Library of Congress Names 25 Films to the National Film Registry; Selections Include “Clueless”, “The Karate Kid”, “Philadelphia”, and “Brooklyn Bridge”

From the Library of Congress:

The Library of Congress has selected 25 films for the National Film Registry due to their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage, the Library announced today.

The selections for 2025 date back to the silent film era with six silent films dating from 1896 to 1926 – a significant number of films in this class. The newest film added to the registry is from 2014 with filmmaker Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which included meticulous historical research at the Library of Congress to create visually striking scenery.

Iconic Hollywood films from the last 50 years selected for the registry this year include “The Karate Kid,” “Glory,” “Philadelphia,” “Inception,” and the teen comedy “Clueless.” Classic Hollywood selections include the 1954 musical “White Christmas” that enshrined the chart-topping song of the same name in American popular culture, and perhaps the last great musical of the Golden Age of Hollywood, “High Society” from 1956 featuring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Grace Kelly in her last movie.

Four documentaries were selected for the registry this year, including Ken Burns’ “Brooklyn Bridge,” Nancy Buirski’s “The Loving Story,” George Nierenberg’s “Say Amen, Somebody” and Danny Tedesco’s “The Wrecking Crew.”

“When we preserve films, we preserve American culture for generations to come. These selections for the National Film Registry show us that films are instrumental in capturing important parts of our nation’s story,” said Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen. “We are proud to continue this important work, adding a broad range of 25 films to the National Film Registry as a collective effort in the film community to protect our cinematic heritage.”

The selections for 2025 bring the number of titles in the registry to 925. Some of the film titles are among the 2 million moving image collection items held in the Library of Congress. Others are preserved in coordination with copyright holders or other film archives.

Looking back on “The Karate Kid,” actor Ralph Macchio said the characters were key to cementing the film in pop culture history.

“The magic of Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi and me as the Daniel LaRusso character, that sort of give and take, that instant soulful magic was happening from our first meeting, Macchio told the Library of Congress. “Those scenes in Miyagi’s yard, the chores, the waxing on of the car, the painting the fences, the sanding the floor, all of that is now a part of cinematic pop culture. For me, the heart and soul of the film is in those two characters.”

Writer and director Amy Heckerling recalled how she made the 1995 teen comedy and satire “Clueless,” which has been called a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic novel “Emma.”

“I’m often asked, how did I decide to make ‘Emma’ into an updated film, which is kind of backwards because what I wanted was to write the kind of characters that really amused me, people that were very comfortable, ardent and optimistic. I would get up, read the news and then just want to cry and be depressed. So, I thought, what if you really were always positive? How would that be? And what if you were doing things and you just knew that you were right?” Heckerling told the Library of Congress. “I remembered reading ‘Emma’ when I was in college, so I re-read it. It was like Jane Austen was pulling up from the grave and saying I already got it!”

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host a television special Thursday, March 19, starting at 8 p.m. ET to screen a selection of films named to the registry this year. TCM host and film historian Jacqueline Stewart, who is chair of the National Film Preservation Board, will introduce the films.

Stewart leads the board in studying and recommending films across a wide variety of genres and eras for the Librarian of Congress to consider for the registry.

“It is very meaningful that the National Film Registry is adding six silent film titles, showing the range of topics and styles in the earliest years of American filmmaking,” Stewart said. “And it is especially exciting to see that the top title nominated by the public for this year, ‘The Thing,’ has been added to the National Film Registry, along with ‘The Truman Show’ and ‘The Incredibles’ which also had very strong public support.”

Films Selected for the 2025 National Film Registry
(chronological order)

• The Tramp and the Dog (1896)
• The Oath of the Sword (1914)
• The Maid of McMillan (1916)
• The Lady (1925)
• Sparrows (1926)
• Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926)
• White Christmas (1954)
• High Society (1956)
• Brooklyn Bridge (1981)
• Say Amen, Somebody (1982)
• The Thing (1982)
• The Big Chill (1983)
• The Karate Kid (1984)
• Glory (1989)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• Before Sunrise (1995)
• Clueless (1995)
• The Truman Show (1998)
• Frida (2002)
• The Hours (2002)
• The Incredibles (2004)
• The Wrecking Crew (2008)
• Inception (2010)
• The Loving Story (2011)
• The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Direct to Complete Release (Includes Summaries of All Selections)

Direct to Complete National Film Registry List (List)

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