national film registry | Internet Archive Blogs

Each December, the United States National Film Preservation Board chooses up to 25 films they deem worthy of taking special action to preserve in the Library of Congress. It’s a new year, and that means 25 more films are welcomed in the vault of the National Film Registry.

I picture the registry as a gathering place of the great moving images throughout time. Here, company is shared between documentaries, Hollywood classics, family movies, news footage, and experimental films; the board clearly has an open mind when considering what should be preserved, and they are therefore responsible for creating a phenomenal resource of what they consider “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant film.”

Three of the 2008 picks can be viewed on the Archive as well as nearly 40 picks from years past. Take a look at what the filmphiles of the United States work to preserve.

2008 National Film Registry picks found on the Archive:

Foolish Wives (1921)

Disneyland Dream (1956)

One Week (1920)

1989-2007 National Film Registry picks found on the Archive:

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

The Battle of San Pietro (1945)

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

The Black Pirate (1926)

The Blood of Jesus (1941)

Broken Blossoms (1919)

The Cameraman (1928 )