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Best Documentary Movies of the 1980s

This collection ranks 2,871 documentary movies released in the 1980s. The list is ranked using a weighted combination of audience ratings, vote volume and popularity data, so movies with only a handful of votes never outrank widely acclaimed films. The #1 film is Stop Making Sense.

2,871 qualifying moviesRanked using a weighted combination of ratings, vote volume and popularity data

  1. 107

    Bombin'

    1987· 56m· en

    7.73
  2. 113

    Ulysse

    1986· 22m· fr

    6.933
  3. 120

    Kaddish

    1984· 1h 32m· en

    0
  4. 123

    Our Nazi

    1984· 1h 34m· de

    8.58
  5. 133

    Ozawa

    1985· 57m· en

    9.01
  6. 148

    Beavers

    1988· 31m· en

    7.54

Frequently asked questions

How many documentary movies came out in the 1980s?

2,871 documentary movies from the 1980s carry real rating data.

How are these documentary films ranked?

By a weighted score combining audience ratings, vote volume and popularity. Movies with very few votes are statistically shrunk toward the global average, so they cannot dominate the top of the list.

What is the highest-rated documentary movie of the 1980s?

Stop Making Sense holds the top position in this collection.