1 of 3 | Christopher Nolan, the director behind "The Dark Knight," which has been added to the National Film Registry. File Photo by David Silpa/UPI |
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Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The Dark Knight, Grease, The Blues Brothers, Shrek and more were selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry Monday by The Library of Congress.
Freedom Riders, The Hurt Locker, Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege, The Ground, Buena Vista Social Club, The Devil Never Sleeps, The Joy Luck Club, Illusions, Losing Ground, Wattstax, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, A Clockwork Orange, Lilies of the Field, The Man with the Golden Arm, Outrage, Cabin the Sky, With Cara and Camera Around the World, The Battle of the Century, Bread, Kid Auto Races at Venice and Suspense have also been added to the National Film Registry.
The Library of Congress chooses 25 films every year for the National Film Registry due to a film's cultural, historic or aesthetic importance.
"This is not only a great honor for all of us who worked on The Dark Knight, this is also a tribute to all of the amazing artists and writers who have worked on the great mythology of Batman over the decades," Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight said in a statement.
The films selected for 2020 include nine directed by women and seven directed by people of color.
"The National Film Registry is an important record of American history, culture and creativity, captured through one of the great American artforms, our cinematic experience," Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement.
"With the inclusion of diverse filmmakers, we are not trying to set records but rather to set the record straight by spotlighting the astonishing contributions women and people of color have made to American cinema, despite facing often overwhelming hurdles," she continued.
Clerks, Purple Rain, Boys Don't Cry, She's Gotta Have It, Coal Miner's Daughter, Before Stonewall, Platoon and Sleeping Beauty were among the films chosen last year.
The number of films selected for preservation in the registry has now reached 800.
TCM or Turner Classic Movies will be airing a selection of films named to the registry for 2020 on Tuesday starting at 8 p.m. EST.
