National Film Registry

A gripping western, a beloved holiday film, a 115-year-old movie capturing a famous boxing match, a memoir of a Holocaust survivor and a visionary science-fiction thriller in which Keanu Reeves utters the word “whoa” are among the 25 films selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Congress established the National Film Registry in 1989 to highlight the need to preserve U.S. film heritage. Under the conditions of the National Film Preservation Act, the librarian of Congress names 25 films yearly that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” The films must be at least 10 years old. For the record: An article about the National Film Registry described “A League of Their Own” as being about the All American-Girls Professional Softball League.

The Library of Congress announced the names of 25 films Wednesday that are to be enshrined in its National Film Registry. Of those 25, 5-1/2 were based on books or stories. The half? Read on. The 1983 film "A Christmas Story" -- with Ralphie, a frozen tongue and the fra- gee -lay leg lamp -- was based on the short story collection "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" by Jean Shepherd, first published in 1966. Shepherd was a humorist who worked in radio, television, print and film -- he co-wrote the screenplay of "A Christmas Story" and is the movie's voiceover narrator.

Every year since 1989, the Library of Congress-sponsored National Film Registry has selected significant American films as worthy of preservation. Many of these films are well-known features such as "Casablanca," but the registry also selects excellent but little-known shorts. Now Filmforum has come up with the smart idea of showcasing eight of these films, ranging in time from Winsor McCay's 1911 "Little Nemo" to Chuck Workman's 1986 "Precious Images." Workman will attend, as will Janie Geiser, director of "The Red Book."

A gripping western, a beloved holiday film, a 115-year-old movie capturing a famous boxing match, a memoir of a Holocaust survivor and a visionary science-fiction thriller in which Keanu Reeves utters the word “whoa” are among the 25 films selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Congress established the National Film Registry in 1989 to highlight the need to preserve U.S. film heritage. Under the conditions of the National Film Preservation Act, the librarian of Congress names 25 films yearly that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” The films must be at least 10 years old. For the record: An article about the National Film Registry described “A League of Their Own” as being about the All American-Girls Professional Softball League.

One of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most famous one-liners will be back for generations to come, now that 1984's "The Terminator" has been selected for preservation in the nation's film archive. The low-budget film directed by James Cameron set a new standard for science-fiction and made Schwarzenegger, now California's governor, a star. The Library of Congress announced Tuesday that it's one of 25 films being added to the National Film Registry.

Well, thank goodness. "The Terminator" has been selected for the National Film Registry and will be preserved forever. Keep your Oscars and your Golden Globes; the film that introduced Arnold Schwarzenegger in his signature role will be safe in climate-controlled Library of Congress vaults long after "Shakespeare in Love" and "Mrs. Miniver" are dust. But what's the point of storing the first flick in the series for posterity while allowing the sequels to rot?

An endless web of cracks in the parched ground fans out across the desert landscape. A gust of wind blasts past a row of stark barracks. Someone in a trench coat walking hand in hand with a small child. A smiling man--his head wrapped tightly in a blue scarf--sweeps away the snow with a broom. For Dave Tatsuno, this was life at the Central Utah Relocation Camp.

Film Board Invites Nominations: This year, the National Film Preservation Board is inviting the general public to nominate movies for the National Film Registry. The registry, which selects up to 25 films a year, was established by Congress in 1988 to recognize motion pictures as an American art form and emphasize the importance of the preservation and protection of film.

Motion Picture Assn. of America President Jack Valenti and a dozen other entertainment industry figures have been named to a new National Film Preservation Board. Created by Congress last year, the group each year will recommend to the Librarian of Congress as many as 25 "culturally significant" films for inclusion in the National Film Registry. The group can also demand that disclaimers be made if films have been colorized or "materially altered."

A total of 25 movies, from David Lean's 1962 spectacular, "Lawrence of Arabia," to an obscure 1915 silent film titled "The Italian," were added Wednesday to the Library of Congress' registry of film classics deemed worthy of preservation. "We are not in the Oscar nomination business," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "The films we choose are not necessarily the 'best' American films of any kind ever made.

Every year since 1989, the Library of Congress-sponsored National Film Registry has selected significant American films as worthy of preservation. Many of these films are well-known features such as "Casablanca," but the registry also selects excellent but little-known shorts. Now Filmforum has come up with the smart idea of showcasing eight of these films, ranging in time from Winsor McCay's 1911 "Little Nemo" to Chuck Workman's 1986 "Precious Images." Workman will attend, as will Janie Geiser, director of "The Red Book."

Sidney N. Laverents, an award-winning amateur filmmaker whose technically impressive and infectiously humorous 1970 musical short film "Multiple SIDosis" earned a spot in the National Film Registry, has died. He was 100. Laverents, a Depression-era vaudevillian who performed as a one-man band and later became an aircraft engineer, died of age-related causes May 6 in a Chula Vista hospital, said his wife, Charlotte.

Well, thank goodness. "The Terminator" has been selected for the National Film Registry and will be preserved forever. Keep your Oscars and your Golden Globes; the film that introduced Arnold Schwarzenegger in his signature role will be safe in climate-controlled Library of Congress vaults long after "Shakespeare in Love" and "Mrs. Miniver" are dust. But what's the point of storing the first flick in the series for posterity while allowing the sequels to rot?

One of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most famous one-liners will be back for generations to come, now that 1984's "The Terminator" has been selected for preservation in the nation's film archive. The low-budget film directed by James Cameron set a new standard for science-fiction and made Schwarzenegger, now California's governor, a star. The Library of Congress announced Tuesday that it's one of 25 films being added to the National Film Registry.

"Killer of Sheep" is a wonder any number of ways, from how it was originally made to its reappearance now in handsomely restored form to its getting its first-ever theatrical release (at the Nuart in West Los Angeles) a full 30 years after it was completed. But the greatest wonder of all is that this 1977 film, made for $10,000 by filmmaker Charles Burnett while he was still at UCLA's film school and shot on weekends in Watts with a mostly amateur cast, still has the power to move us.

The documentary "Hoop Dreams" and footage of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake are among the 25 movies picked this year for the National Film Registry, a compilation of significant films being preserved by the Library of Congress. Fictional films chosen by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington range from the Buster Keaton comedy "The Cameraman" to the Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street" to the 1982 teen comedy "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

The documentary "Hoop Dreams" and footage of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake are among the 25 movies picked this year for the National Film Registry, a compilation of significant films being preserved by the Library of Congress. Fictional films chosen by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington range from the Buster Keaton comedy "The Cameraman" to the Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street" to the 1982 teen comedy "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

Films teaching Cold War children to "duck and cover" and describing how Oskar Schindler saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust are being added to the National Film Registry. They are among 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for the registry, which now holds 400 pictures. The library works to ensure that each film in the registry is preserved for all time. Librarian of Congress James H.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Preserving 'Dracula,' 'Shaft,' 'GoodFellas': The cinematic record of President William McKinley's inauguration in 1901 and Bela Lugosi's 1931 horror film "Dracula" joined more modern fare such as the 1971 detective classic "Shaft," Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 war picture "Apocalypse Now" and Martin Scorsese's 1990 gangster film "GoodFellas" in being named Wednesday to the National Film Registry, which earmarks films for future preservation.