I received this press release from a friend....thought I'd pass it along.
Any comments on the selections made by the Library of Congress?
Scott
MoPo List Owner
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington DC 20540
Phone: (202) 707-2905
Fax: (202) 707-9199
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
December 27, 2006
Press contact: Sheryl Cannady (202) 707-6456, [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Matt
Raymond (202) 707-0020, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS ADDS HOME MOVIE, SILENT FILMS AND HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS
TO FILM PRESERVATION LIST
Many Americans typically spend the holiday season flocking to movie theaters
nationwide. But even as they enjoy the latest releases, vast portions of
the nation's movie heritage are vanishing.
It is estimated that 50 percent of the films produced before 1950, and 80 to
90 percent made before 1920, have disappeared forever. The Library of
Congress is working to stanch those losses by recognizing, and working with
many organizations to preserve, films that are "culturally, historically or
aesthetically" significant.
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today added 25 motion pictures to
the National Film Registry (see attached list) to be preserved for all time,
bringing the total number of films on the registry to 450.
In making the announcement, Billington said: "The annual selection of films
to the National Film Registry involves far more than the simple naming of
cherished and important films to a prestigious list. The Registry should
not be seen as 'The Kennedy Center Honors,' 'The Academy Awards,' or even
'America's Most Beloved Films.' Rather, it is an invaluable means to
advance public awareness of the richness, creativity and variety of American
film heritage, and to dramatize the need for its preservation.
"The selection of a film recognizes its importance to American movie and
cultural history, and to history in general. The Registry stands among the
finest summations of more than a century of wondrous American cinema."
The 450 films in the National Film Registry represent a stunning range of
American filmmaking, including Hollywood features, documentaries,
avant-garde and amateur productions, films of ethnic and regional interest,
and animated and short film subjects - all deserving recognition,
preservation and access by future generations.
Despite preservation efforts by various organizations, "This key component
of American cultural history is an endangered species," Billington said. He
pointed out that more and more films are lost each year to nitrate
deterioration, color fading and the recently discovered "vinegar syndrome,"
which threatens the acetate-based "safety film" stock on which the vast
majority of motion pictures have been reproduced.
The 2006 selections span the years 1913 to 1996 and encompass films ranging
from Hollywood classics to lesser-known but still vital works. Billington
chose this year's selections after evaluating nearly 1,000 titles nominated
by the public and conducting intensive discussions with the Library's Motion
Picture division staff and the distinguished members and alternates of his
advisory group, the National Film Preservation Board. The board also
advises the Librarian on national film preservation policy.
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act , Congress established
the National Film Registry in 1989 and reauthorized the program in April
2005 when it passed the "Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005"
(Public Law 109-9).
"This legislation signifies great congressional interest in ensuring that
motion pictures survive as an art form and a record of our times,"
Billington said.
Among other provisions, the law reauthorized the National Film Preservation
Board, mandated that the Librarian and Board update the national film
preservation plan (published in the mid-1990s) as needed, increased funding
authorizations for the private sector National Film Preservation Foundation,
and amended Section 108(h) of U.S. Copyright Law, which enables libraries
and archives to make works in their final 20 years of copyright protection
accessible for research and education if the works are not already
commercially available.
For each title named to the registry, the Library of Congress works to
ensure that the film is preserved for future generations, either through the
Library's massive motion picture preservation program or through
collaborative ventures with other archives, motion picture studios and
independent filmmakers.
The Library of Congress contains the largest collections of film and
television works in the world, from the earliest surviving copyrighted
motion picture to the latest feature releases. For more information,
consult the National Film Preservation Board Web site at www.loc.gov/film.
2006 National Film Registry
Applause (1929)
This early sound-era masterpiece was the first film of both stage/director
Rouben Mamoulian and cabaret/star Helen Morgan. Many have compared
Mamoulian's debut to that of Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" because of his
flamboyant use of cinematic innovation to test technical boundaries. The
tear-jerking plot boasts top performances from Morgan as the fading
burlesque queen, Fuller Mellish Jr. as her slimy paramour and Joan Peters as
her cultured daughter. However, the film is remembered today chiefly for
Mamoulian's audacious style. While most films of the era were static and
stage-bound, Mamoulian's camera reinvigorated the melodramatic plot by
prowling relentlessly through sordid backstage life.
The Big Trail (1930)
The story goes that director Raoul Walsh was seeking a male lead for his new
Western and asked his friend John Ford. Ford recommended an unknown actor
named John Wayne because he "liked the looks of this new kid with a funny
walk, like he owned the world." When Wayne professed inexperience, Walsh
told him to just "sit good on a horse and point." The plot of a trek along
the Oregon Trail is aided immensely by the majestic sweep provided by the
experimental Grandeur wide-screen process used in filming. However, Wayne's
starring role in the movie did not lead to stardom. He languished in
low-budget pictures until John Ford cast him in the 1939 classic
"Stagecoach."
Blazing Saddles (1974)
This riotously funny, raunchy, no-holds-barred Western spoof by Mel Brooks
is universally considered one of the 25 funniest American films of all time.
The movie features a civil-rights theme (the man in the white hat turns out
to be an African-American who has to defend a bigoted town), and its
furiously paced gags and rapid-fire dialogue were scripted by Brooks, Andrew
Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg and Alan Unger. "Blazing Saddles"
was the highest grossing Western of all-time until 1990's "Dances with
Wolves."
The Curse of Quon Gwon (1916-17)
"The Curse of Quon Gwon," long thought lost, is the earliest known
Chinese-American feature and one of the first films directed by a woman, and
was recently restored by the Academy Film Archive. The two surviving reels
were brought to the attention of filmmaker Arthur Dong while researching his
"Hollywood Chinese" documentary. Its timely rediscovery shows us that the
history of ethnic filmmaking in the United States goes back much further
than earlier thought.
Daughter of Shanghai (1937)
B-films during the studio era often resonate decades later because they
explore issues and themes not found in higher-budget pictures. Robert
Florey, widely acclaimed as the best director working in major studio
B-films during this period, crafted an intriguing, taut thriller. Anna May
Wong overcame Hollywood's practice at the time of casting white actors to
play Asian roles and became its first, and a leading, Asian-American movie
star in the 1920s through the late 1930s. "Daughter of Shanghai" was more
truly Wong's personal vehicle than any of her other films. In the story she
uncovers the smuggling of illegal aliens through San Francisco's Chinatown,
cooperating with costar Philip Ahn as the first Asian G-man of the American
cinema.
Drums of Winter [Uksuum Cauyai] (1988)
Winner of numerous international awards, this beautiful documentary explores
the rare dance language and culture of the Yup'ik Eskimo people in Emmonak,
Alaska (part of the Yukon River delta on the Bering Sea). At the heart of
their culture are complex potlatch gift-giving ceremonies featuring
ceremonial story/dances serving as a bridge between the human and unseen
spiritual worlds. At the center of the dance was the drum, serving as the
cadence of the universe. The fabric of the community is woven together
through giving: "Our spirits live by giving, things we give will return in
larger amounts, because the wilderness has enough for all."
Early Abstractions #1-5, 7, 10 (1939-56) Harry Smith made his mark in many
fields. He was a painter, archivist and compiler of the landmark "Anthology
of American Music" (which helped stimulate a folk and blues revival). Smith
also was a groundbreaking avant-garde filmmaker whose revolutionary
animation challenged traditional concepts of cinema. His films used batik,
collage and optical printing to create a tumult of shapes and images that
integrates chaos with control. Consisting of seven films made over a
17-year span, "Early Abstractions" is a lovely, ever-moving collage of
abstraction, color and imagery.
Fargo (1996)
This film is the Coen Brothers' original black comic spin on murder,
propelled by Frances McDormand's "you-betcha," pregnant police chief and
William Macy's clammy loser. The droll deadpan humor delights in frame
after frame.
Flesh and the Devil (1927)
One of the last silent film classics, "Flesh and the Devil" is the first
on-screen pairing of silent superstars John Gilbert and Greta Garbo. It is
a masterpiece of American romanticism from director Clarence Brown, who
directed Garbo in seven classic films, and Garbo's favorite cinematographer,
William Daniels. In "Flesh and the Devil," Garbo plays a seductress who
sacrifices love for comfort and material luxury. The blistering chemistry
between Garbo and Gilbert reflected their torrid, real-life affair at the
time.
Groundhog Day (1993)
"Groundhog Day" is a clever comedy with a philosophical edge to boot. Bill
Murray plays a smug, arrogant weatherman caught in a personal time-warp, who
is continuously forced to relive the Punxsutawney, Penn., annual Groundhog
Day event. At first Murray revels at being able to act dishonorably without
consequences, but he soon grows weary of having to wake up every morning to
Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" and facing the same day again and again.
The deft, innovative script creatively keeps rearranging and building on
each day's events, while at the same time moving Murray's character into
self-growth, redemption and personal rebirth. Andie MacDowell's character
tells him, "I like to see a man of advancing years throwing caution to the
wind. It's inspiring in a way." Murray's character knowingly replies, "My
years are not advancing as fast as you might think."
Halloween (1978)
John Carpenter's first commercially successful film not only became his most
famous work, but it also ushered in the dawn of the slasher film. However,
"Halloween," unlike many later films of that genre, creates a chilling
tension with minimal blood and gore. The setting is Halloween night, and
homicidal maniac Michael Myers has escaped from his mental institution and
is hunting teenagers in his hometown of Haddonfield, Ill. Although the
numerous imitations and elements of the genre are now considered a cliché,
Carpenter's style of point-of-view shots, tense editing and haunting piano
score make "Halloween" uniquely artistic, frightening and a horror film
keystone.
In the Street (1948)
This lyrical, slice-of-life documentary (by Helen Levitt, James Agee and
Janice Loeb) about East Harlem is one of several outstanding children's
documentaries ("The Quiet One" and "Louisiana Story," among others) produced
immediately after World War II. The filmmakers captured the energy-filled
streets as part theater, part battleground and part playground. In their
everyday lives and actions, people project an image of human existence
against the turmoil of the street.
The Last Command (1928)
This film is Josef von Sternberg's powerful drama of exiled Russian general
Emil Jannings, who is reduced to the scraps of "extra" roles in Hollywood.
Jannings' Academy Award-winning performance towers over the screen,
showcasing emotions ranging from his forceful leadership as a tsarist
general, to incredulous dismay at the loss of his beloved country and his
lover who helped him escape. Shaken out of his stupor when cast in a film
about the Russian Revolution, Jannings summons his thunderous charisma in
one final bid to somehow win the war for Mother Russia. The ending,
considered one of cinema's most memorable, remains heart-wrenching.
Notorious (1946)
Arguably Alfred Hitchcock's best black-and-white American film, this is an
excellent example of woman's gothic. In the film, a woman (played by Ingrid
Bergman) marries a Nazi killer (played by Claude Rains), although she is in
love with an American spy (played by Cary Grant) who recruits her for the
assignment. Rife with classic Hitchcock brilliance, featuring the crane
shot and cross-cutting during the party sequence, "Notorious" is also a
resonant cultural document of romantic alienation. Cary Grant is at his
most attractive, letting his dark side fuel his bitter cynicism.
Red Dust (1932)
This steamy pre-Production Code melodrama stars virile, tough guy Clark
Gable as a Far East plantation owner who proves no match for Jean Harlow's
saucy incandescence. Her earthy, breathless dialogue ("You can check the
wings and halo at the desk") serves to turn up the heat. The movie's
well-remembered humor, star chemistry and atmosphere owe much to underrated
director Victor Fleming, who managed to inspire a superior performance from
Harlow, who was coping with the suicide of her husband during the filming of
"Red Dust."
Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1971-72) Jonas Mekas'
"Reminiscences" is an elegiac diary film of a trip that he took back to his
birthplace of Semeniskiai, Lithuania. In addition to his own exceptional
body of avant-garde films, Mekas also is a legendary member of that
community through his work as spokesperson, archivist and theoretician of
the avant-garde movement. Often called the godfather of American
experimental cinema, his writings in "Film Culture" and "The Village Voice"
helped spur public interest. His founding of the Film-Makers Cooperative
and the Anthology Film Archives also made avant-garde films more accessible
and aided their preservation.
Rocky (1976)
This stirring tale of a million-to-one-shot underdog has become part of the
American psyche. According to legend, Sylvester Stallone, then a
down-on-his-luck actor, hurriedly wrote a brilliant script after watching
the Muhammad Ali/Chuck Wepner fight. Stallone shopped the script to
studios, who loved the plot but not Stallone's take-it-or-leave-it demand
that he star in the film. Eventually, Stallone and United Artists crafted a
deal, and the film became a top-grossing cultural sensation in 1976. One of
the truly iconic moments in American cinema is when Stallone runs up the
steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the strains of Bill Conti's
pulsating score.
sex, lies and videotape (1989)
Steven Soderbergh explores the messy personal relationships of four friends
with an insinuatingly low-key style that creates a super-precise
psychoanalysis of human impulses and inhibitions. This landmark film
launched the independent film renaissance of the past two decades.
Siege (1940)
In his career, Julien Bryan, founder of the International Film Foundation,
managed to amass a historical treasure trove of footage from foreign lands.
On his way back from filming in Europe in 1939, Bryan became stranded in
Warsaw during the German bombardment and blitzkrieg, where he managed to
shoot and smuggle out an astonishing record of events in Warsaw. As the only
neutral-country cameraman left in Warsaw when the Germans arrived, Bryan's
footage is a unique, horrifying record of the dreadful brutality of war.
One such scene shows German planes strafing Polish women as they dug
potatoes for their hungry families.
St. Louis Blues (1929)
A two-reeler made both for "race theater" distribution and RKO's experiments
with early recording of musical shorts in its theater chains, "St. Louis
Blues" features the only film recording of Bessie Smith, "Queen of the
Blues," backed by an outstanding cast of African-American artists.
According to film historian Donald Bogle, the film "was marred by its white
director's overstatement, but it was distinguished by Bessie Smith's
extraordinary ability to express black pain. ... Haughty, husky, hungry,
earthy, confident, and supremely committed to her music, Bessie Smith is
magnificently larger than life here, a true dark diva, who lives up to her
legend as one of America's great original artists."
The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)
This legendary film (the initials stand for "Teen Age Music International")
is quite possibly the greatest rock and rhythm-and-blues concert on film.
Considered wildly campy with screaming girls and "Shindig"-style go-go
dancers, the film captures all the live immediacy of an astonishing line-up
in an era when films commonly matched records to lip-syncing. A who's who
of musicians creates magic onstage, from the Rolling Stones running onstage
and plugging in their guitars to the show-stopping cape routine of James
Brown.
Tess of the Storm Country (1914)
This is the feature film that made Canadian-born Mary Pickford, Hollywood's
first movie superstar, a national icon and an international celebrity. The
film is often credited with launching what was known as the "cult of Mary
Pickford" in the early 20th century and was essential in shaping the
actress' on-screen persona as a working-class heroine. The picture was so
successful that it spawned a number of knockoffs and several remakes,
including one by Pickford herself in 1922. The movie's director, Edwin S.
Porter, was a former cameraman of Thomas Edison who worked with Pickford on
five of her earliest features. He is best known for two innovative silent
shorts from 1903, "The Life of an American Fireman" and "The Great Train
Robbery."
Think of Me First as a Person (1960-75) "Think of Me First as a Person" is
an astonishing discovery from the Center for Home Movies and its annual Home
Movie Day, where once a year people in cities across the nation bring their
home movies to screen. This loving portrait by a father of his son with
Down syndrome represents the creativity and craftsmanship of the American
amateur filmmaker.
A Time Out of War (1954)
Easily in the pantheon of best student films ever produced, "A Time Out of
War" managed to beat the odds and win the Oscar for best short film. Two
Union soldiers and one Confederate soldier declare a temporary truce in this
sensitive, elegantly unhurried film that helped put student filmmaking on
the cultural map.
Traffic in Souls (1913)
This sensational exposé of "white slavery" (forced prostitution) captivated
the country upon its 1913 release and presaged the Hollywood narrative film.
At six reels, its length was nearly unheard of at the time, save for a few
biblical epics. Although arguably an exploitation film, the film's riveting
sociology is gripping in its portrayals of methods used to entrap working
women and immigrants. "Traffic in Souls" holds up well today because of its
verve and location shooting.
Films Selected to the 2006 National Film Registry
Applause (1929)
The Big Trail (1930)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
The Curse of Quon Gwon (1916-17)
Daughter of Shanghai (1937)
Drums of Winter [Uksuum Cauyai] (1988)
Early Abstractions #1-5, 7,10 (1939-56) Fargo (1996) Flesh and the Devil
(1927) Groundhog Day (1993) Halloween (1978) In the Street (1948) The Last
Command (1928) Notorious (1946) Red Dust (1932) Reminiscences of a Journey
to Lithuania (1971-72) Rocky (1976) sex, lies and videotape (1989) Siege
(1940) St. Louis Blues (1929) The T.A.M.I. Show (1964) Tess of the Storm
Country (1914) Think of Me First as a Person (1960-75) A Time Out of War
(1954) Traffic in Souls (1913)
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