1981 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

48 films were recognised at the 1981 Academy Awards, across 22 categories. 12 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was Ordinary People, with 4 awards, ahead of Tess with 3. The categories below run from Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen), Actor in a Leading Role and Actor in a Supporting Role to the smaller prizes, and in every one the winner is listed first, followed by the other nominees.

Each title links to the film's full award history at all four awards, and the links at the bottom step to the previous and next ceremony.

Last updated August 12, 2026

Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)

Melvin and Howard(1980)
Bo Goldman
Winner
Brubaker(1980)
Screenplay by W. D. Richter; Story by W. D. Richter, Arthur Ross
Fame(1980)
Christopher Gore
My American Uncle (Mon Oncle D'Amerique)(1980)
Jean Gruault
My American Uncle (Mon Oncle D'Amerique)(1980)
Mon Oncle d'Amerique
Private Benjamin(1980)
Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer, Harvey Miller

Actor in a Leading Role

Raging Bull(1980)
Robert De Niro
Winner
The Elephant Man(1980)
John Hurt
The Great Santini(1979)
Robert Duvall
The Stunt Man(1980)
Peter O'Toole
Tribute(1980)
Jack Lemmon

Actor in a Supporting Role

Ordinary People(1980)
Timothy Hutton
Winner
Melvin and Howard(1980)
Jason Robards
Ordinary People(1980)
Judd Hirsch
Raging Bull(1980)
Joe Pesci
The Great Santini(1979)
Michael O'Keefe

Actress in a Leading Role

Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Sissy Spacek
Winner
Gloria(1980)
Gena Rowlands
Ordinary People(1980)
Mary Tyler Moore
Private Benjamin(1980)
Goldie Hawn
Resurrection(1980)
Ellen Burstyn

Actress in a Supporting Role

Melvin and Howard(1980)
Mary Steenburgen
Winner
Inside Moves(1980)
Diana Scarwid
Private Benjamin(1980)
Eileen Brennan
Raging Bull(1980)
Cathy Moriarty
Resurrection(1980)
Eva Le Gallienne

Art Direction

Tess(1979)
Art Direction: Pierre Guffroy, Jack Stephens
Winner
Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Art Direction: John W. Corso; Set Decoration: John M. Dwyer
Kagemusha(1980)
Yoshiro Muraki
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back(1980)
Art Direction: Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Harry Lange, Alan Tomkins; Set Decoration: Michael Ford
The Elephant Man(1980)
Art Direction: Stuart Craig, Bob Cartwright; Set Decoration: Hugh Scaife

Best Picture

Ordinary People(1980)
Ronald L. Schwary, Producer
Winner
Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Bernard Schwartz, Producer
Raging Bull(1980)
Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, Producers
Tess(1979)
Claude Berri, Producer; Timothy Burrill, Co-Producer
The Elephant Man(1980)
Jonathan Sanger, Producer

Cinematography

Tess(1979)
Geoffrey Unsworth, Ghislain Cloquet
Winner
Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Ralf D. Bode
Raging Bull(1980)
Michael Chapman
The Blue Lagoon(1980)
Nestor Almendros
The Formula(1980)
James Crabe

Costume Design

Tess(1979)
Anthony Powell
Winner
My Brilliant Career(1979)
Anna Senior
Somewhere in Time(1980)
Jean-Pierre Dorleac
The Elephant Man(1980)
Patricia Norris
When Time Ran Out...(1980)
Paul Zastupnevich

Directing

Ordinary People(1980)
Robert Redford
Winner
Raging Bull(1980)
Martin Scorsese
Tess(1979)
Roman Polanski
The Elephant Man(1980)
David Lynch
The Stunt Man(1980)
Richard Rush

Documentary (Feature)

From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China(1981)
Murray Lerner, Producer
Winner
Agee(1980)
Ross Spears, Producer
Front Line(1979)
David Bradbury, Producer
The Day After Trinity(1980)
Jon Else, Producer
The Yellow Star: The Persecution of the Jews in Europe - 1933-1945(1981)
Bengt von zur Muehlen and Arthur Cohn, Producers

Documentary (Short Subject)

Karl Hess: Toward Liberty(1980)
Winner
Don't Mess with Bill(1980)
John Watson and Pen Densham, Producers
It's the Same World(1981)
Dick Young, Producer
Luther Metke at 94(1980)
Richard Hawkins and Jorge Preloran, Producers
The Eruption of Mount St. Helens!(1980)
George Casey, Producer

Film Editing

Raging Bull(1980)
Thelma Schoonmaker
Winner
Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Arthur Schmidt
Fame(1980)
Gerry Hambling
The Competition(1980)
David Blewitt
The Elephant Man(1980)
Anne V. Coates

International Feature Film

Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears(1980)
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Winner
Confidence(1980)
Hungary
Kagemusha(1980)
Japan
The Last Metro(1980)
France
The Nest(1980)
Spain

Music (Original Score)

Fame(1980)
Michael Gore
Winner
Altered States(1980)
John Corigliano
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back(1980)
John Williams
Tess(1979)
Philippe Sarde
The Elephant Man(1980)
John Morris

Music (Original Song)

Fame(1980)
Fame in "Fame" Music by Michael Gore; Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Winner
Fame(1980)
Out Here On My Own in "Fame" Music by Michael Gore; Lyric by Lesley Gore
Honeysuckle Rose(1980)
On The Road Again in "Honeysuckle Rose" Music and Lyric by Willie Nelson
Nine to Five(1980)
Nine To Five in "Nine to Five" Music and Lyric by Dolly Parton
The Competition(1980)
People Alone in "The Competition" Music by Lalo Schifrin; Lyric by Wilbur Jennings

Sound

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back(1980)
Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker, Peter Sutton
Winner
Altered States(1980)
Arthur Piantadosi, Les Fresholtz, Michael Minkler, Willie D. Burton
Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Richard Portman, Roger Heman, Jim Alexander
Fame(1980)
Michael J. Kohut, Aaron Rochin, Jay M. Harding, Chris Newman
Raging Bull(1980)
Donald O. Mitchell, Bill Nicholson, David J. Kimball, Les Lazarowitz

Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium)

Ordinary People(1980)
Alvin Sargent
Winner
Breaker Morant(1980)
Jonathan Hardy, David Stevens, Bruce Beresford
Coal Miner's Daughter(1980)
Tom Rickman
The Elephant Man(1980)
Christopher DeVore, Eric Bergren, David Lynch
The Stunt Man(1980)
Screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus; Adaptation by Richard Rush