2010 National Film Registry List Selects ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ ‘Airplane!’ & More

Every year, The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress selects 25 American motion pictures to be preserved in perpetuity for their cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. The Registry began in 1989 and, as of this year, has preserved 550 films in total.

2010 sees the addition of some of the greatest films from the eighteen-nineties to the nineteen-nineties, including The Exorcist, All the President’s Men, The Empire Strikes Back, and Malcom X. Additionally, The Pink Panther and Airplane! were selected in honor of the late great Blake Edwards and Leslie Nielsen, respectively. (That and they’re awesome movies, to boot.)

According to Librarian of Congress James H. Billington:

“As the nation’s repository of American creativity, the Library of Congress—with the support of the U.S. Congress—must ensure the preservation of America’s film patrimony. The National Film Registry is a reminder to the nation that the preservation of our cinematic creativity must be a priority because about half of the films produced before 1950 and as much as 90 percent of those made before 1920 have been lost to future generations.”

Check out the full list below:

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 and 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 (1996)Tarantella (1940)A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)A Trip Down Market Street (1906)

It’s a great list, though perhaps not all that surprising. I could watch The Pink Panther, All the President’s Men, and The Empire Strikes Back for hours upon hours on end, with my eyelids taped wide open A Clockwork Orange-style. Star Wars fans will no doubt notice that George Lucas was honored twice on this list, both for his experimental short film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB and The Empire Strikes Back. It’s probably too much to ask that they throw Howard the Duck and Radioland Murders on the list for next year, right?

Source: Library of Congress via Deadline

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‘Boardwalk Empire’ Season 1 Finale Earns Strong Ratings

Stroll down to the speakeasy and pop open the champagne, the freshman season of Boardwalk Empire is a success!

The first season finale of HBO’s hit series had 3.3 million viewers Sunday night, and another 900,000 tuned in for the encore showing. According to HBO, each episode has averaged 10.5 million views across live, on-demand and recorded audiences. This makes Boardwalk Empire their second-most popular series behind True Blood, and the best opening season for an HBO show since Six Feet Under.

Some viewers have criticized the show’s relatively slow pace in its opening episodes (a ‘flaw’ shared by AMC’s successful Mad Men), but the show has picked up quickly in the last few episodes and delivered a satisfying conclusion. Fans will be happy to know that Boardwalk Empire has been renewed for a second season, and barring a catastrophic drop in viewership, a few more years of prohibition-era drama seems like a certainty.

Like The Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire will take its time coming back: new episodes aren’t expected until the fall. The pilot drew the highest viewership of the season, due in no small part to the promotion of Martin Scorsese’s involvement. It has been noted that Scorsese may be directing future episodes, time permitting.

The show’s mix of real and fictional gangsters, politicians and G-men is a potent one. Combined with typically top-notch period piece production design and casting from HBO, (not to mention a healthy advertising campaign) it’s no wonder that Boardwalk Empire has caught on so quickly. The show’s hair-trigger tension and quasi-historical Atlantic City setting make it compelling television – you’d be hard-pressed to find anything like it on TV, now or in the last ten years. The episodes are lighter on action than the trailers would indicate, an observation that has irked some viewers.

Steve Buschemi, who is used to small supporting roles in big pictures, has drawn favorable reviews for his character “Nucky” Thompson. Expectations for Stephen Graham’s portrayal of a young Al Capone are high, especially considering his other gangster roles in Public Enemies and Snatch. If the show writers are accurate (and smart) they’ll allow the iconic gangster to slowly gain underworld momentum over several seasons.

Boardwalk Empire season 2 will premiere fall 2011, on HBO

Source: Entertainment Weekly

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