Top of page
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
The countdown to the newest titles to be added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry continues. Those films will be disclosed on December 12th. Back in 2015, the Library named the film “Being There,” starring Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine to its Registry. “Being There” is beloved for many things, including Sellers’s quiet …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Next Wednesday, the Library announces its newest titles to the Registry. But, first, we look back at 2014…. In 2014, the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress added to its esteemed list the short documentary film, “Felicia,” about the life of a teenage girl, named Felicia Bragg, growing up in the Watts section of Los Angeles. …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
We are only days away from the announcement of the newest films to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. As we gear up, let’s look back. Who could ever forget the Disney’s magical story of a wide-eyed deer and its life in the woods? The beloved film “Bambi” was added to the Registry in …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
In 2009, the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry added the charming and innovative animated work “Little Nemo” to its list. Animated works–both long-form and short-form-are often added to the Registry. And no list that attempts to convey the depth and richness of animation can ignore the work of the great Winsor McCay. As Daniel Eagan wrote …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Joan Crawford, once the queen of the MGM lot, had one of her very best late-career roles in the film “Johnny Guitar” which was added to the National Registry in 2008. “Johnny” is a unique and one-of-a-kind Western which Michael Schlesinger attempts to get a handle on by saying: “There are very few films—especially from Hollywood studios—that …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
It was in 2007, that the sci-fi classic “Close Encounters” was added to the Library’s National Film Registry. Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr and Melinda Dillon starred in the film that forever put Devil’s Tower on the map and seemed to codify the popular depiction of space aliens. Writer Matt Zoller Seitz looked back at this landmark film …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
“Rear Window” is the classic film thriller of window-watching and murder; it was added to the Registry in 2005. Former Library of Congress Film Preservation Board member John Belton recapped the film by stating: “‘Rear Window’ tells the story of a globe-trotting photo-journalist who breaks his leg on a dangerous assignment and is confined to a wheelchair in …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
As we move closer to the announcement of the latest titles being added to the National Film Registry–that announcement will be made on December 11, 2018–we are taking a detailed look back at one film that was named to the Registry every year that the Registry has been in existence. This is from the list …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Before television came along, news reels were a vital way for Americans to be kept abreast of important news and events and, unlike radio, news reels could use the magic of film to illustrate their stories. One of the great purveyors of news reels was Fox Movietone. This Movietone installment, from 1928, was chosen for the …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry