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Posted by: Neely Tucker
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” went without a song for years, from the tail end of the Depression through World War II and nearly until the midcentury before a musician named Johnny Marks began to consider it. Marks studied music in college in the 1920s, penned a good song or two for Guy Lombardo’s orchestra in …
Posted in: Christmas, Film, Kids, LCM, National Recording Registry, Performing Arts
Posted by: Maria Peña
In his epic “El Norte,” award-winning filmmaker Gregory Nava charted the tragic journey of siblings Enrique and Rosa from Guatemala to Los Angeles in pursuit of the American dream. The 1983 film was inducted into the Library's National Film Registry in 1995 and still resonate in this Hispanic Heritage Month, two decades into a new century. It's one of the highlights of the Library's work in preserving Latino films.
Posted in: Film, Hispanic American History, Hispanic and Latino, LCM, Library Work and Employees, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, National Film Registry, Performing Arts
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Gregory Lukow, chief of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, led the Library's efforts to construct the Center, teaming with the Packard Humanities Institute to make it one of the world's best film preservation facilities. He recently brought his 24-year career to a close. Here, he reflects on some major highlights.
Posted in: Audiovisual, Film, Gazette, Library Work and Employees, My Job, Preservation, Preservation and Conservation
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Oscar-winning songwriter and composer Richard Sherman, whose musical work with his brother was such an essential part of Walt Disney Studios that the company renamed their premier soundstage after them, passed away over the Memorial Day weekend. He was 95. Sherman was in good spirits in 2022 when "It's a Small World (After All)," their song for the Disney theme park ride of the same name, was inducted into the National Recording Registry. He spoke about their career of writing music and lyrics for hit Disney films such as "Mary Poppins," "The Jungle Book" and "Winnie the Pooh."
Posted in: Film, Music, National Recording Registry, Performing Arts
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Spike Lee's 2000 film "Bamboozled," a hard-edged satire of blackface in cinema and television, was part of the 2023 class of National Film Registry and his fifth film to join the list. In an interview with the Library, he explains how the film is an answer to D.W. Griffith's notorious "The Birth of a Nation" in 1915, which set into play more than a century of racist tropes in films.
Posted in: African American History, Film, National Film Preservation Board, National Film Registry, Performing Arts