Documentary Movies
One Year in a Life of Crime (1989)
Their job is stealing, their lives a cruel dead end. Director Jon Alpert takes his cameras undercover for this hard-hitting look at men who live by theft and suffer addiction….
Forbidden City U.S.A. (1989)
A documentary about Forbidden City, a San Francisco Chinese-American nightclub open from the 1930s to the 1960s.
For All Mankind (1989)
A testament to NASA’s Apollo program of the 1960s and ’70s. Composed of actual NASA footage of the missions and astronaut interviews, the documentary offers the viewpoint of the individuals…
Our Children (1989)
From an official perspective, marginal youth culture did not exist in East Germany. The topic of subcultures was taboo in the GDR, and groups such as goths, skinheads, anti-skins, punks…
Who’s Afraid of the Bogeyman (1989)
Portrait of a private coal company in East Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district in 1988/89. The feisty woman boss runs the business with humour and understanding. Her seven male employees respect…
Thomas Hart Benton (1989)
Thomas Hart Benton’s paintings were energetic and uncompromising. Today his works are in museums, but Benton hung them in saloons for ordinary people to appreciate.
Near Death (1989)
A film about the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. The film is concerned with how people face death. More specifically the film presents the complex interrelationships…
Heavy Petting (1989)
Celebrities and creatives — including musician David Byrne, performance artist Spalding Gray, comedian Sandra Bernhard, radical activist Abbie Hoffman, and poet Allen Ginsberg– recall their earliest sexual experiences.
Roger & Me (1989)
A documentary about the closure of General Motors’ plant at Flint, Michigan, which resulted in the loss of 30,000 jobs. Details the attempts of filmmaker Michael Moore to get an…
Helmut Newton: Frames from the Edge (1989)
A camera crew follows Helmut Newton, the fashion and ad photographer whose images of tall, blond, big-breasted women are part of the iconography of twentieth-century erotic fantasy. He’s on the…
Comic Book Confidential (1989)
A survey of the artistic history of the comic book medium and some of the major talents associated with it.
Depeche Mode 101 (1989)
A fascinating documentary focusing on backstage realities of art and business during the British synthesizer band’s 1988 American tour.
Playboy: Wet & Wild (1989)
Growing Up in America (1989)
Filmmaker Morley Markson shows Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, and other ’60s rebels, then and now in a follow up to his 1971 film “Breathing Together: Revolution…
Surname Viêt Given Name Nam (1989)
The film evolves around questions of identity, popular memory and culture. While focusing on aspects of Vietnamese reality as seen through the lives and history of women resistance in Vietnam…
A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible (1989)
The updated autobiography of Britain’s most controversial film director, the maker of Women in Love, The Devils, The Music Lovers, Tommy and The Rainbow, is as unconventional and brilliant as…
After Winter Comes Spring (1989)
A locomotive journey traversing the North to the South of the German Democratic Republic on the eve of its dissolution. Labourers, punks, mothers, intellectuals, young and old are implored to…
Homework (1989)
Young male students at a local Iranian school are asked about their feelings on homework.
Hurá (1989)
A Grandfather recounts his life under communist rule, from apprentice miner to prisoner to pensioner.
U2: Rattle and Hum (1988)
A concert movie on an unprecedented scale, Rattle And Hum captures U2 – on and off the stage – during their triumphant Joshua Tree tour. From the giant technicolour stadium…
Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser (1988)
A documentary film about the life of pianist and jazz great Thelonious Monk. Features live performances by Monk and his band, and interviews with friends and family about the offbeat…
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next (1988)
This special is hosted by Patrick Stewart and traced the history of Star Trek from its inception with “The Cage” through to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and the…
Imagine: John Lennon (1988)
The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono’s personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon’s private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his…
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (1988)
This documentary offers a rare glimpse of the legendary Soviet filmmaker, Andrei Tarkosvky, at work. Tarkovsky made only seven films in his brief, but brilliant, career; Michal Leszczylowski’s respectful movie…
Let’s Get Lost (1988)
Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker,…
The Secret Identity of Jack the Ripper (1988)
A panel of experts examines the five main suspects in the Jack the Ripper murders and determines which of them is the most likely to have committed the crimes.
The Thin Blue Line (1988)
Errol Morris’s unique documentary dramatically re-enacts the crime scene and investigation of a police officer’s murder in Dallas.
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands…
Steel Mask Versus Blue Abyss (1988)
A world of strong colours between documentary and fiction, centered on the life and work of modernist painter Amadeo de Souza Cardoso.
Powaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Mondo New York (1988)
A young woman wanders around New York City and stumbles across a number of strange characters and settings that represent the “underground” areas of the city. She sees stand up…
A Reggae Session (1988)
Gathered together for one night, the legendary names of Reggae and more meet at Fort Charles, Jamaica for a musical event that would reverberate around the world!
Distant Harmony: Pavarotti in China (1988)
In 1986, Luciano Pavarotti was invited to Beijing to present La Bohème, conduct master classes and perform concerts for more than 150 million people. Academy Award-winning filmmaker DeWitt Sage captures…
Elvis ’56 (1988)
The year Elvis Presley went from rising star to pop culture sensation is chronicled through rare footage, interviews and that pelvis-gyrating music.
Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night (1988)
Recorded live at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, Roy is joined by an eclectic ensemble of rock and roll superstars including Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, J.D. Souther,…
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (1988)
A documentary about the classic ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ film, including interviews with Gunnar Hansen, Edwin Neal, John Dugan and Jim Siedow.
Tadao Ando (1988)
Tadao Ando, a self-taught architect, proposes an international architecture that he believes can only be conceived by someone Japanese. His architecture mixes Piranesian drama with contemplative spaces in urban complexes,…
Prince: Sign O’ the Times (1987)
In 1987, to capitalize on his growing success in Europe, Prince toured extensively to promote the album of the same name and sales increased accordingly. However, the United States remained…
Rock’n’ Roll (1987)
In 1987, a Berlin couple hits the small stage with rock’n’roll – petticoat, stripped socks, ducktail and all. A laid-back study of a GDR slice of life.
Jimi Plays Monterey (1987)
Jimi Hendrix’s debut American set at 1967’s Monterey Pop Festival is generally considered one of the most radical and legendary live shows ever. Virtually unknown to American audiences at the…