Top 26 Documentary Movies Highly Recommended Released in 1977

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno face off in a no-holds-barred competition for the title of Mr. Olympia in this critically-acclaimed film that made Schwarzenegger a household name. Explore Pumping Iron / IMDB / YouTube

A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line. See more about Harlan County U.S.A. / IMDB / YouTube

Impersonal and beautiful images of Akerman's life in New York are combined with letters from her loving but manipulative mother, read by Akerman herself. More about News from Home / IMDB / YouTube

This meticulously assembled film dissects the Third Reich with an analytical blade, charting Hitler's improbable rise, his mastery of crowd psychology and his consummate skill in exploiting others' weaknesses. Details on Hitler: A Career / IMDB / YouTube

Director Michael Apted interviews the same group of British-born adults after a seven-year wait as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years up to 21. Check out 21 Up / IMDB / YouTube

Beginning with a shot of a couple enjoying a picnic, then zooming out incrementally by powers of ten, the film offers a glimpse of everything from the edge of the known universe to the molecules on a person's hand. Find out about Powers of Ten / IMDB / YouTube

French essay film focusing on global political turmoil in the 1960s and '70s, particularly the rise of the New Left in France and the development of socialist movements in Latin America. Find out about A Grin Without A Cat / IMDB / YouTube

The Grateful Dead performs live at Winterland in San Francisco in October 1974. Read about The Grateful Dead / IMDB / YouTube

We're all searching for something but the real question is what. For people like Scott Miller, John Clendenin, Dave Clark, Bob Burns, Bab Salerno, and countless others well they're all In Search of Skiing. Warren Miller takes you back to some of the most original and earliest forms of skiing and extreme skiing. Take a ski trip from Switzerland to Morocco, over to Spai. More about In Search of Skiing / IMDB / YouTube

A harsh but deeply sympathetic sociological essay film about gay life in Berlin in a time of secrecy and oppression, with no diegetic sound and constant narration, following Daniel's unsatisfying immersion into gay society. Look into It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives / IMDB / YouTube

Shot on one day by 25 different cameramen across the USA under the co-ordination of Arthur J. Bressan Jr. this film documents Gay Pride parades across the United States in the late 70s. Details on Gay USA / IMDB / YouTube

Sex hygiene film about transsexuals in the late 60's/early 70's. As with all sex hygiene films it's one part serious documentary and one part sensationalism. More about Let Me Die a Woman / IMDB / YouTube

Originally broadcast in May of 1977, this series of interviews between Sir David Frost and U.S. President Richard Nixon, delves into the various controversies of Nixon's presidency, including (most famously) the Watergate scandal. Never before, nor since, has a U.S. President been so candid on camera. This historic meeting has been adapted into an award-winning major . Read about David Frost Interviews Richard Nixon / IMDB / YouTube

Television special featuring Elvis Presley's last tour before his death. Read about Elvis in Concert / IMDB / YouTube

He's back. An early Bruce Lee film found in the Chinese archives, which introduces the new sensation Ryong Keo and Bruce Li - the complete fury of martial arts as never before. More about The Real Bruce Lee / IMDB / YouTube

Documentary about bizarre and unusual practices in the USA. Explore This Is America / IMDB / YouTube

TV Sci-fi drama/documentary, which caused world-wide headlines when first broadcast as it purported to show a link between Britain's 'brain-drain', climate change and a human colony on Mars. Details on Alternative 3 / IMDB / YouTube

A bear cub and a raccoon become fast friends when they're swept away down a river, away from their families. Check out A Tale of Two Critters / IMDB / YouTube

Laura Gemser introduces herself, It's your old friend Emanuelle again... to present a sexy mondo film, with her voice-off narration over the different sketches, and reproaching comments between them. Main scenes: a stripper disrobes her safari outfit and performs with a man in a gorilla costume; another stripper performs with a couple of dogs; in Amsterdam, a prosti. Check out Porno Nights of the World / IMDB / YouTube

A documentary on the Kirov School of Ballet in Russia, narrated by Princess Grace of Monaco. Details on The Children of Theatre Street / IMDB / YouTube

In this short subject from the early part of Kiarostami's career, he interviewed schoolteachers in Iran to pay tribute to the role of education in that country's society. Read about Tribute to the Teachers / IMDB / YouTube

Paris is a monstrously inhuman cityscape, in which cars, buses, crowds, and unceasing noise combine to smother any decent and delicate human activity. People and flowers attempt to survive in a city that seems ready to explode from an over-heated mixture of traffic and noise. Read about Letter from Paris / IMDB / YouTube

Nadia DeFranco lives in Toronto and she has spina bifida. This film follows her through some of her daily activities as she goes to school, works with her therapists, visits her relatives and lives life with her family. Get info on I'll Find a Way / IMDB / YouTube

This documentary puts forth the theory that UFOs are actually beings from another dimension, and reviews past incidents of UFO sightings in support of that theory. See more about Overlords of the U.F.O. / IMDB / YouTube

Follows comedian Billy Connolly on his 1975 tour of Ireland. Explore Billy Connolly: Big Banana Feet / IMDB / YouTube

Join us on this unique and captivating documentary concerning the most unusual phenomena on our strange planet. With headlines that are reminiscent of your favorite science fiction films, these spectacles appear almost too good to be true... but are they? Look into The Force Beyond / IMDB / YouTube