The National Film Registry, the Library of Congress’ collection of films “showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation,” has released its annual list of new additions — 25 films ranging from early experimental shorts to iconic blockbusters.
The biggest title on the list is TNT mainstay and perennial IMDb Top 250 champ The Shawshank Redemption, Frank Darabont’s 1994 prison drama. Also included are two of the most successful movies of the 1980s, Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters (yaaaay) and Tony Scott’s Top Gun (boooo).
Other titles of note include Hal Ashby’s Being There (1979), Preston Sturges’ Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), Frank Borzage’s Humoresque (1920), Douglas Sirk’s Imitation of Life (1959), Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential (1997), Fred Niblo’s The Mark of Zorro (1920), King Vidor’s Our Daily Bread (1934), Shirley Clarke’s Portrait of Jason (1967), John Frankenheimer’s Seconds (1966), Su Friedrich’s Sink or Swim (1990), William Greaves’ Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968), and Anthony Mann’s Winchester ’73 (1950).
Oddities on the list include cartoons, Edison’s film of a sneeze (the earliest copyrighted film), educational shorts (including Disney’s The Story of Menstruation), and the Spanish language version of Universal’s Dracula, which many film lovers consider superior to the English language version the studio shot simultaneously, starring Bela Lugosi.
Check out the full list here.