Top 21 Documentary Movies Picks from 1979

Richard Pryor's classic 1979 concert film has him discussing a wide range of topics, including race, the police and his favorite target -- himself. Check out Richard Pryor: Live in Concert / IMDB / YouTube

An incompetent radio DJ tries to get an interview with the Swedish pop group during their famous week-long 1977 tour of Australia. Read about ABBA: The Movie / IMDB / YouTube

Interviews, TV clips and concert footage make up this comprehensive profile of The Who, Britain's premiere rock band. Get info on The Kids Are Alright / IMDB / YouTube

Eisenstein shows us Mexico in this movie, its history and its culture. He believes, that Mexico can become a modern state. Learn about Que Viva Mexico / IMDB / YouTube

Three friends, two teenage boys and a teenage girl, are drug addicts caught up in the Stockholms drug world...One dies of a heroin overdose, while the teenage girl becomes a prostitute and is almost killed by a socially upright customer. Check out A Respectable Life / IMDB / YouTube

This film investigates the factory worker's response to the insurrection, as well as Chile's socialist aspirations for the future. The camera captures the optimism in the industrial working class before Pinochet's US-backed coup d'état. Get info on The Battle of Chile: Part III / IMDB / YouTube

A documentary that follows Dr. Penny Patterson's current scientific study of Koko, a gorilla who communicates through American Sign Language. Explore Koko: A Talking Gorilla / IMDB / YouTube

Rock artist Frank Zappa hosts a concert in New York City. This movie contains tons of on-stage footage, off-stage footage, and animation. Info on Baby Snakes / IMDB / YouTube

Takeover is as much about the political betrayal of the community's interests, as it is a record of the community's aspirations to protect and nurture its traditional culture and relationship to country. Find out about Takeover / IMDB / YouTube

Fårö Document 1979 is the ten-year followup to the first documentary Bergman made about his adopted home, Fårö, where he filmed many of his best works and lived until the end of his life. Read about Faro Document 1979 / IMDB / YouTube

Isaac Stern's cultural tour of China is seen, with the master violinist performing and mentoring young Chinese musicians. He visits rehearsals of the Peking Opera, meeting with their musicians who use traditional Chinese instruments, and also visits a sports academy and other venues. The lingering effects of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), which opposed any weste. Info on From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China / IMDB / YouTube

The life of actor and activist Paul Robeson. Check out Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist / IMDB / YouTube

Compilation of man inventing strange contraptions in the 30's through 50's. Check out Gizmo! / IMDB / YouTube

Documentary that chronicles the recording of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's 1978 comedy album Derek and Clive Ad Nauseam, their third and final outing featuring their controversial alter egos. Read about Derek and Clive Get the Horn / IMDB / YouTube

Infamously macho author Norman Mailer shares a 1971 NYC panel with an audience of intellectual women and famous feminists receiving a lively critique revealing the sophisticated political, literary discourse of early Women's Lib movement. Learn about Town Bloody Hall / IMDB / YouTube

Disturbing documentary, shot on site less than a year after the Khmer Rouge downfall, depicting the shocking situation and recent history of Cambodia. Find out about Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia / IMDB / YouTube

Interviews with people involved with and leading the Madison, Wisconsin area resistance to the Vietnam war. Look into The War at Home / IMDB / YouTube

This feature-length documentary presents the history and practice of Martial Arts in Japan. It focuses on the ideals and philosophy of the Samurai Warrior (Budo). Info on Budo / IMDB / YouTube

A documentary that explores the legends, facts and folklore about the dreaded Bermuda Triangle. Find out about The Bermuda Triangle / IMDB / YouTube

One of several 1970s documentaries on the subject of unidentified flying objects (UFO), supporting the view that Earth is visited regularly by extra-terrestrial engines and aliens. Info on UFO's Are Real / IMDB / YouTube

Investigates a nation torn by naked corporate greed and the red-hot rift between the industrial masters and the rabble-rousing workers in the field and factory. Explore The Wobblies / IMDB / YouTube