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National Film Registry adds Dirty Dancing, No Country for Old Men, The Social Network and more

The registry added 25 new films to the Library of Congress, bringing their total to 900

Kevin E G Perry
Los Angeles
Tuesday 17 December 2024 18:43 EST
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The Social Network - trailer

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The National Film Registry has added 25 new films to its archive at the Library of Congress, including Dirty Dancing, No Country for Old Men and The Social Network.

Since it was founded in 1988, the National Film Registry has been run by the United States National Film Preservation Board to collect films for preservation based on their historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions.

In total, there are now 900 feature films in the registry.

This year’s roster includes the influential indie horror The Texas Chainshaw Massacre, from 1974, and several hits from the 1980s, including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and the Eddie Murphy action comedy, Beverly Hills Cop.

Two very different movies starring Cheech Marin have also been added: the 1978 Cheech & Chong stoner comedy Up In Smoke and the 2001 family action movie Spy Kids.

The most recent movies added to the collection are the Coen Brothers’ adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country For Old Men and David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin’s film about the birth of Facebook, The Social Network.

‘Dirty Dancing’, ‘No Country For Old Men’ and ‘The Social Network’ have all been added to the National Film Registry
‘Dirty Dancing’, ‘No Country For Old Men’ and ‘The Social Network’ have all been added to the National Film Registry (Lionsgate/Paramount Pictures/Sony/Library of Congress via AP)

In a statement, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said: “Films reflect our nation’s history and culture and must be preserved in our national library for generations to come. We’re honored by the responsibility to add 25 diverse new films to the National Film Registry each year as we work to preserve our cultural heritage.

“This is a collective effort in the film community to preserve our cinematic heritage, and we are grateful to our partners, including the National Film Preservation Board.”

The films added to the National Film Registry this year are, in chronological order:

  • Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895)
  • KoKo’s Earth Control (1928)
  • Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
  • Pride of the Yankees (1942)
  • Invaders from Mars (1953)
  • The Miracle Worker (1962)
  • The Chelsea Girls (1966)
  • Ganja and Hess (1973)
  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
  • Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
  • Zora Lathan Student Films (1975-76)
  • Up in Smoke (1978)
  • Will (1981)
  • Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982)
  • Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
  • Dirty Dancing (1987)
  • Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)
  • Powwow Highway (1989)
  • My Own Private Idaho (1991)
  • American Me (1992)
  • Mi Familia (1995)
  • Compensation (1999)
  • Spy Kids (2001)
  • No Country for Old Men (2007)
  • The Social Network (2010)

Films that were inducted in the initial intake in 1989 included Casablanca, Citizen Kane and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

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