“Home Alone” enters the United States Library of Congress

Some of the highest-grossing films in history, such as ‘Home Alone’‘Apollo 13’ and ‘Terminator 2’ and iconic or cult films such as ‘Fame’ or ‘Bamboozled’ are among those chosen this year to be preserved for posterity by the United States Library of Congress.

A list of twenty-five titles announced this Wednesday by the library, the largest in the world, will enter the National Film Registry and will become part of the select club of films whose preservation is already guaranteed by law.

The American public participates in the selection of the titles, and two of the most voted were ‘Home Alone’, the well-known story of a boy (Macaulay Culkin) forgotten by his family who is left alone at home for Christmas and manages to appease two thieves, and ‘Terminator 2’, the second film in the futuristic and apocalyptic saga starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The great story about slavery ’12 Years a Slave’ (2013), directed by Steve McQueen, and the endearing Disney story ‘Lady and the Tramp’ are found in this list of films.

Also included is a century-old title, ‘A Movie Trip Through Filmland’ (1921), an educational documentary made at Kodak headquarters about how movies are made, and a classic such as ‘Dinner at Eight’ (1933), by George Cukor, one of the first great films of sound cinema.

The film that tells the failed lunar trip of ‘Apollo 13’ is not missing from this list, a failure that for many ended up becoming NASA’s greatest success and that Ron Howard featured on the big screen with Tom Hanks as the protagonist.

Iconic are two other films included, both marked in one way or another by music: ‘Fame’ (1980), which made many dream of succeeding in the world of entertainment, and ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ (1985), the great Madonna’s cinematic success.

Tim Burton’s dark fantasy ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’ celebrates its thirtieth anniversary by entering this list, the same birthday as “The Wedding Banquet,” Ang Lee’s emotional comedy.

There are dramas of our time that were already told 46 years ago in ‘Alambrista!’, the documentary that accompanies a Mexican farmer who enters the United States illegally to work and support his family.

And of course, racism, in this case told not only in the aforementioned ’12 Years a Slave’ but also in ‘Bamboozled’, the satire by African-American director Spike Lee that recalls the television shows that made fun of black people. painting the faces of actors with black and red makeup.

In compliance with the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 films considered “culturally, historically, or aesthetically” significant to the National Film Registry.

The tapes chosen must be at least a decade old and the librarian selects them after consulting with members of the National Film Preservation Council and a group of Library specialists. The titles proposed by the public are also taken into account. On this occasion, citizens proposed 6,875 titles.

The twenty-five titles chosen this year, in chronological order, are:

• A Movie Trip Through Filmland (1921)
• Dinner at Eight (1933)
• Bohulano Family Film Collection (1950s-1970s)
• Helen Keller: In Her Story (1954)
• Lady and the Tramp (1955)
• Edge of the City (1957)
• We’re Alive (1974)
• Cruisin’ J-Town (1975)
• Alambrista! (1977)
• Passing Through (1977)
• Fame (1980)
• Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
• The Lighted Field (1987)
• Matewan (1987)
• Home Alone (1990)
• Queen of Diamonds (1991)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
• The Wedding Banquet (1993)
• Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994)
• Apollo 13 (1995)
• Bamboozled (2000)
• Love & Basketball (2000)
• 12 Years a Slave (2013)
• 20 Feet from Stardom (2013).

With information from EFE