From Chaplin’s “The Kid” to “Forrest Gump”: 25 More Amazing Shadows Added to National Film Registry

The National Film Registry, part of the Library of Congress whose goal it is to preserve important American films, has an abundance of obscure, avante garde, classic, and iconic films within its vaults and on top of its list. You’ve got everything from CASABLACNA and THE MALTESE FALCON to Andy Warhol’s EMPIRE and the documentary TOPAZ. Each year, 25 films are added to the list to be preserved because of their “cultural, historical, and aesthetic importance”. One can expect the likes of films like Charlie Chaplin’s MODERN TIMES and THE GREAT DICTATOR, but you’d be surprised when you find out that Michael Jackson’s seminal music video for his single THRILLER is also on there. It’s a list that surprises, shocks, sparks debate, and is of the utmost importance to our culture. This year’s selection, as reported by Deadline, has films like BAMBI, Robert Rodriguez’s first feature EL MARIACHI, FORREST GUMP, and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. This year’s 25 brings the total number of films selected for preservation to 575.

Here is the complete list:

-          THE CRY OF THE CHILDREN (1912)

-          A CURE FOR POKERITIS (1912)

-          THE KID (1921)

-          THE IRON HORSE (1924)

-          TWENTIETH CENTURY (1934)

-          NICHOLAS BROTHERS FAMILY HOME MOVIES (1930s-40s)

-          BAMBI

-          THE NEGRO SOLDIER (1944)

-          THE LOST WEEKEND (1945)

-          WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)

-          THE BIG HEAT (1953)

-          PORGY AND BESS (1959)

-          ALLURES (1961)

-          CRISIS: BEHIND A PRESIDENTIAL COMMITMENT (1963)

-          FACES (1968)

-          GROWING UP FEMALE (1971)

-          A COMPUTER ANIMATED HAND (1972)

-          HESTER STREET (1975)

-          I, AN ACTRESS (1977)

-          NORMA RAE (1979)

-          FAKE FRUIT FACTORY (1986)

-          STAND AND DELIVERY (1988)

-          THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)

-          (EL MARIACHI (1992)

-          FORREST GUMP (1994)

Also, PBS is set to debut the documentary on the National Film Registry and its eclectic list of films tonight called THESE AMAZING SHADOWS. The film is available on Netflix Instant and features interviews from the voters, the people who work on preserving the film, critics, and the directors of the films, as well as other directors such as Christopher Nolan. Check your local listings.