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Pioneering woman director Lois Weber socially conscious drama 'Shoes' among Library of Congress' Packard Theater movies (photo: Mary MacLaren in 'Shoes') In February 2015, National Film Registry titles will be showcased at the Library of Congress' Packard Campus Theater – aka the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation – in Culpeper, Virginia. These range from pioneering woman director Lois Weber's socially conscious 1916 drama Shoes to Robert Zemeckis' 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future. Another Packard Theater highlight next month is Sam Peckinpah's ultra-violent Western The Wild Bunch (1969), starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine. Also, Howard Hawks' "anti-High Noon" Western Rio Bravo (1959), toplining John Wayne and Dean Martin. And George Cukor's costly remake of A Star Is Born (1954), featuring Academy Award nominees Judy Garland and James Mason in the old Janet Gaynor and Fredric March roles. There's more: Jeff Bridges delivers a colorful performance in...

Ah the National Film Registry inductees! One of the most important December cinematic traditions that I always forget about. I wish it were in March each year -- since it's not any kind of "year in..." since film works aren't eligible for induction until they're ten years old. Placed it March it would also serve as a nice salve to the sometimes wounding notion that the Oscars are the only barometer for American movies that are deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" I wish too that this annual honor were more practical (restoration, anyone?) and less symbolic in nature. 

The Twenty-five 2014 Inductees

Which have you seen and which will you be seeking out?(presented in chronological order)

Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day(1913)

The oldest surviving film featuring African-American actors. But no title cards, credits, or script has survived. 

Shoes (1916)

Directed by Lois Weber, a female film pioneer. This...

Every year, the National Film Registry within the Library of Congress selects 25 films worthy of preservation. The films must be at least 10 years old, and this year’s crop includes such films as Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, The Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski, the John Wayne vehicle Rio Bravo and the beloved children’s classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

The full list of films now includes 650 films, with the most recent now being from 2004, James Benning’s documentary 13 Lakes.

The full list of additions is below:

13 Lakes (2004) Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913) The Big Lebowski (1998) Down Argentine Way (1940) The Dragon Painter (1919) Felicia (1965) Saving Private Ryan (1998) Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) The Gang’s All Here (1943) House of Wax (1953) Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000) Little Big Man (1970) Luxo Jr. (1986) Moon Breath Beat (1980) Please Don’t Bury Me Alive! (1976) The Power and the Glory...

Every year since 1989, the National Film Registry has done its part to ensure the continued existence of the greatest and most important movies ever made. They do this by adding 25 titles at a time to the Library of Congress, where they are maintained and kept in the hopes of keeping them around forever. In the past we.ve seen them add titles like Pulp Fiction, The Matrix, and Silence of the Lambs, and today, the 2014 group of films has been announced. It.s a list with more than a few titles you.ll be happy to see, and you can check out the full list below: 13 Lakes (2004) Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913) The Big Lebowski (1998) Down Argentine Way (1940) The Dragon Painter (1919) Felicia (1965) Ferris Bueller.s Day Off (1986) The Gang.s All Here (1943) House of Wax (1953) Into The Arms Of Strangers: Stories Of The Kindertransport (2000) Little Big Man (1970) Luxo...

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has announced the twenty-five films that have been added to National Film Registry this year. Each of these titles are set to be preserved for all time as "cinematic treasures."

Amongst the highlights of this year's batch are the Coens' "The Big Lebowski," Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby," Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan," the original "House of Wax" and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," the John Wayne classic "Rio Bravo," and iconic 1980s comedy "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".

Every year, twenty-five films that are deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant have been added to the list. One condition - the films must be at least ten years old. This year's full list includes:

13 Lakes (2004)

Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Down Argentine Way (1940)

The Dragon Painter (1919)

Felicia (1965)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

The Gang's All Here (1943)

House of Wax (1953)

Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport...

Each year, the Library of Congress selects 25 films to be named to the National Film Registry, a proclamation of commitment to preserving the chosen pictures for all time. They can be big studio pictures or experimental short films, goofball comedies or poetic meditations on life. The National Film Registery "showcases the extraordinary diversity of America’s film heritage and the disparate strands making it so vibrant" and by preserving the films, the Library of Congress hopes to "a crucial element of American creativity, culture and history.” This year’s selections span the period 1913 to 2004 and include a number of films you’re familiar with. Unless you’ve never heard of "Saving Private Ryan," "The Big Lebowski," “Rosemary’s Baby” or "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Highlights from the list include the aforementioned film, Arthur Penn’s Western "Little Big Man," John Lasseter’s 1986 animated film, “Luxo Jr.," 1953’s “House of Wax,...

Spanning the years 1913-2004, the 25 films to be added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry for 2014 include Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man, John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski. The annual selection helps to ensure that the movies will be preserved for all time. This year’s list brings the number of films in the registry to 650.

Also on the list are John Lasseter’s 1986 animated film, Luxo Jr; the original Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder; and Howard Hawks’ classic 1959 Western Rio Bravo. Documentaries and silent films also make up part of the selection which represents titles that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant; they must also each be at least 10 years old. Check out the rundown of all 25 movies below:

2014 National Film Registry...

As we rush towards Christmas, the speed of news from Hollywood and beyond begins to slow. But there are some traditions that still happen around this time of year, and one of them is the list of films submitted for preservation by America’s National Film Registry. Amongst them this year? The Big Lebowski, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Rio Bravo.Steven Spielberg sees a fifth film – Saving Private Ryan – admitted this year, while horror thrillers House Of Wax and Rosemary’s Baby have both scared up a place in the Library of Congress.Also this year, Luxor Jr., which helped usher in Pixar, has made the cut, alongside 1917’s silent-era short Unmasked. Preston Sturges’ The Power And The Glory won a place with State Fair, Ruggles Of Red Gap, Down Argentine Way, 1919’s The Dragon Painter, Felicia from 1965, The Gang’s All Here (1943), the affective Into The Arms Of Strangers: Stories Of The Kindertransport...

By Michael Atkinson

One of 2007's breakout indie hits, "Lars and the Real Girl" was just high-profile enough, profitable enough, acted-by-Ryan-Gosling- within-an-inch-of-its-life enough and conspicuously life-affirming enough to, in the end, warrant a substantial backlash. But a backlash descends every year on overpumped movies as naturally as autumn comes to summer, inevitably, and we need to keep in mind that backlash is as irrelevant to the movie in question as is the hype and popularity that spawned it. In an ideal world, we'd see movies in a vacuum unpoisoned by publicity plague dogs and self-aggrandizing bloggers and clueless critics. Instead, we're inundated with cant that is predominantly interested in itself and its opponents, not in the movie as it would be seen, by itself, a year or ten down the road. We need to remember, for instance, that while "Juno" didn't deserve any sort of Oscar, and was...