Return of the Jedi , Selena join Library of Congress for 'cultural, historic' significance
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Star Wars and star tributes are heading to the Library of Congress for preservation as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant works of art.
The Library of Congress's National Film Registry announced Tuesday a list of 25 films that will be preserved by the government, including George Lucas' sci-fi epic Star Wars Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, Jennifer Lopez's star-marking Selena Quintanilla biopic, and Peter Jackson's Oscar-nominated Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Sounder, the film that earned Cicely Tyson a Best Actress Oscar nomination in 1973, was also selected for preservation alongside Michael Schultz's Cooley High, a 1975 comedy about a group of Black seniors enjoying their final year of high school while living in Chicago's Cabrini Green neighborhood. John Waters' queer classic Pink Flamingos, starring drag legend Divine, made the cut this year as well.
Wes Craven's horror favorite A Nightmare on Elm Street was also selected, as was the black-and-white camp masterpiece What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. The most recent film to appear on the registry is the Disney/Pixar animated family classic WALL-E, which grossed $521 million at the global box office in 2008.
Everett (2) 'Return of the Jedi,' 'Selena' join the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Both Jedi and Rings joined the registry due to strong support from public votes online, while the rest were chosen by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden after she conferred with members of the National Film Preservation Board and other Library of Congress specialists. The total number of films in the registry now stands at 825.
Beginning Friday at 8 p.m. ET, TCM will air a selection of the films added to the National Film Registry this year. See the full list of movies joining the roster below.
Ringling Brothers Parade Film (1902)
Jubilo (1919)
The Flying Ace (1926)
Hellbound Train (1930)
Flowers and Trees (1932)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Evergreen (1965)
Requiem-29 (1970)
The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971)
Pink Flamingos (1972)
Sounder (1972)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
Cooley High (1975)
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)
Chicana (1979)
The Wobblies (1979)
Star Wars Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987)
The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Selena (1997)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
WALL-E (2008)
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