The Phantom Killer

The Phantom Killer 1981

7.00

Talented, young and handsome, Siu is a hero to the town folks and idol of the girls. Still, he has an avowed enemy, bad man Kam. Lately, several girls are murdered immediately after they met Siu. Sheriff Chiu is unable to find a lead but decides to trail Siu. Siu calls on his long time girlfriend Sien Sien but find her grieved by her sister's disappearance. Something untold does happen to Siu as he walks into an ambush set up by Kam. Chiu rushes to Siu's rescue and incidentally finds blood coming out from a porcelain statue. The statue turns out to be an enameled corpse...

1981

The Sword Stained with Royal Blood

The Sword Stained with Royal Blood 1981

5.87

Raised to be a righteous martial artist, Yuan kicks off the story proper by finding a cave containing a skeleton, a treasure map, and a manual teaching him the Golden Snake style. Obeying a request hidden in the manual to give a portion of the treasure to the Golden Snake's old girlfriend, Yuan begins to seek the woman out - on the way solving the riddle of the Golden Snake, and how he came to his end.

1981

Loophole

Loophole 1981

6.10

When architect Stephen Booker loses his partnership, he finds jobs hard to come by, and with money in short supply, he unwittingly becomes involved in a daring scheme to rob one of London's biggest bank vaults.

1981

Amy

Amy 1981

7.10

A woman leaves her husband after the death of her child to teach deaf children how to speak. Her own child was deaf and although she has no formal training she successfully teaches one boy.

1981

The Imp

The Imp 1981

6.00

Keung has a pregnant wife but he has been unemployed for a long period. One day he gets a new job as a security guard in a commercial building. But strange incidents start happening and his colleagues die in horrible ways one by one. A geomancer tells Keung that he will be the next victim and teaches him how to avoid his fate. But Keung begins to notice his wife's strange behaviour...

1981

Skokie

Skokie 1981

6.00

A dramatization of the controversial trial concerning the right for Neo-Nazis to march in the predominantly Jewish community of Skokie, Illinois.

1981

Challenge of the Gamesters

Challenge of the Gamesters 1981

6.20

A forerunner to the new wave gambling films, this is one of Wong Jing's first hits--before he would go on to dominate Hong Kong cinema for the next two decades. Although rife with Japanese spies, Shanghai tycoons, beautiful starlets, and enough intrigue to keep 007 happy, Bond himself would be no match for the heroes' skill at mahjong and other games Hong Kong gamblers play--proving that the cube is often mightier than the baccarat card.

1981

We're Fighting Back

We're Fighting Back 1981

6.00

Inspired by the exploits of New York's Guardian Angels, which began as a band of streetwise young people who formed an anti-crime subway patrol and went on to gain a national reputation and units in major cities around the country, this film unites three New York City youths as leaders of a citizens' patrol tackling gangs terrorizing merchants and local citizens.

1981

Bokura Mangaka: Tokiwa-sou Monogatari

Bokura Mangaka: Tokiwa-sou Monogatari 1981

1

Tokiwa was the apartment complex where a group of stellar artists lived in 1953. Hiro Terada, Motoo Abiko and Hiroshi Fujimoto, Shotaro Ishinomori and Fujio Akatsuka shared the trials and tribulations of being struggling young artists and writers with no money and no luck with editors or girls, with a spirit of insane youthful enthusiasm that enabled them to survive the lean years and emerge as stars of the manga firmament.

1981

The Legend of the Owl

The Legend of the Owl 1981

7.30

A masked mastermind named The Owl holds an exclusive auction every year, selling special slaves and rare objects of art. One of the customers requests that he obtain the 36th wife of the emperor, for the next auction. The Owl agrees and arranges for the woman to be kidnapped. The emperor sends a messenge to a trusted royal guard, assigning him the task of rescuing his wife. Unfortunately the guard has died, but his son, David Chiang, takes the assignment. He hunts up two of his father's friends for assistance. They have both retired, but their sons, Barry Chan and Eric Tsang, agree to help out. So David, Barry, and Eric go forward on their quest to rescue the woman and unmask The Owl.

1981

Coup de Torchon

Coup de Torchon 1981

7.00

A pathetic police chief, humiliated by everyone around him, suddenly wants a clean slate in life, and resorts to drastic means to achieve it.

1981

The Children Nobody Wanted

The Children Nobody Wanted 1981

5.50

True story of Tom Butterfield and his crusade to provide family life for homeless children, becoming not only the first bachelor caretaker, but the youngest single adult to become a legal foster parent in the state of Missouri.

1981

Los liantes

Los liantes 1981

5.86

Amador and Fidel are two small scammers operating in Torremolinos beach and surroundings with more misery than fortune.

1981

Female Beautician Rope Discipline

Female Beautician Rope Discipline 1981

4.58

Hairstylist Misa meets S&M enthusiast Ippei and is convinced to give it a try. Then later, Ippei's ex-wife, who happens to be one of Misa's beauty shop clients, begins a sexual relationship with her. The lesbian affair is also accentuated by some more S&M.

1981

Female Gym Coach: Jump and Straddle

Female Gym Coach: Jump and Straddle 1981

4.00

It’s coming up to competition time for the pretty office girls of the Kara Cosmetics Company. Kei (Junko Asahina) and her co-workers are preparing their amateur rhythmic gymnastics team for an upcoming competition. In order to assist the sexy ladies, Aoki (Funasaku Sasairi) is brought in as their new coach. As the team wonders about the coach’s ability to perform both on and off the court, Kei’s relationship with him is revealed. Long ago, Aoki slept with Kei before a competition and she lost. Now, he’s worried it will happen again! Can the coach overcome his sexual issues and help Kei win this time?

1981

The Dark End of the Street

The Dark End of the Street 1981

2.33

Boston, Massachusetts. A young black man falls off the roof of a housing project and dies. When the authorities suspect foul play, witnesses Donna and Billy, two white working-class teens, must decide whether to tell what really happened or face the consequences of growing racial unrest in their community.

1981

United Kingdom

United Kingdom 1981

1

Incendiary 1981 Play for Today, written by Jim Allen and directed by Roland Joffé that tells the story of a group of housing estate residents who attempt to organise against persistent rent rises.

1981

Barriers

Barriers 1981

6.00

Barriers is a British children's television series, created and written by William Corlett, and made by Tyne Tees Television for ITV between 1981 and 1982. The series starred Benedict Taylor as Billy Stanyon, a teenager facing up to the loss of his parents in a sailing accident only to discover that he was adopted. Billy then sets off on a journey to find his real parents that takes him across Europe. The series was filmed on location in Scotland, Germany and Austria. Barriers lasted for two series and other notable cast members included Paul Rogers, Laurence Naismith, Siân Phillips, Patricia Lawrence, Nicholas Courtney, Robert Addie, Natalie Forbes and Ellie Nicol-Hilton.

1981

Himawari no Uta

Himawari no Uta 1981

1

Since his wife's death from illness, Oki Eisuke (Utsui Ken) has been working as a lawyer at the Oki Law Office, raising his high school-aged daughter, Kaori (Hayashi Norie). His late wife's father, Kimura Genkichi (Ban Junsaburo, Matsumura Tatsuo), a former Metropolitan Police Department detective, is in charge of accounting, while Ono Toshiko (Nakahara Rie) is in charge of typist and secretary. Also among the investigators are Sakamoto Ryu (Nakamura Masatoshi), who claims to be serving a two-year prison sentence, and Suzuki Masao (Okita Hiroyuki), who is on probation. These are the members of the firm that Eisuke trusts. A die-hard feminist, Eisuke throws himself wholeheartedly into the cases of female clients, regardless of legal fees, but...

1981

The Kwicky Koala Show

The Kwicky Koala Show 1981

5.00

The Kwicky Koala Show is a Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Australia in 1981 for CBS. The TV program is notable for being among cartoon director Tex Avery's final works. Avery died during production in 1980 and the show was broadcast for one season on CBS. As it was produced in Australia, the Cartoon Network and later Boomerang broadcast was sourced from PAL masters, rather than NTSC masters like many other Hanna-Barbera productions. Each segment has been shown separately in-between shows on the Boomerang Network.

1981

Three of a Kind

Three of a Kind 1981

6.70

Three of a Kind was a British comedy sketch show starring comedians Tracey Ullman, Lenny Henry and David Copperfield. Three series were made by the BBC between 1981 and 1983. The show bolstered the careers of Ullman and Henry, as well as being an outlet for young writers including Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, Ian Hislop and Nick Revell. Ullman and Henry went on to greater success after the show, with Ullman initially launching a brief but successful pop career in 1983 before starring in the ITV sitcom Girls On Top in 1985 and then going on to a high profile career on American television. Henry was given his own BBC series The Lenny Henry Show in 1984 and he remains a semi-regular fixture on British television to this day. Copperfield, however, garnered less success and has been seen relatively little since the series ended.

1981

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility 1981

6.36

A story of two sisters attempting to find happiness in the tightly structured society of 18th century England. Elinor, disciplined, restrained and very conscious of the manners of the day, represents sense. Outspoken, impetuous, emotional Marianne represents sensibility.

1981

Checking In

Checking In 1981

5.00

Checking In is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in April 1981. The series is a spin-off of The Jeffersons, which itself had spun off from All in the Family.

1981

Rod, Jane and Freddy

Rod, Jane and Freddy 1981

7.00

Join Rod, Jane and Freddy from 'Rainbow' as they set off on their own adventures. Sometimes they may be putting on a mini variety show at a theatre, other times they may leap through the pages of a story book trying to get Mary Mary home. It's always musical and mostly educational.

1981

Dark Towers

Dark Towers 1981

1

Dark Towers is a 1981 educational production by the BBC in the Look and Read series. The series remains highly popular in primary schools to this day. The show involves two main characters; Tracy and Edward. They go about their mission to stop a group, led by Miss Hawk, from stealing the treasures of Dark Towers.

1981

Take a Letter, Mr Jones

Take a Letter, Mr Jones 1981

4.00

Take a Letter, Mr Jones was a short-lived 1981 British sitcom produced by Southern Television for ITV. It ran for a single series of six episodes. Graham Jones works as personal secretary to female executive Joan Warner within a London-based multinational corporation called 8-Star. Although he ably assists her in their busy office, Graham often helps Joan with her equally hectic domestic arrangements as she is a single mother to seven-year-old Lucy.

1981

Kinagashi Bugyō

Kinagashi Bugyō 1981

1

Koheita, a newly appointed magistrate, never shows his face in the magistrate's office, instead spending his time in the 'Horisoto', a den of evil where anything goes, from theft to prostitution to murder. However, this man is about to clean up the city in an unconventional way!

1981

Nana

Nana 1981

1

A prostitute named Nana Coupeau rises from the very bottom of the social ladder to become one of the most sought-after courtesans.

1981

I Can Jump Puddles

I Can Jump Puddles 1981

1

I Can Jump Puddles is a 1981 Australian television mini-series based on the 1955 autobiographical series of the same name by author Alan Marshall. Adapted for television by screenwriters Cliff Green and Roger Simpson, the series starred Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Adam Garnett, Tony Barry, Julie Hamilton, Ann Henderson, Lesley Baker, Olivia Brown, Debra Lawrance and Darren MacDonald. Several prominent television actors also had supporting roles including Lisa Aldenhoven, Kaarin Fairfax, Maurie Fields, Terry Gill, Reg Gorman, Matthew King, Julie Nihill, Maureen Edwards and Dennis Miller and Jason Donovan and Cliff Ellen. A large part of supporting and minor roles also featured cameo appearances by cast members of Prisoner such as Esme Melville, Peter Curtin, Ian Smith, Christine Amor, Fiona Spence, Edward Hepple, Sigrid Thornton, Leila Hayes, Sandy Gore, Mary Ward, Anne Phelan. Future cast members included Billie Hammerberg and Pepe Trevor.

1981