Seeing Darth Vader, a disco king and a little girl with a knack for turning her head 360 degrees all hanging out together in the same place would be a strange sight indeed. Unless, of course, you're talking about the Library of Congress, which has chosen these folks' respective movies to be among the 25 motion pictures to be added to the National Film Registry this year.
The Empire Strikes Back, Saturday Night Fever and The Exorcist, along with such flicks as Airplane!, All the President's Men, The Pink Panther and a student film by George Lucas—Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB—will join the other 550 "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" titles previously selected for preservation since the NFR was created in 1989.
Here are this year's selections:
• Airplane! (1980)
• All the President's Men (1976)
• The Bargain (1914)
• Cry of Jazz (1959)
• Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967)
• The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• The Front Page (1931)
• Grey Gardens (1976)
• I Am Joaquin (1969)
• It's a Gift (1934)
• Let There Be Light (1946)
• Lonesome (1928)
• Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
• Malcolm X (1992)
• McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
• Newark Athlete (1891)
• Our Lady of the Sphere (1969)
• The Pink Panther (1964)
• Preservation of the Sign Language (1913)
• Saturday Night Fever (1977)
• Study of a River (1996)
• Tarantella (1940)
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
• A Trip Down Market Street (1906)
Sadly, Irvin Kershner and Blake Edwards, who directed The Empire Strikes Back and The Pink Panther respectively, both passed away recently. (Not to mention Airplane! star Leslie Nielsen.) But it's certainly nice to know their work is being protected for future generations to enjoy.