Ever since its establishment in 1988, each year the National Film Preservation Board at the Library of Congress selects 25 American-made films to add to the National Film Registry. The group strives to pick "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films," in the hopes of recognizing not just award winners or box office champs, but a wide range of works that encompass American filmmaking. Inclusion on this list is huge, because every title is guaranteed to be preserved and made available to the public.
One of the most exciting elements of this process is that the public has input into which films are selected for the list. For a short period each year, film fans can send recommendations for up to 50 films via the Library of Congress website. If you want to have your say, the deadline for making suggestions is Friday, September 15.
Don't know what to recommend? The Board has you covered! Here is a list of significant films that have not yet made it to the registry. Many classic film fans have been stunned to see how many classics still haven't made the cut, but 25 films a year isn't much when you've got over one hundred years of film history to consider. As honored as the board members must be to participate in this process, it isn't easy.
To learn more about the selection process, I recommend watching the 2011 documentary These Amazing Shadows, which I reviewed here.
You can make nominations for the list here.
And if you need ideas, here's that list of films that have yet to make the list. UPDATE: A reader noted that one of my choices Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948) had been added to the registry in 1992, so keep in mind that this list isn't quite up-to-date!
The National Film Registry Class of 2017 will be announced in December.
Of course I couldn't resist making my own list, which I have shared below. Which films would you pick?
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906)
Kid Auto Races At Venice (1914)
Stella Maris (1918)
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920)
The Scarecrow (1920)
The Blot (1921)
Beyond the Rocks (1922)
Robin Hood (1922)
The Toll of the Sea (1922)
Why Worry? (1923)
He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
The Merry Widow (1925)
Moana (1926)
The Cat & The Canary (1927)
Our Dancing Daughters (1928)
Wedding March (1928)
The Letter (1929)
Whoopee! (1930)
Night Nurse (1931)
Possessed (1931)
Downstairs (1932)
Kongo (1932)
Shanghai Express (1932)
Red-Headed Woman (1932)
Bombshell (1933)
Employees Entrance (1933)
I'm No Angel (1933)
Queen Christina (1933)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Nothing Sacred (1937)
Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Love Affair (1939)
Rebecca (1940)
The Devil and Daniel Webster (1940)
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
Gaslight (1944)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
The Southerner (1945)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
The Lady From Shanghai (1948)
Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)
Harvey (1950)
Alice In Wonderland (1951)
Scaramouche (1952)
Pretty Poison (1968)
The Landlord (1970)
Claudine (1974)
Cooley High (1975)
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