Every year, the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry chooses 25 films of historical, cultural, or aesthetic significance to be marked for preservation. This year’s inductees date as far back as 1913, and include seven movies by filmmakers of color and nine directed by women, as well as a Stanley Kubrick classic, a landmark superhero film, and Shrek. Yes, it only took 800 movies to get to it, but the National Film Registry has finally deemed the 2001 fart-com Shrek worthy of saving for posterity. Standing beside the likes of Ida Lupino’s Outrage (1950), Sidney Poitier’s performance in Lilies of the Field (1963), Melvin Van Peebles’s Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), and Kathryn Bigelow’s Best Picture-winning The Hurt Locker (2008), is a kids movie where the villain’s name sounds like “fuck wad.â€
Other popular inductees include A Clockwork Orange (1971), Grease (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), The Joy Luck Club (1993), and The Dark Knight (2008). Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement, “With the inclusion of diverse filmmakers, we are not trying to set records but rather to set the record straight by spotlighting the astonishing contributions women and people of color have made to American cinema, despite facing often-overwhelming hurdles.†TCM will air a special showcasing this year’s inductees on Tuesday, December 15 at 8 p.m. ET. Below is the full list of 2020’s new entries into the National Film Registry:
Suspense (1913)
Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)
Bread (1918)
The Battle of the Century (1927)
With Car and Camera Around the World (1929)
Cabin in the Sky (1943)
Outrage (1950)
The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)
Lilies of the Field (1963)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
Wattstax (1973)
Grease (1978)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Losing Ground (1982)
Illusions (1982)
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
The Ground (1993-2001)
Shrek (2001)
Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Freedom Riders (2010)