Greatest 18 Documentary Movies Highly Recommended Released in 1984

A live performance of the band Talking Heads shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and featuring their most memorable songs. More about Stop Making Sense / IMDB / YouTube

Gritty documentary that looks at the lives of teenagers living on the streets of Seattle. Find out about Streetwise / IMDB / YouTube

This eye-opening episode uncovers human nature and the desire to survive and succeed in all its heart-breaking glory. Get info on 28 Up / IMDB / YouTube

Horror film legends Donald Pleasence and Nancy Allen serve as the hosts and narrators for a compilation of scenes from many science fiction, crime drama, and horror movies of the 1930s through the 1980s. See more about Terror in the Aisles / IMDB / YouTube

A filmmaker returns to Northeast Brazil after twenty years to resume his film (a profile of assassinated peasant leader João Pedro Teixeira) which was shut down by a right-wing military coup in 1964. See more about Twenty Years Later / IMDB / YouTube

In his New York City grammar school, George Carlin was known as a disruptive influence in the classroom. With this concert, the ultimate class clown is back at school at UCLA, making another generation of students roar with laughter.Taped on April 19, 1984, Carlin?s imaginative and irreverent performance demonstrates why he is one of America?s most popular comedians. Info on George Carlin: Carlin on Campus / IMDB / YouTube

Wim Wenders abandons the shoot of one of his own films in order to help his friend and fellow director Nicholas Ray create his swan song before he dies. Info on Lightning Over Water / IMDB / YouTube

The documentary focuses on several Canadian national parks, including Banff and Wood Buffalo, to emphasize the significance of refraining from interference in forests, even in the event of large-scale fires. It demonstrates how the ash from fires, acting as fertilizer, enables the diversification of plant species during the forest's natural self-renewal process. More about From Ashes to Forest / IMDB / YouTube

The Official Golden Harvest tribute to the Master of the Martial Arts Film, Bruce Lee. Look into Bruce Lee, the Legend / IMDB / YouTube

Film-maker Werner Herzog follows mountaineers Reinhold Messner and Hans Kammerlander as they attempt to climb the high altitude peaks of Gasherbrum II and Gasherbrum I all in one expedition, seeking to reveal their inner motivation. Look into The Dark Glow of the Mountains / IMDB / YouTube

Film of Queen's live concert in Montreal, Canada 1981. Featuring Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor. Info on We Will Rock You: Queen Live in Concert / IMDB / YouTube

A documentary following the 1982 tour of punk bands Youth Brigade and Social Distortion. Details on Another State of Mind / IMDB / YouTube

Retrospective on the career of enigmatic screen diva Marlene Dietrich. Look into Marlene / IMDB / YouTube

Burroughs: The Movie explores the life and times of controversial Naked Lunch author William S. Burroughs, with an intimacy never before seen and never repeated. The film charts the development of Burroughs' unique literary style and his wildly unconventional life, including his travels from the American Midwest to North Africa and several personal tragedies. Burrough. Explore Burroughs: The Movie / IMDB / YouTube

Orson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor compassionately narrate this harrowing documentary about Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany, which soon turned into a notoriously industrious plan to wipe them from existence. Read about Genocide / IMDB / YouTube

A documentary about Asia's shocking cultures. More about Shocking Asia / IMDB / YouTube

Several transvestite prostitutes that work the Madrid streets discuss their personal experiences. The camera follows their daily lives. The lid is also lifted on their personal histories. Find out about Dressed in Blue / IMDB / YouTube

This documentary follows various stages in the production of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). Making of... starts with pre-production interviews with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, then follows them to Sri Lanka where the exteriors were shot, and later to London, where many interior shots were made. It focuses on the character Indiana Jones' origins, o. Get info on The Making of 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' / IMDB / YouTube