Library of Congress adds The Princess Bride, 25 genre faves, and film classics to National Film Registry

princess-bride

The National Film Registry has grown to include 700 films this year with the addition this week of 25 films.  In accordance with the National Film Preservation Act, a film is eligible to be preserved under the registry if it is at least a decade old and recognized in the National Film Preservation Board’s view as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”  The Librarian of Congress makes the final determination, considering public nominations in the analysis.

The new list includes Rob Reiner’s adaptation of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride, possibly the most beloved of all live-action fantasy films.  The Howard Hawks/Billy Wilder classic, Snow White-inspired comedy Ball of Fire, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper also made the cut.  Robert Zemeckis’s live action/animated caper Who Framed Roger Rabbit is on this list, along with the John Hughes coming of age film The Breakfast Club. 

the-birds

Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds increases the famous director’s horror film count on the preservation list along with the likes of Rear Window, North by Northwest, Vertigo, and Psycho.  And Elia Kazan’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s coming of age story East of Eden, starring James Dean, joins the list.  Now all three of the films Dean is known for are on the list, adding to prior registry films Rebel Without a Cause and Giant.

Below is the full list of films named to the registry for 2016:

The Atomic Cafe (1982)

Ball of Fire (1941)

The Beau Brummels (1928)

The Birds (1963)

Blackboard Jungle (1955)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

ball-of-fire

East of Eden (1955)

Funny Girl (1968)

Life of an American Fireman (1903)

The Lion King (1994)

Lost Horizon (1937)

Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)

Paris Is Burning (1990)

Point Blank (1967)

The Princess Bride (1987)

Putney Swope (1969)

Rushmore (1998)

Solomon Sir Jones films (1924-28)

east-of-eden

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

Suzanne, Suzanne (1982)

Thelma & Louise (1991)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)

A Walk in the Sun (1945)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

The entire list, which began in 1989, can be found here.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

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