The Library of Congress has unveiled its list of 25 films that have been chosen to be preserved in the National Film Registry this year.
In order to qualify, films must be at least 10 years old and “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.
The organization made the selections after conferring with the distinguished members of the National Film Preservation Board and a small group of Library specialists. Additionally, 6,865 titles nominated by the public were considered.
One of the most notable 2022 inductees is Marvel Studios’ 2008 film “Iron Man,” which kicked off the now popular Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“Iron Man was the very first film Marvel Studios independently produced. It was the first film that we had all of the creative control and oversight on and it was really make or break for the studio,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said a statement. “All of our favorite movies are the ones that we watch over and over again and that we grow up with. The notion that here we are, almost 15 years after the release of ‘Iron Man,’ and to have it join the Film Registry tells us it has stood the test of time and that it is still meaningful to audiences around the world.”
Other classic titles selected include Disney’s beloved “The Little Mermaid,” John Waters’ “Hairspray,” the unforgettable romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally,” Brian De Palma’s adaptation of “Carrie,” the 1950 film version of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” which made José Ferrer the first Hispanic actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor, and the “Blaxploitation” genre classic “SuperFly,” a searing commentary on the American dream in 1972.
Documentaries that made the registry this year include Frederick Wiseman’s 1967 film “Titicut Follies,” which explores the inside of Bridgewater State Prison for the Criminally Insane in Massachusetts to expose the abuse of patients. The film was banned from general release until 1991 when a judge ruled the film could be shown to the general public.
Also selected was the 1976 Oscar-nominated documentary “Union Maids,” which tells the story of three female union workers in the 1930s and their days of conflict and confrontation with American corporations. The film is directed by Julia Reichart, who won an Aacdemy Award in 2019 for “American Factory” and died on Dec. 1 due to terminal cancer.
Additionally, multiple films selected for this year’s list shined a light on the LGBTQ+ community, including Nikolai Ursin’s 1967 short film “Behind Every Good Man,” 1989’s “Tongues Untied,” a video essay by Marlon Riggs about Black men loving Black men, and Dee Rees’ 2011 film “Pariah,” which got picked up for national distribution at Sundance and is one of the few titles in the registry made by a Black Lesbian.
Below is the full 2022 list based on chronological order:
- Mardi Gras Carnival (1898)
- Cab Calloway Home Movies (1948-1951)
- Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
- Charade (1963)
- Scorpio Rising (1963)
- Behind Every Good Man (1967)
- Titicut Follies (1967)
- Mingus (1968)
- Manzanar (1971)
- Betty Tells Her Story (1972)
- Super Fly (1972)
- Attica (1974)
- Carrie (1976)
- Union Maids (1976)
- Word is Out: Stories of Our Lives (1977)
- Bush Mama (1979)
- The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
- Itam Hakim, Hopiit (1984)
- Hairspray (1988)
- The Little Mermaid (1989)
- Tongues Untied (1989)
- When Harry Met Sally (1989)
- House Party (1990)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Pariah (2011)
Nominations for the 2023 National Film Registry will be accepted here through Aug. 15.