Photo by Roland Neveu/LightRocket via Getty Images(WASHINGTON D.C.) — Writer/director Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War drama Platoon, Prince’s Purple Rain, Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It and Disney’s Cinderella are among the 25 films just added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.
As always, the additions represent a diverse collection. Also on the list of films added to the registry are the Academy Award-winning music-themed films Amadeus and Coal Miner’s Daughter, as well as director Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz. Prince’s 1984 film Purple Rain joins the movie’s soundtrack in the Library of Congress, the latter added to the National Recording Registry in 2012.
“The National Film Registry has become an important record of American history, culture and creativity,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “[W]we are ensuring that the nation’s cinematic history will be around for generations to come.”
Diversity, including attention to LGBTQ themes were paramount this year, with inductees including Boys Don’t Cry, in which Hilary Swank played a trans person who was murdered over her identity, and the gay rights documentary Beyond Stonewall.
“With this year’s National Film Registry selections, Dr. Hayden recognizes the importance of amplifying cinematic voices and stories that have been marginalized for far too long,” said Jacqueline Stewart, chair of the National Film Preservation Board’s task force on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Other noteworthy additions: Kevin Smith’s potty-mouthed slacker working comedy Clerks; the documentary I Am Somebody, about striking African-American hospital workers in Charleston, SC; and the 1903 short silent film Emigrants Landing at Ellis Island, the oldest addition this year to the Registry.
Here’s the 2019 class in alphabetical order:
Amadeus (1984)Becky Sharp (1935)Before Stonewall (1984)Body and Soul (1925)Boys Don’t Cry (1999)Clerks (1994)Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)Emigrants Landing at Ellis Island (1903)Employees Entrance (1933)Fog of War (2003)Gaslight (1944)George Washington Carver at Tuskegee Institute (1937)Girlfriends (1978)I Am Somebody (1970)Last Waltz, The (1978)My Name Is Oona (1969)A New Leaf (1971)Old Yeller (1957)The Phenix City Story (1955)Platoon (1986)Purple Rain (1984)Real Women Have Curves (2002)She’s Gotta Have It (1986)Sleeping Beauty (1959)Zoot Suit (1981)
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