The Library of Congress today announces 25 more films, dating from 1902 to 2008, will be honored for their historical and cultural significance. They will the added to The National Film Registry guaranteed to preserve them for future generations.
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, the librarian each year names 25 motion pictures at least 10 years old that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. There are now 825 films in the registry. The librarian confers with members of the National Film Preservation Board and others before making the selections, and more than 6,100 titles that were nominated by the public also were considered.
National Film Preservation Board’s Jacqueline Stewart said:
“We have always looked at the range of films, those that are entertaining and inspiring, but also those films that raise more difficult kinds of questions, those that get us to recognize that films are documents of our social and political history and that their preservation is absolutely essential if we’re going to look honestly at our past.”
After much blowback from fans, Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi was included in those chosen for the registry. Horror fans rejoiced over the addition Wes Craven’s 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street and the 1962 hit What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. And who could argue against Pixar’s 2008 Wall-E, the Andrew Stanton film about the last robot left on Earth which won an Oscar for best animated feature.
Here is the complete list of the 25 movies chosen for the National Film Registry:
- “Ringling Brothers Parade Film” (1902)
- “Jubilo” (1919)
- “The Flying Ace” (1926)
- “Hellbound Train” (1930)
- “Flowers and Trees” (1932)
- “Strangers on a Train” (1951)
- “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962)
- “Evergreen” (1965)
- “Requiem-29” (1970)
- “The Murder of Fred Hampton” (1971)
- “Pink Flamingos” (1972)
- “Sounder” (1972)
- “The Long Goodbye” (1973)
- “Cooley High” (1975)
- “Richard Pryor: Live in Concert” (1979)
- “Chicana” (1979)
- “The Wobblies” (1979)
- “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi” (1983)
- “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)
- “Stop Making Sense” (1984)
- “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” (1987)
- “The Watermelon Woman” (1996)
- “Selena” (1997)
- “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)
- “Wall-E” (2008)