| George Anderson | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | 1981 | Yes |
| Gary Arnold | Washington Post | 1981 | Yes |
| Bruce Bailey | Montreal Gazette | 1981 | Yes |
| Joe Baltake | Philadelphia Daily News | 1981 | Yes |
| Sheila Benson | Los Angeles Times | 1981 | Yes |
| Ed Blank | Pittsburgh Press | 1981 | No |
| Michael Blowen | Boston Globe | 1981 | Yes |
| Rick Brough | Park City Newspaper | 1981 | No |
| Joan Bunke | Des Moines Tribune | 1981 | No |
| Burl Burlingame | Honolulu Star-Bulletin | 1981 | Yes |
| Stuart Byron | Village Voice | 1981 | Yes |
| Cahiers du Cinema | | 1981 | No |
| Scott Caine | Atlanta Journal | 1981 | No |
| Arch Campbell | NBC | 1981 | No |
| Richard Campbell | Michigan Daily | 1981 | No |
| Vince Canby | New York Times | 1981 | No |
| Charles Champlin | Los Angeles Times | 1981 | Yes |
| David Chute | Film Comment | 1981 | Yes |
| Joanna Connors | Minneapolis Star | 1981 | Yes |
| Richard Corliss | Film Comment | 1981 | Yes |
| Ron Cowan | Statesman Journal | 1981 | No |
| Dan Craft | The Pantagraph | 1981 | No |
| Bernard Drew | Gannett News Service | 1981 | No |
| Roger Ebert | Chicago Sun-Times | 1981 | Yes |
| Marshall Fine | Sioux Falls Argus-Leader | 1981 | Yes |
| Al Frank | Morristown Daily Record | 1981 | No |
| Richard Freedman | Newhouse News Service | 1981 | Yes |
| John Futty | Mansfield News Journal | 1981 | No |
| Jack Garner | Democrat and Chronicle - Rochester | 1981 | Yes |
| Wayne Harada | Honolulu Advertiser | 1981 | No |
| Tom Harrison | Greenville News | 1981 | No |
| George Hatza | Reading Eagle | 1981 | No |
| John Hawn | Indianapolis Star | 1981 | No |
| Terry Hazlett | Observer-Reporter | 1981 | No |
| J Hoberman | Village Voice | 1981 | No |
| International Film Guide | | 1981 | No |
| Tom Jacobs | Albuquerque Journal | 1981 | Yes |
| Richard Jameson | Film Comment | 1981 | No |
| Dean Johnson | Orlando Sentinel | 1981 | Yes |
| Malcolm Johnson | Hartford Courant | 1981 | No |
| Dave Kehr | Chicago Reader | 1981 | Yes |
| John Lapsley | Sydney Morning Herald | 1981 | No |
| Ron Legro | Milwaukee Journal | 1981 | No |
| Bob Lundegaard | Minneapolis Star Tribune | 1981 | No |
| Jeffrey Lyons | WPIX-TV | 1981 | Yes |
| Derek Malcolm | The Guardian | 1981 | No |
| Jon Marlowe | Miami News | 1981 | No |
| Jack Mathews | Knight-Ridder Newspapers | 1981 | Yes |
| Michael Maza | Arizona Republic | 1981 | No |
| Bruce Medville | After Dark | 1981 | No |
| National Board of Review | | 1981 | No |
| Bill O'Connor | Akron Beacon Journal | 1981 | No |
| The Oklahoman Poll | | 1981 | No |
| People Magazine | | 1981 | No |
| Jon Plaut | Madison Eagle | 1981 | No |
| Joe Pollack | St. Louis Post Dispatch | 1981 | Yes |
| Rex Reed | New York Daily News | 1981 | Yes |
| Carrie Rickey | Village Voice | 1981 | Yes |
| Jonathan Rosenbaum | Film Comment | 1981 | Yes |
| Candice Russell | Fort Lauderdale News | 1981 | Yes |
| Desmond Ryan | Philadelphia Inquirer | 1981 | Yes |
| Tim Sacco | Des Moines Register | 1981 | No |
| Andrew Sarris | Village Voice | 1981 | Yes |
| Jay Scott | Toronto Globe & Mail | 1981 | Yes |
| Joel Siegel | ABC | 1981 | Yes |
| Gene Siskel | Chicago Tribune | 1981 | Yes |
| Elliott Stein | Film Comment | 1981 | Yes |
| Norma McLain Stoop | After Dark | 1981 | No |
| Harry Themal | Morning News | 1981 | No |
| Bob Thomas | Associated Press | 1981 | Yes |
| Kevin Thomas | Los Angeles Times | 1981 | Yes |
| Anne Thompson | Film Comment | 1981 | Yes |
| Richard Corliss | Time Magazine | 1981 | Yes |
| Greg Tozian | Tampa Tribune | 1981 | No |
| Peter Travers | White Plains Journal News | 1981 | Yes |
| Gene Triplett | The Oklahoman | 1981 | No |
| Gary Trollinger | Reading Eagle | 1981 | No |
| Jacqi Tully | Arizona Daily Star | 1981 | No |
| Steve Vineberg | Stanford Daily | 1981 | Yes |
| Al Walentis | Reading Eagle | 1981 | No |
| JT Yurko | Zanesville Times Recorder | 1981 | No |