National Film Registry Now Features 700 Cinematic Works

Established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, the National Film Preservation Board is an advisory body for the Librarian of Congress. The Board helps shape national film preservation planning policy, and also recommends films for the National Film Registry.

Chosen for their cultural, historic, or aesthetic significance, the Board's 25 annual selections for 2016 cover a wide gamut of genres and time periods, from such early films as Life of an American Fireman and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to such later works as Thelma & Louise and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The full list for 2016 is as follows:

1990s

Rushmore (1998)
The Lion King (1994)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Paris Is Burning (1990)

1980s

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

The Princess Bride (1987)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Atomic Cafe (1982) 

Suzanne, Suzanne (1982)

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

1960s
Putney Swope (1969)

Funny Girl (1968)

Point Blank (1967)

The Birds (1963)

1950s

East of Eden (1955)

The Blackboard Jungle (1955)

1940s
A Walk in the Sun (1945)

Ball of Fire (1941)

1930s

Lost Horizon (1937) 

1920s
The Beau Brummels (1928) 

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
Solomon's Sir Jones films (1924-28)

1910s
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
The Muskateers of Pig Alley (1912)

1900s
Life of an American Fireman (1903)

Further information on the Registry as well as the films themselves can be found on the Library of Congress' web site. All 700 films selected for the Registry since 1989 can also be browsed online. In addition, the public is encouraged to make nominations for next year's selections to the National Film Registry.