Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today the annual selection of 25 films to the Library of Congress National Film Registry. Films are selected based on their cultural, historic and/or aesthetic importance, must be at least 10 years old, and extant. This year’s selections bring the number of films in the registry to 900, and many are among the over 2 million films in the Library’s collections. Others are preserved by the copyright holders or other film archives.
“…We’re honored by the responsibility to add 25 diverse new films to the National Film Registry each year as we work to preserve our cultural heritage,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “This is a collective effort in the film community to preserve our cinematic heritage, and we are grateful to our partners, including the National Film Preservation Board.”
This year’s selections showcase a diverse collection of films dating back nearly 130 years, including a silent film created at the dawn of cinema in 1895 to the newest selected film from 2010, a drama about social media.
Films Selected for the 2024 National Film Registry, in chronological order:
• Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895)
• Koko’s Earth Control (1928)
• Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
• The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
• Invaders from Mars (1953)
• The Miracle Worker (1962)
• The Chelsea Girls (1966)
• Ganja and Hess (1973)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
• Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
• Zora Lathan Student Films (1975-76)
• Up in Smoke (1978)
• Will (1981)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
• Dirty Dancing (1987)
• Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)
• Pow Wow Highway (1989)
• My Own Private Idaho (1991)
• American Me (1992)
• Mi Familia/My Family (1995)
• Compensation (1999)
• Spy Kids (2001)
• No Country for Old Men (2007)
• The Social Network (2010)
You can read more about these films in the official announcement, and the Library of Congress will be sharing visuals and details on Instagram, X, and Facebook throughout the day @librarycongress and #NatFilmRegistry.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will screen films from the 2024 National Film Registry on Wednesday, December 18, starting at 8 p.m. (Eastern Time). Dr. Hayden will join TCM host and National Film Preservation Board chair Jacqueline Stewart to discuss the films.
The Librarian’s selections include recommendations from the National Film Preservation Board and nominations from the public. This year over 6,700 films were suggested for consideration. To nominate for the 2025 Registry, visit www.loc.gov/film.
What are your favorite films in this year’s selection? Be sure to share a memory in the comments below.
Comments (4)
It’s DISGUSTING that you continue to NOT select any silent feature films! Whatever process you use to select these films … it ain’t workin’. Your agendas are way too obvious.
How about adding ‘The Great Caruso”(Mario Lanza), “A Letter To Three Wives”, “The Long, Long Trailer”, “Bataan”, ” The Pride of The Marines”, “One Million Years, BC”(Victor Mature) , Laurel &Hardy, Abbott & Costello movies, “A Night At The Opera” to the film registry ?
You did not pick Fritz the Cat, even though Fritz was the first animated cartoon aimed exclusively to adults.
I really Hope tangerine will get in , it is considered one of first feature movies to cast trans actors as trans characters and one of first features that has a trans latina as a main role plus it is considered as one of first features to use iphone for filming , it is also a very important movie and explore the subculture of los Angeles and some of communities rarely seen like armenians and sex workers