‘The Breakfast Club,’ ‘Thelma & Louise,’ more added to Library of Congress’ National Film Registry
"The Breakfast Club," starred Ally Sheedy, left, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez and Molly Ringwald. The John Hughes film is now in the National Film Registry. Credit: Universal / Everett Collection
A John Hughes seriocomedy of kids in detention, a Shakespearean animated jungle tale, a story of two feminist outlaws and signature performances by stars from Buster Keaton to Barbra Streisand are among the honorees inducted Wednesday into the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.
“Motion pictures document our history and culture and serve as a mirror of our collective experiences,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in announcing the annual selection of 25 films recognized for their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance.
British filmmaker Ridley Scott, 79, whose “Blade Runner” is now joined by his “Thelma & Louise” (1991), said in a statement he was “very honoured and proud to be acknowledged by the Library of Congress. ‘Blade Runner’ will now have two great ladies to keep him company.”
Spanning the years 1903 to 1998, the selection includes such dramas as “Blackboard Jungle” (1955), “East of Eden” (1955), “Lost Horizon” (1937), and the animated “The Lion King” (1994), as well as “The Musketeers of Pig Alley” (1912), considered the first gangster film, and the original “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” a 1916 silent touted as “the first submarine photoplay.” In addition are Hitchcock’s horror film “The Birds” (1963), the crime thriller “Point Blank” (1967) and the war drama “A Walk in the Sun” (1945).
Among comedies are the screwball romance “Ball of Fire” (1941), the fractured fairy tale “The Princess Bride” (1987), the satire “Putney Swope” (1969) and the live-action-animated “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988), as well as the comedy-dramas “The Breakfast Club” (1985) and “Rushmore” (1998) and the Streisand musical “Funny Girl” (1968). Keaton’s “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” (1928) features the silent comic’s most famous and daring stunt.
Documentaries include “The Atomic Café” (1982), “Paris Is Burning” (1990), “Suzanne, Suzanne” (1982) and Penelope Spheeris’ “The Decline of Western Civilization” (1981), about Los Angeles’ punk scene. When screened in 1980, the film “was perceived as shocking and criticized for glorifying the rebellious youth of the time,” Spheeris, who is in her early 70s, said in a statement. “To now have this accolade of the work, and the brilliant, innovative artists that are part of it, is deeply gratifying.”
With these latest inductees, the registry includes 700 films.
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