Beverly Hills Cop, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan and 23 other films are this year’s inductees onto the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. The entries this year span 115 years of American cinematic history, from the 45-second long 1895 short Annabelle Serpentine Dance to 2010’s Academy Award winner The Social Network. More than 6,700 titles were under consideration for this year’s inductees.
The 1980s were the most represented decade this year, with a total of six films making the list – three Hollywood blockbusters and three smaller, independently produced films. The oldest film on the list, Annabelle Serpentine Dance was produced by the Edison Company and featured noted actress of the day Annabelle Moore.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said –
Films reflect our nation’s history and culture and must be preserved in our national library for generations to come. We’re honored by the responsibility to add 25 diverse new films to the National Film Registry each year as we work to preserve our cultural heritage. This is a collective effort in the film community to preserve our cinematic heritage, and we are grateful to our partners, including the National Film Preservation Board.
The Library of Congress names 25 films annually to the National Film Registry as per the dictates of the National Film preservation Act. The purpose is to build a collection of film that is considered “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. Previous films named to the Registry range from Star Wars to the 8mm color motion picture footage shot by Abraham Zapruder of the assassination of President John F Kennedy. All nominated films must be at least ten years old.
This year’s inductees brings the total number of films on the registry to 900.
The complete list of films named this year are as follows chronologically –
Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895)
KoKo’s Earth Control (1928)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Invaders from Mars (1953)
The Miracle Worker (1962)
The Chelsea Girls (1966)
Ganja and Hess (1973)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Zora Lathan Student Films (1975-76)
Up in Smoke (1978)
Will (1981)
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)
Powwow Highway (1989)
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
American Me (1992)
Mi Familia (1995)
Compensation (1999)
Spy Kids (2001)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
The Social Network (2010)
