1. DocumentaryTube
2. By decade
3. Classic documentaries

By decade

Classic Documentaries Before 1990 · page 52

2,921 documentaries · ordered 27 October 2026 · How we order lists

Newest first: the year each film was released, from the open film record (Wikidata), then the order the list has always had. Every film’s page names its source.

1. No. 12761972

   Black Rodeo

   by Jeff Kanew · United States · English

   New York City
2. No. 127719721 h 7 min

   Born to Boogie

   by Ringo Starr · United Kingdom · English
3. No. 12781972

   Chaplinesque, My Life and Hard Times

   by Harry Hurwitz · United States · English

   actor
4. No. 1279197242 min

   Chircales

   by Jorge Silva · Colombia · Spanish
5. No. 128019723 h 28 min

   Chung Kuo, Cina

   by Michelangelo Antonioni · Italy · Italian

   People's Republic of China
6. No. 128119721 h 33 min

   Cocksucker Blues

   by Robert Frank · United States · English

   music
7. No. 1282197220 min

   Corfu 1972

   by Marios Lefteriotis · Greece · Greek
8. No. 128319721 h 29 min

   Coup pour Coup

   by Marin Karmitz · France
9. No. 128419721 h 33 min

   Elvis on Tour

   by Robert Abel · United States · English

   historymusic
10. No. 12851972

    Far from the Trees

    by Jacint Esteva Grewe · Spain · Spanish
11. No. 128619721 h 21 min

    Film Portrait

    by Jerome Hill · United States · English

    historyJerome Hill
12. No. 12871972

    Five Summer Stories

    by Greg MacGillivray · United States · English

    sportsurfing
13. No. 12881972

    Four More Years

    Director not on record · United States · English

    1972 Republican National Convention
14. No. 12891972

    F.T.A.

    by Francine Parker · United States · English

    warVietnam War
15. No. 1290197243 min

    Future Shock

    by Alex Grasshoff · United States · English
16. No. 129119721 h 5 min

    Hôtel Monterey

    by Chantal Akerman · United States · Belgium · French

    hotel
17. No. 129219721 h 4 min

    Hundred Faces for a Single Day

    by Christian Ghazi · Lebanon · Palestine
18. No. 129319721 h 32 min

    I Am a Dancer

    by Pierre Jourdan · France · United Kingdom · English
19. No. 1294197217 min

    Inca Light

    by Robert E. Fulton · United States · English
20. No. 12951972

    J'ai tout donné

    by François Reichenbach · France
21. No. 129619721 h 30 min

    Kampen om Mardøla

    by Oddvar Einarson · Norway · Norwegian

    naturenature conservation
22. No. 1297197214 min

    Kinesisk bordtennis

    by Jørgen Leth · Denmark
23. No. 12981972

    Kletva

    by Borislav Gvojić · Yugoslavia · Serbo-Croatian
24. No. 129919721 h 31 min

    Le cousin Jules

    by Dominique Benicheti · France
25. No. 1300197252 min

    Letter to Jane

    by Jean-Pierre Gorin · France · French

By decade

More lists like this

The collection

3,059New Documentaries of the 2020sdocumentaries, newest first3,128Documentaries of the 2010s in 2026documentaries, newest first4,066Documentaries of the 2000s in 2026documentaries, newest first1,196Documentaries of the 1990s in 2026documentaries, newest first767Documentaries of the 1980s in 2026documentaries, newest first