U.S. Library of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry: Library of Congress works to ensure listed films are preserved for all time

News from the Washington File

Washington -- In keeping with a 1989 U.S. congressional mandate aimed at ensuring the preservation of "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" American films, James H. Billington, librarian of Congress, on December 20 announced a roster of 25 motion pictures to be added to the National Film Registry.

The movies in the new list, covering a nine-decade span from 1906 to 1995, include documentaries and features -- westerns, musicals, comedies, family-oriented entertainments, silent films and stories from the sports world. In announcing the choices, Billington stressed that the selections do not necessarily mean the films are the" best" of their kind, nor does their inclusion represent an endorsement -- or lack of one -- of any ideology or content. But in many instances, they represent others of their particular theme or genre, and "continue to have cultural historical or aesthetic significance," he said.

According to the legislation, the National Film Preservation Act, that established the registry, the Library of Congress must ensure that each film named to the registry will be preserved for all time, either through the Library of Congress' own motion picture preservation program or in collaboration with various archives, film studios and independent filmmakers around the United States and even abroad. With the addition of the 25 films, the registry now totals 425.

Of the newly added motion pictures, some, such as The Music Man and Miracle on 34th Street, long have been familiar favorites. Others, such as The French Connection and The Sting, have been showered with awards. Some, including A Raisin in the Sun and Hoop Dreams, are mirrors on an evolving America, while others, such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, have achieved a cult status. Many are from original scripts and some, such as Giant and Imitation of Life, are adaptations of novels (by Edna Ferber and Fannie Hurst, respectively). The list also includes films such as Power of the Press and Hands Up, both from the 1920s, which are all but forgotten gems.

The cast of characters among the actors is equally diverse -- ranging from legendary silent film comedian Buster Keaton and the formidable African-American star Sidney Poitier. Films on the list also feature performers who remain active and influential today, including Robert Redford, Sean Penn, Paul Newman and Gene Hackman.

The eclecticism of the 2005 selections -- and, indeed, of the full registry -- is underscored by the documentaries included. A devastating earthquake and an equally horrific flood, films and audio recordings illuminating a black religious community in the American South in 1940, a paean to water, a chronicle of two inner-city youths trying to obtain a college athletic scholarship, a glimpse of an historic championship boxing match from the early years of the 20th century and a silent film about one state's public education effort directed at immigrant Americans reflect the landscape that film has explored over the past hundred years.

In the announcement, Billington listed some of the factors that imperil film and some troubling statistics.

"Fifty percent of the films produced before 1950, and 80 to 90 percent made before 1920, have disappeared forever.... More films are lost each year -- through the ravages of nitrate deterioration, color-fading and `vinegar syndrome,' which threatens the acetate-based film stock on which the vast majority of motion pictures, past and present, have been reproduced.

"By preserving American films," Billington said, "we safeguard a significant element of American creativity and our cultural history for the enjoyment and education of future generations."

Following are the 25 films added to the National Film Registry in December 2005:

" [cents] Baby Face (1933)

" [cents] The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man (1975)

" [cents] The Cameraman (1928)

" [cents] Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort, South Carolina, May 1940 (1940)

" [cents] Cool Hand Luke (1967)

" [cents] Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

" [cents] The French Connection (1971)

" [cents] Giant (1956)

" [cents] H2O (1929)

" [cents] Hands Up (1926)

" [cents] Hoop Dreams (1994)

" [cents] House of Usher (1960)

" [cents] Imitation of Life (1934)

" [cents] Jeffries-Johnson World's Championship Boxing Contest (1910)

" [cents] Making of an American (1920)

" [cents] Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

" [cents] Mom and Dad (1944)

" [cents] The Music Man (1962)

" [cents] Power of the Press (1928)

" [cents] A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

" [cents] The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

" [cents] San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, April 18, 1906 (1906)

" [cents] The Sting (1973)

" [cents] A Time for Burning (1966)

" [cents] Toy Story (1995)

More information on the films and selection process is available on the National Film Preservation Board Web site.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)