New Selections for National Film Registry Include ‘Superman,’ ‘Titanic’ and ‘Spartacus’

Christopher Reeve, with Margot Kidder, in “Superman,” a new addition to the National Film Registry. Credit Warner Bros.

“Superman” will fly forever, “Titanic” will never be sunk, “Memento” won’t be forgotten and “The Goonies” will never say die: these are just some of the motion pictures that the Library of Congress has chosen for preservation in its National Film Registry.

As part of its annual tradition, the library plans to announce on Wednesday that it has selected 25 more movies in recognition of their cultural, historic and aesthetic importance. The list includes Richard Donner’s “Superman” (1978), starring Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, and James Cameron’s Oscar-winning blockbuster “Titanic” (1997). This year’s crop also includes Stanley Kubrick’s historical epic “Spartacus” (1960), starring Kirk Douglas as the title character; the Spike Lee documentary “4 Little Girls” (1997), about the 1963 firebombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.; and “Dumbo” (1941), the Walt Disney animated feature about the flying elephant.

The library said in a news release that it had chosen these films after conferring with members of the National Film Preservation Board and other experts, and considering some 5,200 nominations submitted by the public. Other films chosen this year include Billy Wilder’s “Ace in the Hole”(1951), also starring Mr. Douglas; “Die Hard” (1988), the Bruce Willis action thriller; Elia Kazan’s “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947), which starred Gregory Peck and won the Oscar for best picture; and “Field of Dreams”(1989), the baseball fantasy starring Kevin Costner.

Here is the complete list:

1. “Ace in the Hole” (1951)

2. “Boulevard Nights” (1979)

3. “Die Hard” (1988)

4. “Dumbo (1941)

5. “Field of Dreams” (1989)

6. “4 Little Girls” (1997)

7. Fuentes Family Home Movies Collection (1920s and ’30s)

8. “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947)

9. “The Goonies” (1985)

10. “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967)

11. “He Who Gets Slapped” (1924)

12. Interior New York Subway, 14th Street to 42nd Street (1905)

13. “La Bamba” (1987)

14. “Lives of Performers” (1972)

15. “Memento” (2000)

16. “Only Angels Have Wings” (1939)

17. “The Sinking of the Lusitania” (1918)

18. “Spartacus” (1960)

19. “Superman” (1978)

20. “Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser” (1988)

21. “Time and Dreams” (1976)

22. “Titanic” (1997)

23. “To Sleep With Anger” (1990)

24. “Wanda” (1971)

25. “With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain” (1937-38)

Source: New York Times

Source: Library of Congress