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Best 80s Documentary Movies

Explore the top-rated 80s Documentary movies ranked by audience and critic scores. Iconic classics and hidden gems from the 80s.

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Hanna-Barbera's 50th Poster

#1. Hanna-Barbera's 50th (1989)

β˜… 9.1/10 48 votes

The special is hosted by Tony Danza and Annie Potts celebrating 50 years of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's partnership in animation. This is the first animated project to be broadcast in Dolby Surround sound system.

Making Michael Jackson's Thriller Poster

#2. Making Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983)

β˜… 8.6/10 28 votes

Featuring interviews with director John Landis, make-up artist Rick Baker, and the King of Pop himself, Making Michael Jackson's Thriller takes you on a behind-the-scenes journey from pre-production to shooting on the ghoulish graveyard set of Michael Jackson's legendary music video and short film.

Twenty Years Later Poster

#3. Twenty Years Later (1984)

β˜… 8.4/10 77 votes

Eduardo Coutinho was filming a movie with the same name in the Northeast of Brazil, in 1964, when there came the military coup. He had to interrupt the project, and came back to it in 1981, looking for the same places and people, showing what had ocurred since then, and trying to gather a family whose patriarch, a political leader fighting for rights of country people, had been murdered.

Stop Making Sense Poster

#4. Stop Making Sense (1984)

β˜… 8.4/10 403 votes

A concert film documenting Talking Heads at the height of their popularity, on tour for their 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues." The band takes the stage one by one and is joined by a cadre of guest musicians for a career-spanning and cinematic performance that features creative choreography and visuals.

Shoah Poster

#5. Shoah (1985)

β˜… 8.2/10 228 votes

Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. Dividing Holocaust witnesses into three categories – survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators – Lanzmann presents testimonies from survivors of the Chelmno concentration camp, an Auschwitz escapee, and witnesses of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as well as a chilling report of gas chambers from an SS officer at Treblinka.

Isle of Flowers Poster

#6. Isle of Flowers (1989)

β˜… 8.2/10 243 votes

A tomato is planted, harvested and sold at a supermarket, but it rots and ends up in the trash. But it doesn’t end there: Isle of Flowers follows it up until its real end, among animals, trash, women and children. And then the difference between tomatoes, pigs and human beings becomes clear.

Depeche Mode: 101 Poster

#7. Depeche Mode: 101 (1989)

β˜… 8.0/10 40 votes

A fascinating documentary focusing on backstage realities of art and business during the British synthesizer band's 1988 American tour.

Bruce Lee, the Legend Poster

#8. Bruce Lee, the Legend (1984)

β˜… 7.9/10 114 votes

The Official Golden Harvest tribute to the Master of the Martial Arts Film, Bruce Lee.

Koyaanisqatsi Poster

#9. Koyaanisqatsi (1983)

β˜… 7.9/10 811 votes

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

Live Aid Poster

#10. Live Aid (1985)

β˜… 7.8/10 56 votes

Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. It was one of the largest scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: watched live by an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations. "It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid...!"

For All Mankind Poster

#11. For All Mankind (1989)

β˜… 7.8/10 166 votes

A testament to NASA's Apollo program of the 1960s and '70s. Composed of actual NASA footage of the missions and astronaut interviews, the documentary offers the viewpoint of the individuals who braved the remarkable journey to the moon and back.

Hero Poster

#12. Hero (1986)

β˜… 7.7/10 23 votes

1986 FIFA World Cup Official Film. Mexico had just recovered from a devastating earthquake, but the nation put on a great tournament and Argentina, inspired by Maradona, justified "favourite" status. Eighty-six minutes of football magic from numerous world stars, including Diego Maradona, Gary Lineker, Michel Platini, Socrates, Rummenigge, Sanchez, Laudrup and many others. Michael Caine narrates this, the official FIFA coverage.

Metallica: Cliff 'Em All Poster

#13. Metallica: Cliff 'Em All (1987)

β˜… 7.7/10 43 votes

Originally released as "The $19.98 Home Vid: Cliff 'Em All," Metallica's first video is a tribute to late original bassist Cliff Burton. James Hetfield describes it as "a compilation of bootleg footage shot by sneaky Metallifux, stuff shot for TV that was never used, but we've held onto, home footage, personal fotos and us drunk. But most important, it's really a look back at the 3-1/2 years that Cliff was with us and includes his best bass solos and the home footage and pix that we feel best capture his unique personality and style." 1987.

The Blue Planet Poster

#14. The Blue Planet (1982)

β˜… 7.7/10 26 votes

A look at the passage of time through the changing seasons, human evolution and everyday life.

Talking Heads Poster

#15. Talking Heads (1980)

β˜… 7.7/10 102 votes

People of different age, profession and social status answer two simple questions: who they are and what they want from life.

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