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'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,' 'Selena' selected for National Film Registry

"Star Wars" stars Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford (L) during a ceremony honoring Hamill with the 2,630th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March 2018. "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" has been added to the National Film Registry. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 5 | "Star Wars" stars Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford (L) during a ceremony honoring Hamill with the 2,630th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March 2018. "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" has been added to the National Film Registry. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Selena, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Wall-E and more were selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry Tuesday by The Library of Congress.

Ringling Brothers Parade Film, Jubilo, The Flying Ace, Hellbound Train, Flowers and Trees, Strangers on a Train, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Evergreen, Requiem-29, The Murder of Fred Hampton, Pink Flamingos and Sounder have also been added to the National Film Registry.

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Additionally, The Long Goodbye, Cooley High, Richard Pryor: Live in Concert, Chicana, The Wobblies, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Stop Making Sense, Who Killed Vincent Chin? and The Watermelon Woman were added to the registry, rounding out 2021's full list of additions.

The Library of Congress chooses 25 films every year for the National Film Registry due to a film's cultural, historic or aesthetic importance.

A few films, including Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, received public support through online nominations.

"Little did I know when I started writing a tale about good, evil, friendship and the Force, it would become a lifelong journey of creativity, imagination and innovation for so many," Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas said in a statement.

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"A great honor of learning Return of the Jedi has been included in the National Film Registry is knowing the original trilogy of the Star Wars saga will be preserved in full as nominated by the public, safeguarded as part of our shared American Cinema heritage by our nation's oldest federal cultural institution, the Library of Congress, and the National Film Preservation Board," Lucas continued.

The Dark Knight, Grease, The Blues Brothers and Shrek were among the films chosen last year. The number of films in the registry now equals 825.

Turner Classic Movies will be airing a selection of films named to the registry on Friday starting at 8 p.m. EST.

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