Best Documentary Movies & TV Series of the 1980s

3eyedraven's 91 top-rated Documentary movies and TV series of the 1980s — ordered by how strongly audiences rate them and how many actually voted, so the ranking reflects real consensus. Full details on each.

Genocide 1982 ★ 7.6

Let's Get Lost 1988 ★ 7.1

48 Hours 1988 ★ 7.0

Brooklyn Bridge 1981 ★ 7.5

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe 1988 ★ 7.0

Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie 1988 ★ 7.1

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam 1987 ★ 7.1

Something Has Happened 1987 ★ 7.2

This Is Elvis 1981 ★ 7.0

Heavy Metal Parking Lot 1986 ★ 6.9

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years 1988 ★ 6.8

The Power of Myth 1988 ★ 7.1

Burroughs: The Movie 1984 ★ 7.0

The Man Who Saw Tomorrow 1981 ★ 7.0

American Masters 1986 ★ 7.0

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History 1988 ★ 6.9

Vernon, Florida 1981 ★ 6.8

… And the Pursuit of Happiness 1986 ★ 7.0

Swimming to Cambodia 1987 ★ 6.9

That's Dancing! 1985 ★ 6.9

The Making of Fanny and Alexander 1984 ★ 6.9

Comic Book Confidential 1989 ★ 6.7

Biography 1987 ★ 6.7

Richard Pryor: Here and Now 1983 ★ 6.6