The National Film Registry

Today, the 2019 inductees to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress have been announced. Included in this year's intake are Amadeus (1984), Boys Don't Cry (1999), Clerks (1994), Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Gaslight (1944), Old Yeller (1957), Platoon (1986), Purple Rain (1984), She's Gotta Have It (1986), and Sleeping Beauty (1959). This brings the total number of films on the Registry to 775.

But what is the National Film Registry and why is it so important?

The Library of Congress' website describes the National Film Registry as 'a list of films deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" that are recommended for preservation... These films are not selected as the 'best' American films of all time, but rather as works of enduring importance to American culture. They reflect who we are as a people and as a nation.'

As for why the NFR is so important? Here's why: in 1986, media mogul Ted Turner caused uproar when he bought the film library of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and began to colourise the black-and-white films, including Casablanca (1942) and King Kong (1933). When challenged about it, Turner- displaying monumental arrogance- claimed that he was working on "his films" (as he owned them) so he could do with them as he pleased.

This "material alteration" led to US Congress getting involved in the issue, with film luminaries such as Woody Allen and James Stewart appearing at hearings to discuss the practice, with pleas that films should undergo "preservation in their authentic form".

In 1988, Congress passed the original National Film Preservation Act, which directed the Librarian of Congress to establish the National Film Registry (as well as prohibiting anyone from knowingly distributing films that have been "materially altered" or colourised without being labelled as such). The first 25 films were inducted into the Registry in December 1989, and included Casablanca (1942), Gone With The Wind (1939), On The Waterfront (1952), Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937), Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Vertigo (1958), and The Wizard Of Oz (1939).

The Registry contains a plethora of types and styles, from classic Hollywood movies (Ben-Hur [1959], Citizen Kane [1941]) to newsreels and home videos (such as the Zapruder footage of John F. Kennedy's assassination and newsreel footage of the Hindenburg disaster), documentaries, short films, animated features and shorts, and even music videos (Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was inducted in 2009).

A film becomes eligible for inclusion in the Registry after 10 years from its initial release (to give a little time and distance to properly assess its cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance). As of 2019, the oldest title in the Registry is an 1891 film fragment known as "The Newark Athlete" (which is only 12 seconds long) which was inducted in 2010, whilst the newest title  is Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain (2005) which was inducted in 2018.

So how do they decide what goes on the Registry?

The public can nominate films for inclusion (the deadline for nominations is usually in mid-September). The public nominations are then put to the members of the National Film Preservation Board and to the Library's film curators, who discuss the films. The Librarian of Congress then makes the decision of which 25 films will be added to the Registry and the announcement is made in mid-December.

Being an American body, first consideration is given to American motion pictures (which, for the purposes of the Registry, are defined as: "films that were produced or co-produced by an American film company or individual, typically for theatrical release or recognized as a film through film festivals or film awards". Furthermore, the legislation goes on to define films as "originally created on film stock" (which is why television shows and commercials are generally not considered, although they would not be prohibited)

Other films that have been selected for preservation include The African Queen (1951), Alien (1979), Psycho (1960), All About Eve (1950), 12 Angry Men (1957), Die Hard (1988), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Fargo (1996), The Graduate (1967), The Big Lebowski (1998), Jurassic Park (1993), and Cabaret (1972).

The full list of what's on the Registry can be found here.

In 2016, Congress approved the reauthorisation of the National Film Preservation Board until the fiscal year 2026, so the Registry will continue for the next six years at least. Film is an important cultural medium, which helps to reflect and comment upon the society in which it was created (even if it doesn't directly address those issues). The Registry is an important part of preserving these cultural documents for the future.

For more information about this year's inductees, please click here.

Milos Forman (1932-2018)

We at the Watchers were saddened to hear of the passing of film director Milos Forman, who passed away on 13th April 2018 at the age of 86.

He was born Jan Tomáš Forman in 1932 in Čáslav in what is now the Czech Republic. During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, Forman's mother and the man he believed to be his father were arrested and sent to concentration camps where they both died. Forman was raised by his uncles and family friends, but as an adult found out that his biological father was a Jewish architect. Forman went on to study screenwriting at the prestigious Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague. 

 

Along with filmmakers such as Elmar Klos, Jiří Menzel, Jan Němec and Ján Kadá, Forman was a major figure in the artistic movement known as the Czech New Wave, which took place during the 1960s in Czechoslovakia to 'make the Czech people collectively aware that they were participants in a system of oppression and incompetence which had brutalized them all.' Two of Forman's Czech films- Loves Of A Blonde [Lásky jedné plavovlásky] (1965) and The Firemen's Ball [Hoří, má panenko] (1967)- were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. However, during the tumultuous events of 1968, Forman was in Paris, negotiating the production of his first American film. When his employer found out, Forman was promptly fired and he decided to move to America,  becoming a naturalised American citizen in 1977.

His first film in the US was Taking Off (1971), a comedy-drama about parents who discover their love of life again when their daughter runs away from home. Despite a critical panning and poor box-office receipts (Forman said he ended up owing Universal Pictures $500 because of it), Taking Off was nominated for six BAFTAs, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay (which Forman co-wrote). Forman was nominated for the Palme d'Or and the film won the Grand Prize of the Jury at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. Forman then contributed to the 1973 documentary Visions Of Eight, about the 1972 Munich Olympics. But the film that was about to send him into the stratosphere was just around the corner. 

That film was One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975), a film adaptation of Ken Kesey's 1962 cult novel about the battle of wills between a criminal and the steely head nurse who runs the mental institution in which he has been committed. Starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher as Randle McMurphy and Nurse Ratched, the film won six BAFTAs, six Golden Globes (winning every award it was nominated for), and five Oscars, becoming only the second film in Oscar history to win 'The Big Five' (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay). This was the first of Forman's three nominations for the Best Director Oscar. 

Forman's next two films were a film adaptation of the cult 1960s Broadway musical Hair (1979) and Ragtime (1981), an adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's epic novel about the life of an uipper-class white family in early 1900s New York. Ragtime was nominated for eight Oscars (including Best Supporting Actor for Howard E. Rollins Jr and Best Supporting Actress for Elizabeth McGovern), and was the last film for James Cagney, who came out of a twenty-year retirement to play Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo. Incidentally, Forman was not the original choice to direct Ragtime, however; he replaced Robert Altman in the role.  

In 1984, Forman directed Amadeus. Based on Peter Shaffer's play of the same name, about the rivalry between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his contemporary Antonio Salieri, the film starred Tom Hulce as Mozart and F. Murray Abraham as Salieri. Filmed in Prague, Forman shot scenes in the Count Nostitz Theatre where Don Giovanni and La Clemeza di Tito had debuted in the 1700s. Nominated for eleven Oscars, the film won eight, including Best Picture, Best Director for Forman (his second nomination) and Best Actor for Abraham. Whilst Hulce was also nominated for Best Actor for his broad, larger-than-life performance as the title character, it is Abraham's brooding, jealous turn as Salieri that truly impresses. It won four Golden Globes, four BAFTAs, and Forman won his second Directors' Guild Award too. Forman would later go on to say he was surprised at the success of the film, finding the response of the audience to be 'overwhelming'. 

After Amadeus, Forman's next project was Valmont (1989), starring Colin Firth, Annette Bening, and Meg Tilly. Based on the 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Valmont invariably suffered by comparison to Dangerous Liaisons (1988), a film released less than a year earlier and also based on the same novel. He was first choice of screenwriter Joe Eszterhas and producer Irving Winkler to direct Basic Instinct (1992), and he was interested in doing so, but the production company had instead made a deal with Paul Verhoeven to direct instead. Similarly, Michael Crichton picked Forman to direct Disclosure (1994) but he subsequently left the project due to 'creative differences' 

Forman went from French literature to American pornography with his next film, The People Vs Larry Flynt (1996). A biopic of the outspoken publisher of Hustler Magazine, the film starred Woody Harrelson, Edward Norton, and Courtney Love. Harrelson was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Flynt, while Forman received his third Best Director nomination (but lost to Anthony Minghella for The English Patient), He did, however, win the Golden Globe for Best Director. His next film was another biopic of an eccentric American cultural figure. Man On The Moon (1999) tells the story of the life and career of comedian Andy Kaufman, best known for his appearances on Taxi and Saturday Night Live. While the film wasn't a commercial success- and had a mixed critical reaction- Jim Carrey's  performance as Kaufman was highly praised and he won a Best Actor Golden Globe. Forman's final English-language film was Goya's Ghosts (2006), a biopic of Spanish painter Francisco Goya, starring Stellan Skarsgard as Goya, with Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, Randy Quaid and Michael Lonsdale in supporting roles.

As well as his incredible body of film work, Forman is a renowned academic, and was the professor emeritus of Columbia University's film division (having also worked as its co-chair with his former teacher František Daniel), He also occasionally worked as an actor, appearing in Heartburn (1986), New Year's Day (1989) and as Father Havel in Keeping The Faith (2000). There is also a cinema in his hometown of Čáslav which is named after him. 

A double Best Director Oscar winner, a theatre director, screenwriter, actor, and academic, Milos Forman was a man of many talents and a towering figure in the landscape of cinema. He will be missed. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. 

Kenny Baker (1934-2016)

So 2016 continues its sadistic streak by taking some of the best-loved and respected culture personalities whilst allowing some absolute wastes of perfectly good internal organs to thrive.

Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 in the Star Wars franchise, has sadly passed away at the age of 81 after a long illness.

The latest passing is, for many of us, a very sad one and a lot of people of our age (mid-to-late 30s) will feel as if a part of their childhood has gone.

Born in Birmingham, Baker- who stood at 3ft 8ins- was approached at the age of 16 to join a theatrical troupe which specialised in dwarves and midgets. He joined a circus, learned to ice skate, appeared in pantomime and formed a very successful comedy duo with fellow small person Jack Purvis called The Minitones.

When he was approached to appear in Star Wars, Baker initially turned the role down. He did accept after finding out Alec Guinness was going to appear in the film. Star Wars was Baker's first film role and he went on to play R2-D2 in six of the seven movies, acting as a consultant on The Force Awakens (with Jimmy Vee already confirmed as Baker's replacement for Episode VIII). In Return Of The Jedi, Baker also plays Paploo, the Ewok who steals an Imperial speeder bike.

Whilst Baker will forever be known as R2-D2, his own personal favourite screen role was as Fidgit in Terry Gilliam's 1981 comic fantasy romp Time Bandits. He was frequently cast in fantasy films, appearing in Flash Gordon (1980), Labyrinth (1986) and in an uncredited role in Willow (1988).

He also appeared in more serious films such as The Elephant Man (1980), Amadeus (1984) and Mona Lisa (1986).

He was a regular attendee at conventions and comic-cons around the world and was always very warm and enthusiastic when meeting fans.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.