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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
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
From the list of the LC’s 2002 Registry selection comes this feature-length look at one of the (literally) biggest breakthroughs in film technology–Cinerama. Cinerama is one of the many audience pleasing, technological advancements in the movie-going experience that is recognized via the Registry. (Another is the 1953 film “House of Wax,” the first feature to …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
In the short film, “Jam Session,” Duke Ellington and his band perform “C Jam Blues.” “Jam Session” is a “soundie,” the music videos of their day. These short musical films were produced largely between 1940 and 1946 for showing in Panorams, coin-operated film jukeboxes that were placed in nightclubs, bars, lounges and restaurants. As Mark Cantor …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
In 2000, the National Film Registry recognized the timeless original “Dracula” starring the one and only Bela Lugosi. This haunting tale, based on the novel by Bram Stoker, has never been far from the screen. Gary Rhodes said of the un-killable Count: “Few characters in the history of literature and film have proven as deathless …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
A new list of 25 film titles for the National Registry is going to be announced on December 12, 2018. As we get closer to that date, we look back at some films added in previous years. In 1999, Spike Lee’s powerful “Do the Right Thing” made the list with this, his still highly timely film. In an …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry