Library of Congress adds "Empire Strikes Back,"

[RogueTrooper]

BALTIMORE — Darth Vader proclaiming he's Luke Skywalker's father, Tony Manero preening in his underwear and an early 20th-century deaf activist speaking in sign language are among the images that will be preserved by the Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry.

The 25 films selected this year include "The Empire Strikes Back," the 1980 sequel to "Star Wars" that many critics and fans consider the best of George Lucas' six "Star Wars" films. "Empire" shocked moviegoers with the revelation that masked villain Darth Vader was the father of hero Skywalker.

While Lucas didn't direct "Empire" -- he entrusted it to the late Irvin Kershner -- he got another film selected for the registry: the student short "Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB." Lucas' "Star Wars" and "American Graffiti" are also among the 550 titles in the registry.

The Library of Congress announced the selections early Tuesday. The goal of the registry, which began in 1989, isn't to identify the best movies ever made but to preserve films with artistic, cultural or historical significance.

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has chosen each of the films in the registry, culling them from suggestions by the National Film Preservation Board and by the public. More than 2,100 films were nominated by the public in 2010.

Original copies of films picked for the registry are kept safe and available for viewing by future generations. The library acquires its own copies to preserve in its cold-storage vaults among millions of other recordings at the Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center near Culpeper, Va.

Film can rapidly deteriorate if improperly stored. About half the films produced before 1950 and 90 per cent of those made before 1920 have been lost, Billington said.

This year's selections also include "Saturday Night Fever," John Badham's 1977 disco musical starring John Travolta as Tony Manero, the working-class youth known for his impressive moves on the dance floor at a Brooklyn nightclub.

It's one of five selections from the 1970s. The others are Robert Altman's revisionist Western "McCabe & Mrs. Miller"; William Friedkin's horror classic "The Exorcist"; "All the President's Men," Alan J. Pakula's adaptation of the book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein; and "Grey Gardens," a documentary about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' eccentric relatives.

The selections date back to 1891, with one of the first motion pictures ever made: "Newark Athlete," a short film of a teenager swinging Indian clubs, an exercise aid. The film was made at the Edison Laboratory in West Orange, N.J., by two pioneers of motion-picture camera technology.

Another obscure title is 1913's "Preservation of the Sign Language," a two-minute film of George Veditz, one-time president of the National Association of the Deaf of the United States. Veditz was one of the first to make motion picture recordings of American Sign Language, and in the film, he argues forcefully for the right of deaf people to sign instead of speak.

"That was a great revelation," Billington said.

As in the past, the selections show the Library of Congress has a sense of humor. Two broad comedies -- "Airplane!" the 1980 disaster-film spoof, and "The Pink Panther" (1964), starring Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau -- were tapped for preservation.

The most recent films chosen were "Study of a River," an experimental 1996 film about the Hudson River, and "Malcolm X," Spike Lee's 1992 biography of the civil rights leader.

Documentaries picked this year include John Huston's "Let There Be Light" (1946), which the Pentagon banned from public distribution for 35 years because of its frank depiction of psychological trauma among combat veterans.

While Billington enjoys the popular films selected for the registry, he takes more satisfaction in unearthing lesser-known titles with lasting significance. He pushes the board to find examples from underrepresented categories like industrial and abstract films.

"The most interesting thing for me is not seeing something I like make the list, but getting educated by the list that comes out of this process," he said.


A list of the 25 films being added to the U.S. National Film Registry, as announced Tuesday by the Library of Congress:

"Airplane!" (1980)
"All the President's Men" (1976)
"The Bargain" (1914)
"Cry of Jazz" (1959)
"Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB" (1967)
"The Empire Strikes Back" (1980)
"The Exorcist (1973)
"The Front Page" (1931)
"Grey Gardens" (1976)
"I Am Joaquin" (1969)
"It's a Gift" (1934)
"Let There Be Light" (1946)
"Lonesome" (1928)
"Make Way For Tomorrow" (1937)
"Malcolm X" (1992)
"McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971)
"Newark Athlete" (1891)
"Our Lady of the Sphere" (1969)
"The Pink Panther" (1964)
"Preservation of the Sign Language" (1913)
"Saturday Night Fever" (1977)
"Study of a River" (1966)
"Tarantella" (1940)
"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945)
"A Trip Down Market Street" (1906)

But, I wonder if this is going to be the original theatrical version or the Lucasfied SE version??

I recall reading several years back that the American Film Festival contacted Lucas about getting a print of the first film, Star Wars. The American Film Festival had chosen films that best represented each decade. They contacted Lucas about getting a print of the first film, Star Wars, to represent the decade for the 70's. George Lucas was very pleased and sent them a print. After receiving the film, they realized it was a print of the Special Edition and not the original film from 1977. They explained to Lucan that since the segment was paying homage to the decade of the movies of the '70's, they wanted the original version, not the updated one, and they ask him if they couldn't get a copy of the original version. Lucas politely replied that that version no longer exist.

[sandtail6]

Airplane? Your kidding, Right?

[DirtyBoy]

Very exciting to know that our great great great grandchildren will have the opportunity to view such an amazing movie.

[DirtyBoy]

They will probably look to this website when building their td /)

[Short TRooper]

I, my brother and two of our friends were so excited to see this movie when it came out in the theater...we got ready in our seats,got the soda and the pop corn and candy, and hunkered down in the back as the people that had just seen the movie were leaving in small groups, as others were coming in and sitting down...it was 75% full in a few minutes........ We were talking quietly amongst ourselves and then this brat of a kid stood up and yelled at her brother as they were arguing about the best scene in the movie they just watched.... "I DON'T CARE!! DARTH VADER IS LUKE SKYWALKERS FATHER AND GET OVER IT!"

There was 30 seconds of silence as every person in the theater turned around and looked at this kid.... and they began yelling or groaning.....Two people didn't let them or the parents who were waiting outside the doors for thier kids leave(They had no idea what thier kids had just done) and the management was called...We couldn't believe it...we just got ready for the picture we had been waiting for since the closing credits of the first STar WArs movie and this brat of a kid blew it in 30 seconds!!!! Some people threw thier tickets away and left..some wanted a refund as the movie was blown for them...the manager came in and took the kids out.....

As for us...we glared at the kid as they took them out...and then we decided to stay and see the movie and forget what she had just blurted out in front of a whole theater....it was worth waiting for and we had no idea when the line of "Luke...I am your father" was going to come.

Diana (ShortTrooper )