The Library of Congress has unveiled its annual list of 25 movies to make the cut for the National Film Registry. The selection, considered among America’s most influential motion pictures, features titles ranging from an 1898 documentary of the Mardi Gras Carnival parade in New Orleans to the 1950 Cyrano de Bergerac — which made José Ferrer the first Hispanic actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor — and more recent classics like Super Fly (1972), Carrie (1976), Hairspray (1988), The Little Mermaid (1989), When Harry Met Sally (1989), House Party (1990) and Iron Man (2008). Scroll down for the full list.
Selected for their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage, the latest group includes a diversity of American filmmakers, as well as landmark works in key genres. There are at least 15 films directed or co-directed by filmmakers of color, women or LGBTQ+ helmers. The selections bring the number of films in the registry to 850.
In 2008, the Jon Favreau-directed Iron Man launched Marvel Studios as a daily presence in American pop culture. Said Marvel President Kevin Feige, “Iron Man was the very first film Marvel Studios independently produced. It was the first film that we had all of the creative control and oversight on and it was really make or break for the studio… The notion that here we are, almost 15 years after the release of Iron Man, and to have it join the Film Registry tells us it has stood the test of time and that it is still meaningful to audiences around the world.”
Of Rob Reiner’s classic 1989 romcom When Harry Met Sally, star Billy Crystal said, “The movie is beautiful and simple and appropriate and every shot is just right. The timing, which is in the hands of Rob, who is, for this movie, a modern-day Billy Wilder… and it’s New York, it’s the fall, it’s the music.”
House Party joins the registry as a 1990 comedy landmark, as it put Black teenagers, hip-hop music and New Jack swing culture directly into the American cultural mainstream and spawned the career of writer/director Reginald Hudlin who said, “The day we shot the big dance number in House Party is easily one of the best days of my life.”
Writer/director Dee Rees’ award-winning 2011 Pariah about a teenage Black girl in Brooklyn coming to terms with her identity also made the cut. Said Rees, “Here’s, you know, an idea of a life, an idea of a character, who can outlive us all, hopefully.”
Commented Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, “Films have become absolutely central to American culture by helping tell our national story for more than 125 years. We are proud to add 25 more films by a group of vibrant and diverse filmmakers to the National Film Registry as we preserve our cinematic heritage. We’re grateful to the entire film community for collaborating with the Library of Congress to ensure these films are preserved for the future.”
Turner Classic Movies will host a TV special on December 27 to screen a selection of motion pictures named to the registry this year.
Here’s the full list in chronological order
Mardi Gras Carnival (1898)
Cab Calloway Home Movies (1948-1951)
Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
Charade (1963)
Scorpio Rising (1963)
Behind Every Good Man (1967)
Titicut Follies (1967)
Mingus (1968)
Manzanar (1971)
Betty Tells Her Story (1972)
Super Fly (1972)
Attica (1974)
Carrie (1976)
Union Maids (1976)
Word is Out: Stories of Our Lives (1977)
Bush Mama (1979)
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
Itam Hakim, Hopiit (1984)
Hairspray (1988)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Tongues Untied (1989)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
House Party (1990)
Iron Man (2008)
Pariah (2011) (Deadline)