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Intelligencer Journal (28/Dec/1995) - Hitchcock film among 25 honored by Library of Congress

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Hitchcock film among 25 honored by Library of Congress

Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" and George Lucas' "American Graffiti" were among 25 films honored Wednesday by the Library of Congress for their impact on American culture.

The movies were added to the National Film Registry, a list Congress created in 1988 to celebrate American cinema and call attention to the need to preserve the nation's film heritage.

Thousands of priceless older motion pictures remain on old film stock, which not only deteriorates rapidly, but is so flammable it can burst into flames spontaneously, library spokesman Craig D'Ooge said.

"Films are an endangered species," he said. "The Library of Congress is going to make a special effort to make sure that we have the best possible preservation copies of these films."

Librarian of Congress James Billington chose this year's titles after reviewing about 1,100 films nominated by the public. To be listed on the registry, an American film must be at least 10 years old.

"The films we chose are not necessarily the best American films ever made nor the most famous," Billington said. "But they are films that continue to have enduring cultural, historical or aesthetic significance.'

Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint starred in "North by Northwest," a 1959 movie about an advertising executive who is mistaken for a spy. "American Graffiti," released in 1973, was a tribute to the teen-agers of the 1960s starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Wolfman Jack and Harrison Ford.

Movies added to the 175-movie list in previous years include "The Birth of a Nation," 1915; "Casablanca," 1942; and the "Zapruder Film," the 1963 home movie of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy filmed by a bystander.

The remaining 23 movies added to the registry this year were "The Adventures of Robin Hood," 1938; "All That Heaven Allows," 1955; "The Band Wagon," 1953; "Blacksmith Scene," 1893; "Cabaret," 1972; "Chan Is Missing," 1982; "The Conversation," 1974; "The Day the Earth Stood Still," 1951; "El Norte," 1983; "Fatty's Tintype Tangle," 1915; "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," 1921; "Fury," 1936; "Gerald McBoing Boing," 1951; "The Hospital," 1971; "Jammin' the Blues," 1944; "The Last of the Mohicans," 1920; "Manhatta," 1921; "The Philadelphia Story," 1940; "Rip Van Winkle," 1896; "Seventh Heaven," 1927; "Stagecoach," 1939; "To Fly," 1976; and "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962

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