35th British Academy Film Awards

35th British Academy Film Awards
35th British Academy Film Awards
Date	18 March 1982
Site	Hippodrome, London
Hosted by	Denis Norden
Highlights
Best Film	Chariots of Fire
Best Actor	Burt Lancaster ; Atlantic City
Best Actress	Meryl Streep ; The French Lieutenant's Woman
Most awards	Chariots of Fire and The French Lieutenant's Woman (3)
Most nominations	Chariots of Fire and The French Lieutenant's Woman (11)
	← 34th ; BAFTA Awards ; 36th →;

Last updated August 22, 2025

The 35th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, took place on 18 March 1982 at the Hippodrome, London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1981. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 1981.

Winners and nominees

BAFTA Fellowship

Andrzej Wajda

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

David Puttnam

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Film Chariots of Fire – David Puttnam Atlantic City – Denis Héroux The French Lieutenant's Woman – Leon Clore Gregory's Girl – Davina Belling and Clive Parsons Raiders of the Lost Ark – Frank Marshall	Best Direction Louis Malle – Atlantic City Bill Forsyth – Gregory's Girl Hugh Hudson – Chariots of Fire Karel Reisz – The French Lieutenant's Woman
Best Actor in a Leading Role *Burt Lancaster – Atlantic City* as Lou Pascal** Bob Hoskins – The Long Good Friday as Harold Shand Jeremy Irons – The French Lieutenant's Woman as Charles Henry Smithson Robert De Niro – Raging Bull as Jake LaMotta	Best Actress in a Leading Role *Meryl Streep – The French Lieutenant's Woman* as Sarah Woodruff / Anna** Maggie Smith – Quartet as Lois Heidler Mary Tyler Moore – Ordinary People as Beth Jarrett Sissy Spacek – Coal Miner's Daughter as Loretta Lynn
Best Supporting Artist *Ian Holm – Chariots of Fire* as Sam Mussabini** Denholm Elliott – Raiders of the Lost Ark as Marcus Brody John Gielgud – Arthur as Hobson Nigel Havers – Chariots of Fire as Lord Andrew Lindsay	Best Screenplay Gregory's Girl – Bill Forsyth Atlantic City – John Guare Chariots of Fire – Colin Welland The French Lieutenant's Woman – Harold Pinter
Best Cinematography Tess – Geoffrey Unsworth and Ghislain Cloquet Chariots of Fire – David Watkin The French Lieutenant's Woman – Freddie Francis Raiders of the Lost Ark – Douglas Slocombe	Best Costume Design Chariots of Fire – Milena Canonero Excalibur – Bob Ringwood The French Lieutenant's Woman – Tom Rand Tess – Anthony Powell
Best Editing Raging Bull – Thelma Schoonmaker Chariots of Fire – Terry Rawlings The French Lieutenant's Woman – John Bloom Raiders of the Lost Ark – Michael Kahn	Best Original Music The French Lieutenant's Woman – Carl Davis Arthur – Burt Bacharach Chariots of Fire – Vangelis Raiders of the Lost Ark – John Williams
Best Production Design Raiders of the Lost Ark – Norman Reynolds Chariots of Fire – Roger Hall The French Lieutenant's Woman – Assheton Gorton Tess – Pierre Guffroy	Best Sound The French Lieutenant's Woman – Don Sharpe, Ivan Sharrock and Bill Rowe Chariots of Fire – Clive Winter, Bill Rowe and Jim Shields Coal Miner's Daughter – Gordon Ecker, James R. Alexander, Richard Portman and Roger Heman Jr Raiders of the Lost Ark – Roy Charman, Ben Burtt and Bill Varney
Best Short Animation The Sweater – Sheldon Cohen Beginnings – Clorinda Warny Creole – Sam Weiss	Best Short Film Recluse – Bob Bentley Couples and Robbers – Clare Peploe Towers of Babel – Jonathan Lewis
Best Documentary Soldier Girls – Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill Best Boy – Ira Wohl The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter – Connie Field Return Journey – Ian Potts	Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles *Joe Pesci – Raging Bull* as Joey LaMotta** Cathy Moriarty – Raging Bull as Vikki LaMotta Klaus Maria Brandauer – Mephisto as Hendrik Hoefgen Timothy Hutton – Ordinary People as Conrad Jarrett

Statistics

Films that received multiple nominations
Nominations	Film
11	Chariots of Fire
11	The French Lieutenant's Woman
7	Raiders of the Lost Ark
4	Atlantic City
4	Raging Bull
3	Gregory's Girl
3	Tess
2	Arthur
	Coal Miner's Daughter
	Ordinary People

Films that received multiple awards
Awards	Film
3	Chariots of Fire
3	The French Lieutenant's Woman
2	Atlantic City
2	Raging Bull

References

↑ "BAFTA | Film in 1982". bafta.org. Retrieved 2024-02-01.

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[1] "BAFTA | Film in 1982". bafta.org. Retrieved 2024-02-01.

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v t e British Academy Film Awards
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