MOVIEPIQ · DOCUMENTARY · CURATED LIST

Best Documentary Movies With Your Parents From The 80S And 90S That Will Keep You On The Edge Of Your Seat

The best documentary movies with your parents from the 80s and 90s that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Includes Baraka, Paris Is Burning, Koyaanisqa...

A film with your parents works best when it gives you something to talk about afterward — not something to argue about during.

The 80s and 90s are where a lot of cinema's DNA was written. Films that set the templates still running today.

The best documentaries don't just inform — they change how you see something you thought you already understood.

Baraka movie poster
1
1992 · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.

Paris Is Burning movie poster
2
1991 · ★★★★☆ 8.0/10

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

Koyaanisqatsi movie poster
3
1983 · ★★★½☆ 7.9/10

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

The best suspense doesn't come from action — it comes from caring about what happens. These films make you care, then twist the knife.

The best documentaries don't resolve neatly. They give you something to carry. These do that.