A few nights ago, I caught the last portion of a PBS Independent Lens episode called These Amazing Shadows: The Movies That Make America. Alas, the entire episode is not yet available for viewing online, but when it is, I will post the link. The program "documents the passage of the National Film Preservation Act of 1988 and how this law set in motion a system to identify notable films. The Librarian of Congress, with input from the public and advice from the National Film Preservation Board, selects 25 films each year to add to the Registry. These Amazing Shadows goes behind the scenes to show the discussions, the debates, and the drama that surround this selection process.
" .... The current list of 550 films includes selections from every genre ~ documentaries, home movies, Hollywood classics, avant-garde, newsreels, and silent films. American movies tell us so much about ourselves ~ not just what we did, but what we thought, what we felt, what we imagine, what we aspired to ~ and the lies we told ourselves."
Here is a list of all 550 National Film Registry films in alphabetical order, and here is an interactive list which the user can alter by film title, year of release, or year of induction.
Are you a film buff? Would you like to test your knowledge of cinema? Here is a 50-question quiz ("extremely hard and incredibly obscure") which will challenge the most devoted movie geek. Don't be discouraged if your score is surprisingly low. Half the fun is going through the answers at the end, where all choices are listed, with your choice and the correct choice highlighted. Hopefully for you, they will coincide. The other half is making a list of films you want to see again, or for the first time. Enjoy!
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