https://www.npr.org/2026/01/29/nx-s1-5686770/national-film-registry-clueless-karate-kid
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Classic Film
sheetsadam1 — 2 months ago(January 29, 2026 08:10 PM)
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/29/nx-s1-5686770/national-film-registry-clueless-karate-kid
The Tramp and the Dog (1896, William Selig)
The Oath of the Sword (1914, Frank Shaw)
The Maid of McMillan (1916, student film)
The Lady (1925, Frank Borzage)
Sparrows (1926, William Beaudine)
Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926, Roy Calnek)
White Christmas (1954, Michael Curtiz)
High Society (1956, Charles Walters)
Brooklyn Bridge (1981, Ken Burns)
Say Amen, Somebody (1982, George Nierenberg)
The Thing (1982, John Carpenter)
The Big Chill (1983, Lawrence Kasdan)
The Karate Kid (1984, John G. Avildsen)
Glory (1989, Edward Zwick)
Philadelphia (1993, Jonathan Demme)
Before Sunrise (1995, Richard Linklater)
Clueless (1995, Amy Heckerling)
The Truman Show (1998, Peter Weir)
Frida (2002, Julie Taymor)
The Hours (2002, Stephen Daldry)
The Incredibles (2004, Brad Bird)
The Wrecking Crew (2008, Denny Tedesco)
Inception (2010, Christopher Nolan)
The Loving Story (2011, Nancy Buirski)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014, Wes Anderson)
I've seen 14 of these. No real issue with any of them being selected. But the two nearly three-decade gaps really stand out here. They seemed to want to get a bunch of big '80s and '90s movies at once rather than having a more balanced list.
"Praise be to Allah." - President Donald J. Trump, Easter Sunday 04/05/2026 -
sheetsadam1 — 2 months ago(January 29, 2026 08:22 PM)
But these additions just reiterate my point that this list is very skewed towards modern selections. Nothing at all from the '30s, '40s, '60s or '70s? That could be a first.
"Praise be to Allah." - President Donald J. Trump, Easter Sunday 04/05/2026 -
sheetsadam1 — 2 months ago(January 30, 2026 01:48 AM)
The '30s and '40s have for sure. The Mummy is a pretty big omission from the Universal horror era… there are still reboots happening today, so it was certainly "culturally significant." And Rope should probably be in.
The '60s was (potentially unpopular opinion) not the best era for American mainstream cinema until close to the end and most of the exceptions are already in the Registry. But there was a lot happening with studios like AIP that would inspire the next generation of filmmakers. I think House of Usher is only Roger Corman film currently listed in the Registry, although for my money he's the most influential American filmmaker of the latter half of the 20th century.
And the '70s is mostly cashed as well… My nominations are mostly of the "historically significant" variety: legendary entertainers on screen (Elvis on Tour, The Grateful Dead Movie, Heartworn Highways, Rock n Roll High School), early LGBT representation (The Boys in the Band), first adult animation (Fritz the Cat), and a black woman leading an action movie (Coffy).
"Praise be to Allah." - President Donald J. Trump, Easter Sunday 04/05/2026 -
sheetsadam1 — 2 months ago(January 30, 2026 12:53 AM)
And this means that I can now nominate films for this year!
https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/nominate/
To be eligible for the Registry, a film must be at least 10 years old and be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
My picks:
The Mummy (1932, Karl Freund)
The Black Cat (1934, Edgar G. Ulmer)
Mad Love (1935, Karl Freund)
Reefer Madness (1936, Louis J. Gasnier)
Body and Soul (1947, Robert Rossen)
Rope (1948, Alfred Hitchcock)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953, Howard Hawks)
The Sun Shines Bright (1953, John Ford)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, Jack Arnold)
Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954, Don Siegel)
The Seven Year Itch (1955, Billy Wilder)
The Killing (1956, Stanley Kubrick)
The Girl Can't Help It (1956, Frank Tashlin)
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960, Roger Corman)
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961, Roger Corman)
The Intruder (1962, Roger Corman)
Carnival of Souls (1962, Herk Harvey)
The Great Escape (1963, John Sturges)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963, Stanley Kramer)
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965, Russ Meyer)
The Wild Angels (1966, Roger Corman)
Spring Night, Summer Night (1967, Joseph L. Anderson)
Wait Until Dark (1967, Terence Young)
Targets (1968, Peter Bogdanovich)
Head (1968, Bob Rafelson)
The Boys in the Band (1970, William Friedkin)
Vanishing Point (1971, Richard C. Sarafian)
Fritz the Cat (1972, Ralph Bakshi)
Elvis on Tour (1972, Pierre Adidge and Robert Abel)
Coffy (1973, Jack Hill)
The Last Detail (1973, Hal Ashby)
Death Wish (1974, Michael Winner)
A Boy and His Dog (1975, L. Q. Jones)
Heartworn Highways (1976, James Szalapski)
The Grateful Dead Movie (1977, Jerry Garcia)
Dawn of the Dead (1978, George A. Romero)
Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979, Allan Arkush)
The Evil Dead (1981, Sam Raimi)
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983, Harold Ramis)
The Toxic Avenger (1984, Michael Herz & Lloyd Kaufmann)
Blue Velvet (1986, David Lynch)
Raising Arizona (1987, Joel & Ethan Coen)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II (1988, Penelope Spheeris)
Batman (1989, Tim Burton)
Reservoir Dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)
Scream (1996, Wes Craven)
Gummo (1997, Harmony Korine)
The Blair Witch Project (1999, Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez)
Grizzly Man (2005, Werner Herzog)
The Witch (2015, Robert Eggers)
"Praise be to Allah." - President Donald J. Trump, Easter Sunday 04/05/2026