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Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Quick: what do the movies “Mary Poppins” and “Pulp Fiction” have in common? Well, yes, they’re both motion pictures. But now, both are listed on the Library of Congress National Film Registry, a collection of films – 25 are added each year – deemed worthy of preservation due to their cultural, historic or aesthetic significance. …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Education, Film, LC Web site, Music, Photos, Preservation, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
Picture this: The battle of good versus evil set against the backdrop of early 19th century America, where the coming together of two young lovers is threatened by the mistaken belief of an inheritable disease that would afflict their future children. Charlatans who promise quack cures in place of scientific medicine are pitted against the …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Education, Film, News, Science
Posted by: Erin Allen
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” – Thomas Edison In August 1795, John Fitch not only demonstrated the first successful steamboat but was also granted a United States patent for his invention. A century later, on Aug. 12, 1877, Thomas Alva Edison is believed to have completed the model for …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Events, Film, History, Manuscripts, Technology, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
You know the old saying, “they don’t make them like they used to” – which is perhaps why I’ve always been a fan of classic movies. I’m more prone to get excited about one of them on the television than brand-new ones at the movie theater. The passing of a beloved actress, who I grew …
Posted in: Events, Film, Uncategorized
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
It’s the year 1933. There’s a 13-year-old kid in the front row at the movie palace. He’s watching “King Kong,” completely transfixed. And there, in the flickering light of the screen, in the roar of the soundtrack, a famous career is born – as a youngster named Ray, already obsessed with dinosaurs, tells himself “Wow. …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Blogging, Film, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post from Mike Mashon, head of the Moving Image Section in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division.) One of the great joys of working with the Library of Congress film and video collections is learning more about our holdings from the astonishing variety of researchers the Moving Image …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Film, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
The other day at roller derby practice, the subject of women and baseball came up. Okay, to be fair, my teammates may have just been quoting lines from the movie “A League of Their Own,” which was recently inducted into the Library of Congress National Film Registry. But, nonetheless, with baseball season upon us, it’s …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Film, History, LC Web site, Women's History
Posted by: Erin Allen
The following is an article written by Christel Schmidt of the Library’s Publishing Office, who has edited a book on Mary Pickford, for the March-April 2013 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine. It has been 100 years since Mary Pickford was first dubbed the Queen of the Movies. At the time, the phrase simply …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Film
Posted by: Erin Allen
With the whirlwind of the holiday season come to a close, let’s take a look back at some of the headlines the Library made in November and December. One of our big announcements was the opening of the Library exhibition “The Civil War in America” on Nov. 12. The Washington Post chose to highlight a …
Posted in: Civil War, Exhibitions, Film, LC Web site, Music, News, Newspapers