1981 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

The 7th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best filmmaking of 1980, were announced on 14 December 1981 and given on 13 January 1982.

Winners

 * Best Picture:
 * Atlantic City
 * Runner-up: Reds
 * Best Director:
 * Warren Beatty - Reds
 * Runner-up: Lawrence Kasdan – Body Heat
 * Best Actor:
 * Burt Lancaster – Atlantic City
 * Runner-up: Henry Fonda – On Golden Pond
 * Best Actress:
 * Meryl Streep – The French Lieutenant's Woman
 * Runner-up: Diane Keaton – Reds
 * Best Supporting Actor:
 * John Gielgud – Arthur
 * Runner-up: Jack Nicholson – Reds
 * Best Supporting Actress:
 * Maureen Stapleton – Reds
 * Runner-up: Melinda Dillon – Absence of Malice
 * Best Screenplay:
 * John Guare – Atlantic City
 * Runner-up: Warren Beatty and Trevor Griffiths – Reds
 * Best Cinematography:
 * Vittorio Storaro – Reds
 * Runner-up: Freddie Francis – The French Lieutenant's Woman
 * Best Music Score:
 * Randy Newman – Ragtime
 * Runner-up: Vangelis – Chariots of Fire
 * Best Foreign Film:
 * Pixote (Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco) • Brazil
 * Runner-up: Chariots of Fire • UK
 * Experimental/Independent Film/Video Award:
 * R. Bruce Elder – The Art of Worldly Wisdom
 * New Generation Award:
 * John Guare
 * Career Achievement Award:
 * Barbara Stanwyck
 * Special Citation:
 * Kevin Brownlow – Napoléon