Two historical epics recalling humanity's dark past, 1993's Schindler's List and 1959's Ben-Hur, are themselves being preserved in perpetuity--along with the King of Rock 'n' Roll, a spinach-happy sailor and one nutty professor.
The Library of Congress is out with its annual list of 25 cinematic classics selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry.
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said the works slated for preservation were chosen from nearly 1,000 titles nominated by the public. The final selection was done by the library's staff and advisers from the National Film Preservation Board. The registry's goal is to safeguard America's diverse film heritage for future generations.
Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning Holocaust tale about a German businessman who risks his life to save 1,100 Jews from Nazi death camps, brings to four the number of the filmmaker's works selected for preservation, joining E.T. The Extra--Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jaws.
As for Ben-Hur, this is the second version to make the list--the 1926 silent film was previously enshrined. The 1959 remake was directed by William Wyler and starred Charlton Heston as the Jewish prince bent on revenge against his Roman friend. It's widely regarded as one of the greatest historical films ever made--winning a record 11 Oscars, including Best Picture--and it easily has the best chariot races ever committed to celluloid.
Other notable movies making the cut: Clint Eastwood Oscar-winning western Unforgiven (1992); David Lynch's surrealist nightmare Eraserhead (1978); the Elvis Presley romp Jailhouse Rock (1957); the original The Nutty Professor (1963), considered Jerry Lewis's finest comedy; one of Hollywood's greatest films noir, D.O.A. (1950); and Bruce Lee's martial-arts masterpiece, Enter the Dragon (1973). A trio of classic musicals are getting enshrined, too: the 1936 Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire tuner Swing Time; 1944's Going My Way starring Bing Crosby in his Oscar-winning role; and Stanley Donen's 1954 romantic musical-comedy Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The classic cartoon Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor (1936)--considered the best of the Popeye series and a groundbreaking piece of animation--also made the 2004 registry.
The registry's picks aren't based on box-office receipts or Oscar wins. "Each year we try to pick films which we think are equally important, whether narrative films or documentaries, and have cultural, historical or aesthetic significance," says Steve Leggett, staff coordinator of the National Film Preservation Board.
Case in point: 1991's Daughters of the Dust, Julie Dash's poetic tale about three generations of African-Americans who meet on the Gullah South Carolina Sea Island in 1902. It was the first feature directed by an African-American woman to receive a wide theatrical release.
Then there's the little-known 1928 surrealist short There It Is by Charley Bowers, which mixes stop-motion animation with live action to create a "Scotland Yard investigates Haunted House" spoof.
"There It Is was pretty rare at the time," explains Leggett. "You get all these little quirky characters popping in and out. It's a little bit Salvador Dalí meets Sherlock Holmes."
Avant-garde filmmaker Scott Bartlett's 1968 abstract film OffOn was recognized for being the first work to successfully combine video with film using superimposed imagery, optical printing, color saturation and hand-dying the film strip.
And for art's sake, the board opted to preserve Andy Warhol's Empire. The 1964 film sparked controversy when it was released, mainly because it's a grueling eight-hour stationary camera one-shot take of the Empire State Building.
"The Andy Warhol film is one of those films that people either love or despise," says Leggett. "It's kind of an experiment, but he's obviously a very important figure in America's cultural history, and it was a sensation when it came out."
The other films named to the registry were: silent short Lady Helen's Escapade (1909), starring Florence Lawrence, called the "Biograph Girl," and regarded as the first true star of American cinema; silent fantasy The Blue Bird (1918); the Our Gang comedy short Pups is Pups (1930); avant-garde documentary A Bronx Morning (1931); Clash of the Wolves (1925), which features German Shepherd dog Rin Tin Tin foiling a group of crooks and, legend has it, saving Warner Bros. from bankruptcy; town portrait Kannapolis, N.C. (1941); Duck and Cover (1951), a landmark civil-defense film shown to millions of schoolchildren during the Cold War; The Court Jester (1956), an adventure parody starring Danny Kaye; and Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers, a film often screened in "aromaRound" with a pot of garlic boiling at the back of the theater.
This year's inductees bring to 400 the total number of films in the registry since it was established by Congress in the 1988 National Film Preservation Act.