Movie News

'Goonies,' 'Die Hard' among 25 films added to National Film Registry

A scene from 1985's "The Goonies." (Warner Bros.)

The Library of Congress has added 25 new movies to its National Film Registry — an eclectic mix that spans 1905 to 2000 and includes “Dumbo” and “The Goonies.”



The 2017 selections, announced Wednesday, bring the number of films in the registry to 725. Each year, 25 new films that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant — and at least 10 years old — are added to the collection. This year, 5,200 titles were nominated by the public, but the selections were ultimately made by Library specialists and the National Film Preservation Board.
In keeping with Hollywood’s current obsession with superheroes, 1978’s “Superman” — which, like “The Goonies” was directed by Richard Donner — made the cut this year.

Among the more recently-produced films in the group are “Titanic,” James’ Cameron’s 1997 Oscar-winner about the doomed ship; Christopher Nolan’s “Memento,” the 2000 mind-bending film about memory; the much-imitated 1988 action breakout “Die Hard”; and “Field of Dreams,” the inspirational 1989 baseball tale starring Kevin Costner.

Likely less familiar to modern day film fans? “Interior New York Subway, 14th Street to 42nd Street” — a silent picture made in 1905 that documents the train system less than seven months after it launched.

The films included also highlight a range of ethnic diversity, including 1979’s “Boulevard Nights,” about gang life in Los Angeles, and Charles Burnett’s “To Sleep with Anger,” a 1990 picture starring Danny Glover as a drifter who finds purpose when he’s forced to lead a multigenerational black household.

The entire list follows below:

“Ace in the Hole” (aka “Big Carnival”) (1951)
“Boulevard Nights” (1979)
“Die Hard” (1988)
“Dumbo” (1941)
“Field of Dreams” (1989)
“4 Little Girls” (1997)
“Fuentes Family Home Movies Collection” (1920s-1930s)
“Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947)
“The Goonies” (1985)
“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967)
“He Who Gets Slapped” (1924)
“Interior New York Subway, 14th Street to 42nd Street” (1905)
“La Bamba” (1987)
“Lives of Performers” (1972)
“Memento” (2000)
“Only Angels Have Wings” (1939)
“The Sinking of the Lusitania” (1918)
“Spartacus” (1960)
“Superman” (1978)
“Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser” (1988)
“Time and Dreams” (1976)
“Titanic” (1997)
“To Sleep with Anger” (1990)
“Wanda” (1971)
“With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain” (1937-1938)