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Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Frederick Wiseman’s powerful documentary “Hospital,” added to the Library’s National Registry in 1994, is recalled here by film professor Barry Keith Grant. Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman has said that he is interested in how the institutions he films are “cultural spoors” that reflect the larger cultural hues,” and “Hospital,” his fourth documentary, is a perfect example …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Today, on the anniversary of his untimely passing (in 1926), author Donna Hill looks back at the legend of Rudolph Valentino and one of his most iconic role, that is “The Son of the Sheik,” which was added to the Library’s National Film Registry in 2003. If Metro’s “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” made …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
One of the cartoon world’s greatest and most timeless achievements, “Duck Amuck” (as well as “One Froggy Evening” and “What’s Opera, Doc?”) is recalled by Craig Kausen, grandson of the film’s animator Chuck Jones. “Duck” was added to the Library’s National Film Registry in 1999. When people ask what it was like growing up …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Forty-seven years ago today, President Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal. A story worth retelling and exploring, Hollywood of course took it on in 1976’s seminal journalism film, “All the President’s Men.” “Men” was added to the Library’s National Film Registry in 2010. Below, film reviewer Mike Canning looks …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry, Uncategorized
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
In this excerpt from the National Film Preservation Foundation’s “Treasures of the American Archives” DVD set, author Scott Simmon takes a look at the film “A Bronx Morning,” a “city symphony” of a film added to the Library’s National Film Registry in 2004. “A Bronx Morning” is a portrait of a place and time. It …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
In this excerpt from “Cinema Journal,” Marsha Gordon and Allyson Nadia Field access the 16mm short film, and Registry title, “Felicia.” “Felicia,” an approximately thirteen–minute documentary marketed as an educational film starting in the mid–1960s, is one of many thousands of nontheatrical films shot and distributed on 16mm during the greater part of the twentieth century …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
For the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, it is not just big studio blockbusters and learned documentaries that populate its esteemed list. Any type of film–as long as it has had a profound artistic or cultural or historical impact on the nation–is open to being added. A case in point: even a home movie. …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Not surprisingly, the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry is well populated with animated works. Along with such vintage Disney classics as “Snow White” and more recent Disney classics like “Beauty & the Beast,” the work of other legendary animators (working in both long and short forms) are recognized. Additionally, while many of the animated …
Posted in: Film Essay, National Film Registry, World War II
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
Featured Films include ‘The Princess Bride,’ ‘Shrek,’ ‘Toy Story,’ ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Jurassic Park’ from National Film Registry The Library of Congress will host its fourth annual “LOC Summer Movies on the Lawn” outdoor film festival this summer, starting on July 8. The series of five movies, which showcases iconic films from the …
Posted in: National Film Registry