“The Incredible Shrinking Man,” Bette Davis “Jezebel” and Sidney Sidney Lumet’s “Dog Day Afternoon” are among the latest list of 25 films the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry intends to preserve.
The list was announced Wednesday in Washington.
While 23 of the films are conventional films, one is Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video and another is “Hot Dogs for Gaughin,” a student film at New York University and starring Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman and directed by Martin Brest.
Each year the National Film Registry picks 25 films as “cultural, artistic or historic treasures” and takes steps to preserve them itself or work with others to preserve them.
The latest 25 brings the registry to 525 films.
Here'
s the list of the 25 films selected and the reason given by the Library of Congress for each film’s choice.
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Director Sidney Lumet balances suspense, violence and humor in Frank Pierson’s Oscar-winning adaptation of a true-life bank robbery turned media circus. Al Pacino is the engaging Sonny, a smart yet self-destructive Brooklyn tough guy whose plan to rob the local bank to pay for his lover’s sex change goes awry. Lumet artfully conducts his talented cast through machinations that twist and turn from the political to the personal, and inevitably lead to a downward spiral played out before an audience of millions.
The Exiles (1961)
Released nearly 48 years ago, "The Exiles" remains one of the few non-stereotypical films that honestly depict Native Americans. With the perspective of a true outsider, filmmaker Kent MacKenzie captures the raw essence of a group of 20-something Native Americans who left reservation life in the 1950s to live among the decayed Victorian mansions of Los Angeles’ Bunker Hill district. MacKenzie’s day-in-the-life narrative pieces together interviews that allow the people in his film to tell their own stories without ascribing artificial sentimentality.
Heroes All (1920)
The Red Cross Bureau of Pictures produced more than 100 films, including "Heroes All," from 1917-1921, which are invaluable historical and visual records of the era with footage from World War I and its aftermath. "Heroes All" examines returning wounded WWI veterans and their treatment at Walter Reed Hospital, along with visits to iconic Washington, D.C., landmarks. Several Red Cross cinematographers achieved notable film careers, including Ernest Schoedsack and A. Farciot Edouart.
Hot Dogs for Gauguin (1972)
This hilarious New York University student film (with a cast including Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman in her film debut) was written and directed by Martin Brest who later went on to direct "Beverly Hills Cop," "Scent of a Woman" and "Meet Joe Black." In the film, DeVito plays a down-on-his-luck photographer determined to capture visual magic and fame. He concocts an intricate plot to blow up the Statue of Liberty and sets his camera to record the exact moment of its destruction.
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
This sci-fi classic about a man who starts to shrink after being exposed to a strange cloud while on vacation is notable for its intelligent script and imaginative special effects.
