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Posted by: Cary O’Dell
In 1992, among the films added to the National Film Registry was the unforgettable noir, “Detour.” Though made a staggering 73 years ago, when viewed today, “Detour” is as hard-hitting as it ever was. The story of one of the most brutal road trips ever depicted on film, “Detour” was the work of director Edgar …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
In 1991, the third year of the National Film Registry, the Registry welcomed that big ape known as “King Kong” to its list. Though the film has since been remade–three times and counting–to many fans, nothing has surpassed the original in terms of thrills, heart and humanity. Film historian and “Kong” devotee Michael Price said of …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
The Marx Brothers made their way onto the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry in 1990 with their hilarious 1933 film “Duck Soup,” a film many consider to be most emblematic of the famous comedy team. Film critic William Wolf once said of this particular mash-up of on-screen mayhem: “When Paramount released ‘Duck Soup’ in …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Begun in 1989, the Registry annually recognizes American-made films, encompassing all genres, which are of such aesthetic, historic or cultural importance to the United States that they are worthy of preservation by copyright holders or archives such as the …
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. Thursday, November 1 (7:30 p.m.) The Dawn Patrol (First National, 1930) Richard Barthelmess and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. co-star as two ace pilots in a Royal Flying Corps squadron dealing with the stress of combat in France during World War I. John Monk …
Posted in: Motion Pictures, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, National Film Registry, Packard Campus Theater, World War I
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
As Sally Field’s long-awaited memoir, In Pieces, arrives in bookstores, author Gabriel Miller looks back at her breakthrough film role, Martin Ritt’s Norma Rae, which was added to the National Film Registry in 2008. See the essay below: “Norma Rae“ (1978)
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. Thursday, October 25 (7:30 p.m.) Homicidal (Columbia, 1961) The horror films produced and directed by William Castle were often more famous for their promotional gimmicks than their effectiveness as movies. This one was typical of Castle’s carnival barker approach with its tagline …
Posted in: Motion Pictures, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, National Film Registry, Packard Campus Theater
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
With its much-anticipated sequel arriving in theaters October 18th, author Murray Leeder looks back at the original 1978 “Halloween”–added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry in 2006–and how it was a cut above so many other films of its time. See the essay below: https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-film-preservation-board/documents/halloween.pdf
Posted in: Film Essay, Motion Pictures, National Film Registry
Posted by: Cary O’Dell
The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson of the Packard Campus. Thursday, October 18 (7:30 p.m.) An Evening of Folk, Blues, Soul and Rock Highlights from ‘Soundstage (1974-1982) Soundstage is a live concert television series produced by WTTW Chicago and distributed by PBS. The original series aired between 1974 and 1985; it was …
Posted in: Motion Pictures, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, National Film Registry, Packard Campus Theater