Warner Bros. and © DC Comics(WASHINGTON DC) — As it does every year, the Library of Congress has chosen a selection of films for preservation in its National Film Registry. Among this year’s 25 entries are the Oscar-winning Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight, the beloved 1978 musical Grease, The Blues Brothers and A Clockwork Orange.
The films, which must be at least ten years old, are chosen for their “cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to the nation’s film heritage.”
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, which earned Heath Ledger a posthumous Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of The Joker, earned the most public votes of any of this year’s nominees. In a statement to the Library of Congress, Nolan said, “This is not only a great honor for all of us who worked on The Dark Knight, this is also a tribute to all of the amazing artists and writers who have worked on the great mythology of Batman over the decades.”
As always, this year’s entries to the National Film Registry not only includes big Hollywood films like Shrek, but also silent movies, like the 1913 film Suspense, as well as documentaries and short subject reels.
This year’s entrants include “a record number of films directed by women and filmmakers of color, including nine directed by women and seven by people of color,” according to the organization’s announcement. Among them: Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song, Wayne Wang’s The Joy Luck Club and Stanley Earl Nelson’s Freedom Riders.
There are now 1.3 million films preserved in the archive. Here is the full list of this year’s 25 newest arrivals, in order of release:
Suspense (1913)
Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)
Bread (1918)
The Battle of the Century (1927)
With Car and Camera Around the World (1929)
Cabin in the Sky (1943)
Outrage (1950)
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
Lilies of the Field (1963)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
Wattstax (1973)
Grease (1978)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Losing Ground (1982)
Illusions (1982)
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
The Ground (1993-2001)
Shrek (2001)
Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Freedom Riders (2010)
By Stephen Iervolino
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