Among the 25 films added to the National Film Registry yesterday are four featuring some of Hollywood's biggest stars, though it's unlikely that Charlton Heston, Rin Tin Tin, Elvis and Popeye would share equal billing anywhere else.
By choosing "Ben-Hur," "Clash of the Wolves," "Jailhouse Rock" and "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor," Librarian of Congress James Billington illustrated the long-term goal of the National Film Preservation Act to recognize "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant motion pictures.
Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock," added to the National Film Registry.
(AP)
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"We realized that a number of cultural icons hadn't been included," said Gregory Lupow, chief of the Library of Congress's motion picture, broadcast and recorded sound division. "It's the first time Elvis, Popeye and Andy Warhol have been selected. These are three of the American filmmaking icons of one kind or another . . . Rin Tin Tin was the biggest star of the 1930s. He saved Warner Brothers."
The selections, which bring the national registry to 400 titles, span the spectrum of film from cult classics such as "Enter the Dragon" to dramas including "Schindler's List." In between there is room for Julie Dash's "Daughters of the Dust" (the first feature-length film by an African American woman to receive a wide theatrical release), Warhol's "Empire" and "Duck and Cover," a landmark civil defense film seen by millions of schoolchildren in the 1950s.
"Our film heritage is America's living past," Billington said as he announced this year's selections. "It celebrates the creativity and inventiveness of diverse communities and our nation as a whole. By preserving American films, we safeguard a significant element of our cultural history."
"Enter the Dragon" turned Bruce Lee into a uniquely American kind of hero and launched a filmmaking revolution that carved out a new genre that now includes the Jackie Chan films and "Flying Daggers," said Steve Leggett, staff coordinator for the National Film Preservation Board.
"This whole Hong Kong thing really started with 'Enter the Dragon,' " Leggett said. "It was the first one for what's been a trend for the last three decades, and it's a pretty good film. Of course, he died before it was released."
The inductees were:
1. "Ben-Hur" (1959)
2. "The Blue Bird" (1918)
3. "A Bronx Morning" (1931)
4. "Clash of the Wolves" (1925)
5. "The Court Jester" (1956)
6. "D.O.A." (1950)
7. "Daughters of the Dust" (1991)
8. "Duck and Cover" (1951)
9. "Empire" (1964)
10. "Enter the Dragon" (1973)
11. "Eraserhead" (1978)
12. "Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers" (1980)
13. "Going My Way" (1944)
14. "Jailhouse Rock" (1957)
15. "Kannapolis, NC" (1941)
16. "Lady Helen's Escapade" (1909)
17. "The Nutty Professor" (1963)
18. "OffOn" (1968)
19. "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor" (1936)
20. "Pups Is Pups" ("Our Gang") (1930)
21. "Schindler's List" (1993)
22. "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954)
23. "Swing Time" (1936)
24. "There It Is" (1928)
25. "Unforgiven" (1992)
