1983 in film

Events

• February 11 – The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York

Top grossing films

North America

1. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
2. Tootsie
3. Trading Places, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy
4. WarGames, starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy
5. Superman III
6. Flashdance
7. Staying Alive
8. Octopussy
9. Mr. Mom, starring Michael Keaton and Teri Garr
10. 48 Hrs.
11. National Lampoon's Vacation
12. Risky Business, starring Tom Cruise and Rebecca DeMornay
13. The Verdict
14. Jaws 3-D
15. Never Say Never Again

Awards

Academy Award

• Best Film – Terms of Endearment
• Best Director – James L. Brooks, Terms of Endearment
• Best Actor – Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies
• Best Actress – Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
• Best Supporting Actor – Jack Nicholson, Terms of Endearment
• Best Supporting Actress – Linda Hunt, The Year of Living Dangerously

Golden Globe

• Best Motion Picture – Drama – Terms of Endearment
• Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – Yentl
• Best Director, Motion Picture – Barbra Streisand. Yentl
• Best Actor, Motion Picture, Drama – Tom Courtenay, The Dresser tied with Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies
• Best Actress, Motion Picture, Drama – Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
• Best Actor, Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – Michael Caine,Educating Rita
• Best Actress, Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – Julie Walters, Educating Rita
• Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture – Jack Nicholson, Terms of Endearment
• Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture – Cher, Silkwood

Births

Deaths

• January 8 – Gale Page, actress
• March 26 – Tennessee Williams, playwright
• April 4 – Gloria Swanson, actress
• April 16 – Fifi D'Orsay, actress
• April 23 – Buster Crabbe, actor
• June 12 – Norma Shearer, Academy Award winning actress
• July 5 – Harry James, bandleader who appeared in some films, and was once married to actress Betty Grable
• July 29 – Raymond Massey, actor, father of actor Daniel Massey and actress Anna Massey
• July 29 – David Niven, Academy Award winning actor
• August 3 – Carolyn Jones, actress
• August 5 – Judy Canova, entertainer
• August 29 – Simon Oakland, actor
• October 8 – Joan Hackett, actress
• December 5 – Robert Aldrich, director
• December 8 – Slim Pickens, actor
• December 28 – William Demarest, actor

Other movies released

• The Big Chill
• Chiefs
• A Christmas Story
• The Crimson Permanent Assurance
• Man of Flowers
• The Meaning of Life
• Querelle
• The Right Stuff
• Mickey's Christmas Carol, which brings the character Mickey Mouse back to cinemas for the first time since 1953.
• Terms of Endearment
• Sudden Impact
• The Dead Zone
• The King of Comedy
• Silkwood
• Broadway Danny Rose
• Yentl
• Twilight Zone: The Movie
• Purple Haze, Sundance Grand Jury Prize
• Ascendency, Golden Bear winner
• The Beehive, Golden Bear winner
• First Name: Carmen, Golden Lion winner
• The Ballad of Narayama, Palme d'Or winner
• Tender Mercies
• The Year of Living Dangerously
• Koyaanisqatsi
• Educating Rita
• Danton
• The Return of Martin Guerre
• The Night of the Shooting Stars
• Zelig
• The Dresser
• Reuben, Reuben
• Cross Creek