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
- The first permanent IMAX projection system is installed at Ontario Place's "Cinesphere" in Toronto.
Top grossing films
- North America
- Love Story
- Little Big Man
- Summer of '42
- Ryan's Daughter
- The Owl and the Pussycat
- The Aristocats
- Carnal Knowledge
- Willard
- The Andromeda Strain
- Big Jake
Births
Deaths
- January 5 - Douglas Shearer, pioneer motion-picture sound engineer
- January 15 - John Dall, actor
- February 26 - Fernandel, actor
- March 8 – Harold Lloyd, silent screen comedian
- March 15 - Bebe Daniels, actor
- May 1 - Glenda Farrell, actress
- May 27 - Chips Rafferty, Australian actor
- May 28 - Audie Murphy, World War II hero became film actor after the war
- July 3 - Jim Morrison, songwriter, poet, musician
- July 6 - Louis Armstrong, musician, actor
- July 23 - Van Heflin, actor
- August 15 - Paul Lukas, actor
- September 7 - Spring Byington, actress
- September 10 - Pier Angeli, actress
- September 11 - Bella Darvi, actress
- October 11 - Chester Conklin, actor
- November 17 - Gladys Cooper, actress
- December 13 - Dita Parlo, actress
- December 18 - Diana Lynn, actress
- December 28 - Max Steiner, film composer
- December 30 - Dorothy Comingore, actress best known as Susan Kane in Citizen Kane
- December 31 - Pete Duel 31, actor (suicide)
Other movies released
sv:Filmåret 1971
