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst, Ethan Suplee, ...

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The Beyond(1981)

| 1h 28min | Horror

3.5/5 (with 253 votes)

A young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural "accidents", she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.

Directed by Lucio Fulci - With Catriona MacColl, David Warbeck, Veronica Lazăr, Cinzia Monreale, Antoine Saint-John, Al Cliver, ...

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Nighthawks(1981)

| 1h 39min | Action, Crime, Thriller

3.2/5 (with 168 votes)

An international terrorist has New York in a grip of panic and it's up to Det. Sgt. Deke DaSilva to take him down.

Directed by Bruce Malmuth - With Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, Rutger Hauer, Lindsay Wagner, Persis Khambatta, Nigel Davenport, ...

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Selena(1997)

| 2h 7min | Music, Drama, History

3.9/5 (with 536 votes)

In this biographical drama, Selena Quintanilla is born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. Her father, Abraham, realizes that his young daughter is talented and begins performing with her at small venues. She finds success and falls for her guitarist, Chris Perez, who draws the ire of her father. Seeking mainstream stardom, Selena begins recording an English-language album which, tragically, she would never complete.

Directed by Gregory Nava - With Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Constance Marie, Jon Seda, Lupe Ontiveros, Jacob Vargas, ...

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Mr. Popper's Penguins(2011)

| 1h 34min | Comedy, Kids & Family

3.0/5 (with 1,312 votes)

Jim Carrey stars as Tom Popper, a successful businessman who’s clueless when it comes to the really important things in life...until he inherits six “adorable” penguins, each with its own unique personality. Soon Tom’s rambunctious roommates turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland — and the rest of his world upside-down.

Directed by Mark Waters - With Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Madeline Carroll, Maxwell Perry Cotton, Ophelia Lovibond, ...

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Tin & Tina(2023)

1h 59min | Horror, Thriller, Mystery

3.0/5 (with 160 votes)

After a traumatic miscarriage, Lola and her husband Adolfo adopt Tin and Tina, a lovely albino brother and sister with an ultra-catholic education that makes them interpret Holy Bible verbatim.

Directed by Rubin Stein - With Milena Smit, Jaime Lorente, Teresa Rabal, Ruth Gabriel, Chelo Vivares, Luis Perezagua, ...

The Red Sea Diving Resort(2019)

2h 9min | Drama, History, Thriller, Action

The incredible story of a group of international agents and brave Ethiopians who in the early 80s used a deserted holiday retreat in Sudan as a front to smuggle thousands of refugees to Israel.

Directed by Gideon Raff - With Chris Evans

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Wet Hot American Summer(2001)

| 1h 37min | Comedy

3.2/5 (with 342 votes)

The setting is Camp Firewood, the year 1981. It's the last day before everyone goes back to the real world, but there's still a summer's worth of unfinished business to resolve. At the center of the action is camp director Beth, who struggles to keep order while she falls in love with the local astrophysics professor. He is busy trying to save the camp from a deadly piece of NASA's Skylab which is hurtling toward earth. All that, plus: a dangerous waterfall rescue, love triangles, misfits, cool kids, and talking vegetable cans. The questions will all be resolved, of course, at the big talent show at the end of the day.

Directed by David Wain - With Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Ken Marino, ...

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Alone in the Dark(2005)

| 1h 36min | Action, Fantasy, Horror

1.7/5 (with 265 votes)

Edward Carnby is a private investigator specializing in unexplainable supernatural phenomena. His cases delve into the dark corners of the world, searching for truth in the occult remnants of ancient civilizations. Now, the greatest mystery of his past is about to become the most dangerous case he has ever faced.

Directed by Uwe Boll - With Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Stephen Dorff, Frank C. Turner, Matthew Walker, Daniel Cudmore, ...

Satan's Slaves(2017)

1h 47min | Horror, Mystery

3.4/5 (with 102 votes)

After the death of Rini's mother, something is disturbing her family.

Directed by Joko Anwar - With Tara Basro, Endi Arfian, Nasar Anuz, Muhammad Adhiyat, Bront Palarae

The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie(1981)

| 1h 19min | Animation, Comedy, Kids & Family

3.6/5 (with 61 votes)

Bugs Bunny hosts an award show featuring several classic Looney Tunes shorts and characters. This movie was released in 1981 by Warner Bros. and was produced by Friz Freleng. New footage was one of the final productions done by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (also known as Marvel Productions beginning in the 1980s) and the film was re-released in the USA on April 28, 2009 from Warner Home Video.

Directed by Friz Freleng

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Love & Basketball(2000)

PG-13

| 2h 4min | Comedy, Drama, Romance / Love

3.8/5 (with 188 votes)

Quincy McCall and Monica Wright grew up in the same neighborhood and have known each other since childhood. As they grow into adulthood, they fall in love, but they also share another all-consuming passion: basketball. As Quincy and Monica struggle to make their relationship work, they follow separate career paths though high school and college basketball and, they hope, into stardom in big-league professional ball.

Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood - With Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Dennis Haysbert, Debbi Morgan, Alfre Woodard, Regina Hall, ...

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Movies Set in 1981

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(2001)

Joker(2019)

Forrest Gump(1994)

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It(2021)

A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984)

Bohemian Rhapsody(2018)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(2008)

Rocky III(1982)

The Pursuit of Happyness(2006)

Bloodsport(1988)

Stripes(1981)

Gold(2016)

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American Made(2017)

Omen III: The Final Conflict(1981)

The Dirt(2019)

A Most Violent Year(2014)

Sleepers(1996)

Boogie Nights(1997)

Remember the Titans(2000)

The Beyond(1981)

Nighthawks(1981)

Selena(1997)

Mr. Popper's Penguins(2011)

Tin & Tina(2023)

The Red Sea Diving Resort(2019)

Wet Hot American Summer(2001)

Alone in the Dark(2005)

Satan's Slaves(2017)

The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie(1981)

Love & Basketball(2000)

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