National Film Registry

National Film Registry
Library of Congress · Public domain · source
Name	National Film Registry
Established	1988
Administrator	Library of Congress
Authority	National Film Preservation Act of 1988
Purpose	"preservation of American film heritage"

Contents

National Film Registry is a program administered by the Library of Congress that selects and preserves motion pictures deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Created under the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, the Registry complements efforts by institutions such as the National Archives and Records Administration, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian Institution. Annual selections are announced by the Librarian of Congress following recommendations from the National Film Preservation Board and public nominations.

History

Congress enacted the National Film Preservation Act of 1988 amid advocacy from preservationists including the Film Foundation, founded by Martin Scorsese, and scholars from the American Film Institute. Early champions included filmmakers such as Orson Welles, John Ford, and D.W. Griffith (posthumously contested), while institutions like the George Eastman Museum and the Academy Film Archive mobilized restoration campaigns. Subsequent reauthorizations of the statute in 1992, 1996, 2005, and 2016 expanded the Registry’s mandate and funding mechanisms, interfacing with programs at the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Registry’s creation mirrors other heritage programs such as the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO) in its approach to safeguarding cultural property.

Titles become eligible ten years after initial release; the Librarian of Congress, advised by the National Film Preservation Board, selects up to 25 films annually. Nominations arrive from diverse sources including the public, archives like the British Film Institute and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, and professional bodies such as the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America. Criteria reference significance demonstrated by associations with figures like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Alfred Hitchcock, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, and works honored by awards such as the Academy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Golden Globe Awards. Technical and aesthetic innovations exemplified by films connected to entities like RCA, Eastman Kodak Company, and studios such as Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Universal Pictures also influence selection. The process involves climatized storage planning with partners like the National Film Preservation Foundation and consultation with legal entities including the United States Copyright Office.

The Registry includes silent-era items associated with Charlie Chaplin, early sound experiments linked to The Jazz Singer and Al Jolson, and landmark features by Orson Welles (Citizen Kane), Frank Capra (It’s a Wonderful Life), and Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing). Controversies have surrounded selections related to D.W. Griffith (due to The Birth of a Nation), depictions contested by civil rights organizations such as the NAACP, and debates over commercial franchises like Star Wars (George Lucas) and The Wizard of Oz (Judy Garland). Restoration disputes have involved studios including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and collectors tied to figures like Ted Turner, while copyright issues engaged litigants in cases comparable to those before the Supreme Court of the United States in intellectual property matters. Criticism has arisen from historians at the Library of Congress Packard Campus, curators at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History, and filmmakers associated with movements like New Hollywood and Independent film.

The Registry has galvanized conservation projects at repositories such as the George Eastman House, Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation, and the Academy Film Archive. Partnerships with industry actors—Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures—and suppliers like Technicolor and Eastman Kodak Company have advanced photochemical and digital restorations. Grants from the National Film Preservation Foundation and policy coordination with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services support preservation priorities. Scholarly research at universities including Yale University, University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, and Columbia University leverages Registry designations for curricula and dissertations. Preservation impact extends to international exchanges with the British Film Institute, Cinémathèque Française, and the Deutsche Kinemathek.

The Registry’s listings span feature films, documentaries, experimental films, animation, newsreels, home movies, and shorts, including works associated with Walt Disney, Hayao Miyazaki, Winsor McCay, Pioneers of Sound and others. Categories implicitly reflect episodes in cultural history connected to events such as the World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Great Depression. Notable documentary inclusions feature filmmakers and subjects like Ken Burns, Frederick Wiseman, Rachel Carson, Dorothea Lange, and Amelia Earhart. Animation entries include innovations from studios like Fleischer Studios and creators such as Walter Lantz and Tex Avery. The Registry recognizes works tied to performers Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, and directors Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman whose distribution histories involve companies such as RKO Radio Pictures and 20th Century Studios.

Outreach programs collaborate with the Library of Congress Center for the Book, the National Film Preservation Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and public broadcasters like PBS and NPR. Educational initiatives partner with film schools including American Film Institute Conservatory and museums such as the Museum of Modern Art to create curricula, screenings, and symposiums featuring figures like Roger Ebert, Ava DuVernay, Spike Lee, Greta Gerwig, and Hayao Miyazaki. The Registry’s designations aid digitization projects with platforms like the Internet Archive (collaborations notwithstanding rights constraints), and facilitate exhibition at festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival. Public access is mediated by holdings at the Library of Congress Packard Campus, regional archives like the UCLA Film & Television Archive, and international partners including the British Film Institute and the Cinémathèque Française.

Category:United States film preservation