1971 in film
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The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1971 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Domestic rentals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiddler on the Roof | United Artists | $40,500,000[1] |
| 2 | Billy Jack | Warner Bros. | $32,500,000[1] |
| 3 | The French Connection | 20th Century Fox | $26,300,000[1] |
| 4 | Summer of '42 | Warner Bros. | $20,500,000[2] |
| 5 | Diamonds Are Forever | United Artists | $19,727,000[2] |
| 6 | Dirty Harry | Warner Bros. | $18,000,000[2] |
| 7 | A Clockwork Orange | $17,000,000[2] | |
| 8 | Carnal Knowledge | Embassy | $14,075,000[2] |
| 9 | The Last Picture Show | Columbia | $13,110,000[2] |
| 10 | Bedknobs and Broomsticks | Disney | $11,426,000[2] |
Events
- February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour-long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music. The film includes footage from Dylan's 1966 UK tour.
- April 23 - Melvin Van Peebles film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song becomes the highest-grossing independent film of 1971.[3]
- May - The first permanent IMAX projection system begins showing at Ontario Place's "Cinesphere" in Toronto.
- May 10 - Frank Yablans becomes President of Paramount Pictures.
- Britain's National Film School begins operation at Beaconsfield Film Studios.
Awards
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
- The Go-Between, directed by Joseph Losey, United Kingdom
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
- The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini), directed by Vittorio De Sica, Italy / W. Germany
1971 films
By country/region
- List of American films of 1971
- List of Argentine films of 1971
- List of Australian films of 1971
- List of Bangladeshi films of 1971
- List of British films of 1971
- List of Canadian films of 1971
- List of French films of 1971
- List of Hong Kong films of 1971
- List of Indian films of 1971
- List of Japanese films of 1971
- List of Mexican films of 1971
- List of Pakistani films of 1971
- List of South Korean films of 1971
- List of Soviet films of 1971
- List of Spanish films of 1971
By genre/medium
Births
- January 2
- Taye Diggs, American actor
- Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress and singer
- January 3 - Sarah Alexander, English actress
- January 7 - Jeremy Renner, American actor
- January 11 - Mary J. Blige, American singer-songwriter and actress
- January 13 - Caspar Phillipson, Danish actor and singer
- January 14 - Jennifer Dundas, American actress
- January 15 - Regina King, American actress
- January 16 - Josh Evans, American filmmaker, screenwriter and actor
- January 17 - Youki Kudoh, Japanese actress and singer
- January 19 - Shawn Wayans, American actor, comedian, writer and producer
- January 20 - Questlove, American musician, filmmaker and actor
- January 21 - Dylan Kussman, American writer and actor
- January 22 - Katie Finneran, American actress
- January 23 - Diana Barrows, American actress, singer and dancer
- January 24
- Jonathan Aris, English actor
- Stanislas Merhar, French actor
- January 27
- Karin Tammaru, Estonian actress
- Fann Wong, Singaporean actress, singer and model
- January 31
- Darren Boyd, British actor
- Patricia Velásquez, Venezuelan actress
- February 1
- Michael C. Hall, American actor
- Jill Kelly, American pornographic actress
- Liisa Repo-Martell, Canadian actress
- Hynden Walch, American actress, voice actress, writer and singer
- February 2 - Arly Jover, Spanish actress
- February 3 - Elisa Donovan, American actress
- February 4 - Rob Corddry, American actor and comedian
- February 5 - Myndy Crist, American actress
- February 6 - Brian Stepanek, American actor
- February 11 - Damian Lewis, English actor
- February 12 - Scott Menville, American actor
- February 14 - Noriko Sakai, Japanese actress and singer
- February 15
- Alex Borstein, American actress
- Renee O'Connor, American actress
- February 17 - Denise Richards, American actress
- February 18
- E. Roger Mitchell, American actor
- Hiep Thi Le, Vietnamese-American actress (d. 2017)
- February 21 - Andréa Burns, American actress and singer
- February 22 - Lea Salonga, Filipina actress, singer, and columnist
- February 25 - Sean Astin, American actor
- February 28 - Tasha Smith, American actor, director and producer
- March 1
- Ma Dong-seok, South Korean-born American actor
- Teresa Gallagher, American-born British actress, voice actress and singer
- March 2
- Stefano Accorsi, Italian actor
- Method Man, American actor and musician
- Amber Smith, American actress
- March 4 - Shavar Ross, American actor, director, screenwriter, producer and editor
- March 5
- Yuri Lowenthal, American voice actor
- Scott Mosier, American producer, director and editor
- March 7
- Peter Sarsgaard, American actor
- Matthew Vaughn, English filmmaker
- March 10 - Jon Hamm, American actor
- March 11 - Johnny Knoxville, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
- March 13 - Annabeth Gish, American actress
- March 15 - Chris Patton, American voice actor
- March 16 - Alan Tudyk, American actor and voice actor
- March 22
- Iben Hjejle, Danish actress
- Keegan-Michael Key, American actor, comedian, writer and producer
- Will Yun Lee, American actor and martial artist
- March 24 - Megyn Price, American actress
- March 25 - Peter Shinkoda, Canadian actor
- March 26 - Francis Lawrence, Austrian-born American filmmaker and producer
- March 27 - Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor
- March 29
- Michael-Leon Wooley, American theatre, film, television and voice actor
- Hidetoshi Nishijima, Japanese actor
- March 31
- Craig McCracken, American cartoonist, animator, director, writer and producer
- Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor
- April 1 - Lachy Hulme, Australian actor and screenwriter
- April 5 - Krista Allen, American actress, model and stand-up comedian
- April 7 - Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, American actress
- April 12
- Nicholas Brendon, American actor and writer (d. 2026)
- Shannen Doherty, American actress (d. 2024)
- April 15
- Andy Daly, American actor, comedian and writer
- Kate Harbour, English voice actress
- April 16
- Max Beesley, English actor and musician
- Peter Billingsley, American actor, director and producer
- April 18 - David Tennant, Scottish actor
- April 19
- Gad Elmaleh, Moroccan-Canadian stand-up comedian and actor
- Desreta Jackson, Virgin Islander actress
- Wendy Powell, American voice actress
- April 22 - Eric Mabius, American actor
- April 24
- Anastasia Barzee, American actress
- Stefania Rocca, Italian actress
- April 28 - Bridget Moynahan, American actress
- May 10
- Adriano Giannini, Italian actor and voice actor
- Leslie Stefanson, American actress
- May 11 - Nicky Katt, American actor
- May 12 - Steven Mond, Canadian former child actor
- May 13 - Mido Hamada, Egyptian-German actor
- May 14 - Sofia Coppola, American actress, writer, and director
- May 17 - Randy Davison, American actor
- May 22 - MC Eiht, American rapper and actor
- May 23 - Laurel Holloman, American actress
- May 25 - Justin Henry, American actor
- May 26 - Matt Stone, American actor, creator of South Park
- May 27
- Paul Bettany, English actor
- Lisa Lopes, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
- May 30
- Duncan Jones, British director, producer and screenwriter
- Idina Menzel, American actress, singer and songwriter
- John Ross Bowie, American actor and comedian
- 31 May - Jon Øigarden, Norwegian actor
- June 2
- Anthony Montgomery, American actor
- Espen Sandberg, Norwegian director
- June 4
- James Callis, British actor
- Noah Wyle, American actor
- June 5
- Susan Lynch, Northern Irish actress
- Mark Wahlberg, American actor and musician
- June 8 - Kent Faulcon, American actor, director and writer
- June 11 - Kenjiro Tsuda, Japanese actor
- June 13 - Bryan Massey, American actor
- June 14 - Sophiya Haque, English actress and singer (d. 2013)
- June 15
- Jake Busey, American actor
- Taavi Eelmaa, Estonian actor
- Daniel Lapaine, Australian actor
- June 16
- Eva Püssa, Estonian actress
- Tupac Shakur, American actor and rapper (d. 1996)
- June 18
- Lisa Barbuscia, American model, singer and actress
- Mara Hobel, American actress
- June 20 - Josh Lucas, American actor
- June 22 - Mary Lynn Rajskub, American actress and comedian
- June 28
- Benito Martinez, American actor
- Aileen Quinn, American actress and singer
- June 30
- Tom Green, Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor and filmmaker
- Monica Potter, American actress
- July 1
- Missy Elliott, American musician and actress
- Melissa Peterman, American actress, television host and comedian
- July 4
- Kate Dickie, Scottish actress
- Al Madrigal, American comedian, writer, actor and producer
- July 7 - Christian Camargo, American actor, producer, writer and director
- July 8 - Amanda Peterson, American actress (d. 2015)
- July 9 - Scott Grimes, American actor and singer
- July 15 - Jim Rash, American actor, comedian and filmmaker
- July 16 - Corey Feldman, American actor
- July 18 - Sarah McLeod, New Zealand actress
- July 19
- Kate Henshaw, Nigerian actress
- Andres Puustusmaa, Estonian actor and director
- July 20 - Sandra Oh, Canadian-American actress
- July 21 - Charlotte Gainsbourg, French-British actress
- July 24 - Patty Jenkins, American director, screenwriter and producer
- July 25 - Miriam Shor, American actress
- July 30 - Christine Taylor, American actress
- July 31 - Eve Best, British actress
- August 4
- Stuart Beattie, Australian filmmaker
- Yo-Yo, American rapper and actress
- August 6 - Merrin Dungey, American actress
- August 9
- Mark Povinelli, American actor
- Nikki Ziering, American model and actress
- August 10
- Luca Guadagnino, Italian director and producer
- Justin Theroux, American actor
- August 12
- Rebecca Gayheart, American actress
- Yvette Nicole Brown, American actress, comedian, writer and host
- August 13
- Moritz Bleibtreu, German actor and director
- Heike Makatsch, German actress, voice actress and singer
- Rolando Molina, Salvadoran actor
- August 14
- Raoul Bova, Italian actor
- Scott Michael Campbell, American actor, writer, producer and director
- August 17 - Oliver Robins, American actor, writer and director
- August 18 - Jacob Vargas, Mexican-American actor
- August 20
- David Walliams, English comedian, actor, writer and television personality
- Ke Huy Quan, American actor and stunt choreographer
- August 21 - Kristi Angus, Canadian actress
- August 22 - Richard Armitage, English actor and author
- August 25 - Claire Rushbrook, English actress
- August 29 - Carla Gugino, American actress
- August 31 - Chris Tucker, American actor
- September 1 - Maury Sterling, American actor
- September 2 - Katt Williams, American actor and comedian[4]
- September 3 - Drena De Niro, American actress and filmmaker
- September 8
- David Arquette, American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter
- Martin Freeman, English actor[5]
- September 9
- Eric Stonestreet, American actor and comedian
- Henry Thomas, American actor
- September 14
- Pat Healy, American actor
- Kimberly Williams-Paisley, American actress
- September 15
- Josh Charles, American actor
- Colleen O'Shaughnessey, American voice actress
- September 16 - Amy Poehler, American actress
- September 17
- Felix Solis, American actor, director and producer
- Ian Whyte, Welsh actor and stuntman
- September 18 - Jada Pinkett Smith, American actress
- September 19
- Sanaa Lathan, American actress
- Selene Luna, Mexican-American actress and comedian
- September 21 - Luke Wilson, American actor
- September 22 - Lawrence Gilliard Jr., American actor
- September 27 - Amanda Detmer, American actress
- September 28 - Matt Day, Australian actor and filmmaker
- September 29 - Mackenzie Crook, English actor, comedian, director and writer
- September 30 - Jenna Elfman, American actress
- October 5
- Matthew Maher, American actor
- Samuel Vincent, Canadian voice actor and singer
- October 6 - Emily Mortimer, English actress
- October 10 - Amanda Ryan, English actress
- October 11
- Justin Lin, Taiwanese-American director
- Trish Sie, American director
- October 13
- Sacha Baron Cohen, English actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer
- Luis Tosar, Spanish actor and musician
- October 17 - Andy Whitfield, Welsh actor (d. 2011)
- October 20
- Snoop Dogg, American rapper, songwriter, media personality and actor
- Kenneth Choi, American actor
- Rachel House, New Zealand actress and director
- October 21 - Jennifer Lee, American screenwriter, film director and chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios
- October 25 - Craig Robinson, American actor, comedian, musician and singer
- October 26
- Rosemarie DeWitt, American actress
- Anthony Rapp, American actor and singer
- Phil Johnston, American screenwriter, director, producer and voice actor
- October 29 - Winona Ryder, American actress
- November 2 - Meta Golding, Haitian-American actress
- November 3
- Piret Laurimaa, Estonian actress
- Dylan Moran, Irish comedian, writer and actor
- November 4 - Tabu, Indian actress
- November 5 - Chris Addison, British comedian, writer, actor and director
- November 9 - Jason Antoon, American actor
- November 10 - Walton Goggins, American actor
- November 11 - David DeLuise, American actor
- November 13 - Noah Hathaway, American actor
- November 14
- Giovanni Cirfiera, Italian actor
- Marco Leonardi, Italian actor
- November 16 - Justine Clarke, Australian actress, singer, musician and television host
- November 17 - David Ramsey, American actor, director and martial artist
- November 18 - Goran Kostić, Serbian actor
- November 20
- Enrico Casarosa, Italian-American storyboard artist, director and writer
- Joel McHale, American actor, comedian, writer, producer and television host
- November 23
- Lisa Arch, American actress and comedian
- Chris Hardwick, American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer and producer
- November 24 - Lior Raz, Israeli actor and screenwriter
- November 25 - Christina Applegate, American actress
- November 29 - Naoko Mori, Japanese actress
- December 3
- Joseph Gatt, English actor
- Ola Rapace, Swedish actor
- December 5
- Mitch Silpa, American writer, actor and director
- Kali Rocha, American actress
- Dolly Wells, English actress and writer
- December 6 - Katariina Unt, Estonian actress
- December 7 - DeObia Oparei, English actor
- December 9 - Emma Thomas, English producer
- December 14 - Natascha McElhone, British actress
- December 17
- Sinan Akkuş, Turkish-German actor
- Claire Forlani, English actress
- December 18 - Claudia Gerini, Italian actress
- December 21 - Glenn Fitzgerald, American actor
- December 23 - Corey Haim, Canadian actor (d. 2010)
- December 25
- Patrick Baladi, English actor and musician
- Ain Mäeots, Estonian actor, director and producer
- December 26 - Jared Leto, American actor and musician
- December 30 - Daniel Sunjata, American actor
Deaths
| Month | Date | Name | Age | Country | Profession | Notable films |
| January | 5 | Douglas Shearer | 71 | Canada | Sound Engineer | |
| 5 | Fanfulla | 57 | Italy | Actor | ||
| 15 | John Dall | 52 | US | Actor | ||
| 20 | Broncho Billy Anderson | 90 | US | Actor, Director, Writer | ||
| 25 | Isobel Lennart | 55 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| February | 3 | Jay C. Flippen | 71 | US | Actor | |
| 22 | Frédéric Mariotti | 87 | France | Actor | ||
| 22 | Matt McHugh | 77 | US | Actor | ||
| 26 | Fernandel | 67 | France | Actor | ||
| March | 5 | Winnie Lightner | 71 | US | Actress | |
| 8 | Harold Lloyd | 77 | US | Actor, Director, Writer | ||
| 8 | Borden Chase | 71 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 12 | Roy Glenn | 56 | US | Actor | ||
| 12 | Tor Johnson | 67 | Sweden | Actor | ||
| 15 | Bebe Daniels | 70 | US | Actress | ||
| 21 | Nan Wynn | 55 | US | Singer, Actress | ||
| 22 | Nella Walker | 85 | US | Actress | ||
| 23 | Basil Dearden | 60 | UK | Director | ||
| 30 | Selmer Jackson | 82 | US | Actor | ||
| 30 | Werner Peters | 52 | Germany | Actor | ||
| April | 9 | Paulette Noizeux | 83 | France | Actress | |
| 20 | Cecil Parker | 73 | UK | Actor | ||
| 21 | Edmund Lowe | 81 | US | Actor | ||
| 28 | John Tansey | 69 | US | Actor, Director | ||
| May | 1 | Glenda Farrell | 66 | US | Actress | |
| 26 | John Longden | 71 | UK | Actor | ||
| 27 | Chips Rafferty | 62 | Australia | Actor | ||
| 28 | Audie Murphy | 45 | US | Actor | ||
| June | 8 | Piero Gherardi | 61 | Italy | Production, Costume Designer | |
| 9 | Harold Lloyd Jr. | 40 | US | Actor | ||
| 10 | Michael Rennie | 61 | UK | Actor | ||
| 14 | Kenneth Macpherson | 69 | Scotland-Italy | Film-maker | ||
| 18 | Thomas Gomez | 65 | US | Actor | ||
| July | 6 | Louis Armstrong | 69 | US | Actor, Musician | |
| 11 | Carleton G. Young | 64 | US | Actor | ||
| 17 | Cliff Edwards | 76 | US | Actor, Singer | ||
| 19 | Norman Reilly Raine | 77 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 23 | Van Heflin | 62 | US | Actor | ||
| 24 | Christl Mardayn | 74 | Austria | Actress, Singer | ||
| August | 3 | Ernst Eklund | 81 | Sweden | Actor | |
| 15 | Paul Lukas | 80 | Hungary | Actor | ||
| 16 | Spyros Skouras | 78 | Greece | Producer, Studio Executive | ||
| 17 | Horace McMahon | 65 | US | Actor | ||
| September | 7 | Spring Byington | 84 | US | Actress | |
| 10 | Pier Angeli | 39 | Italy | Actress | ||
| 11 | Bella Darvi | 42 | Poland | Actress | ||
| October | 11 | Chester Conklin | 85 | US | Actor | |
| 12 | Fritz Achterberg | 90 | Germany | Actor | ||
| 13 | Phoebe Ephron | 57 | US | Screenwriter | ||
| 19 | Betty Bronson | 64 | US | Actress | ||
| 24 | Cheryl Walker | 53 | US | Actress | ||
| 26 | Vincent Coleman | 71 | US | Actor | ||
| November | 2 | Martha Vickers | 46 | US | Actress | |
| 4 | Ann Pennington | 77 | US | Actress | ||
| 17 | Gladys Cooper | 82 | UK | Actress | ||
| 17 | Fania Marinoff | 81 | US | Actress | ||
| 19 | Stuart Gilmore | 70 | US | Editor, Director | ||
| 26 | Bengt Ekerot | 51 | Sweden | Actor | ||
| December | 12 | Frank Wolff | 43 | US | Actor | |
| 13 | Dita Parlo | 63 | Poland | Actress | ||
| 18 | Diana Lynn | 45 | US | Actress | ||
| 26 | Robert Lowery | 58 | US | Actor | ||
| 28 | Max Steiner | 83 | Austria | Composer | ||
| 28 | Burt Gillett | 80 | US | Director | ||
| 29 | Stuart Holmes | 87 | US | Actor | ||
| 30 | Dorothy Comingore | 58 | US | Actress | ||
| 31 | Marin Sais | 81 | US | Actress | ||
| 31 | Lucien Hubbard | 83 | US | Producer, screenwriter | ||
Film debuts
- F. Murray Abraham – They Might Be Giants
- Brooke Adams – Murders in the Rue Morgue
- Frank Adonis – The French Connection
- John Amos – Vanishing Point
- Alun Armstrong – Get Carter
- Kathy Bates – Taking Off
- Barry Bostwick – Jennifer on My Mind
- Timothy Bottoms – Johnny Got His Gun
- Jim Broadbent – The Go-Between
- Niall Buggy – Here Are Ladies
- Keith Carradine – McCabe & Mrs. Miller
- Stockard Channing – The Hospital
- Jeff Conaway – Jennifer on My Mind
- Kevin Conway – Believe in Me
- Brian Cox – Nicholas and Alexandra
- Wes Craven – You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat (editor)
- Daniel Day-Lewis – Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Jan Decleir – Mira
- Gérard Depardieu – Cry of the Cormoran
- Larry Drake – This Stuff'll Kill Ya!
- Max Gail – The Organization
- Christopher Guest – The Hospital
- Isaac Hayes – Shaft
- Edward Herrmann – Lady Liberty
- Art Hindle – The Proud Rider
- Judd Hirsch – Jump
- Eric Idle – And Now for Something Completely Different
- Carol Kane – Carnal Knowledge
- William Katt – The Late Liz
- Jack Kehoe – The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight
- Bruno Kirby – The Young Graduates
- Kris Kristofferson – The Last Movie
- Marcia Jean Kurtz – The Panic in Needle Park
- Eugene Levy – Foxy Lady
- Andrea Martin – Foxy Lady
- Michael Moriarty – My Old Man's Place
- Josh Mostel – Going Home
- Craig T. Nelson – The Return of Count Yorga
- Cassandra Peterson – Diamonds Are Forever
- Randy Quaid – The Last Picture Show
- Anne Ramsey – The Sporting Club
- John Ritter – The Barefoot Executive
- Wayne Robson – McCabe & Mrs. Miller
- Richard Roundtree – Shaft
- Vincent Schiavelli – Taking Off
- David Selby – Night of Dark Shadows
- Cybill Shepherd – The Last Picture Show
- Josef Sommer – Dirty Harry
- Bruce Spence – Stork
- David Ogden Stiers – THX 1138
- Jack Thompson – Wake in Fright
- Glynn Turman – Honky
- Susan Tyrrell – Shoot Out
- Willeke van Ammelrooy – Mira
- Mario Van Peebles – Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
- Tracey Walter – Ginger
- Sandy Ward – The Velvet Vampire
- Jacki Weaver – Stork
- Noble Willingham – The Last Picture Show
