25 movies added to 2010 U.S. National Film Registry: Empire Strikes Back, Pink Panther, and more

A few weeks ago, you may recall, the Toronto International Film Festival announced its picks for this year's Canada's Top Ten.

South of the border today, the U.S. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced the 25 movies that will be added to National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Under the National Film Preservation Act, the Librarian of Congress selects 25 films each year based on their impact on American culture and regarded as "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant .

Among the choices are All the President's Men (1976), about the Watergate scandal; Malcolm X (1992), Spike Lee's biopic about civil rights leader; and Grey Gardens, the 1976 documentary by Albert and David Maysles.

Other selections covered a wide breadth of genres, including the western (Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller, 1971), horror (The Exorcist, 1973), and musicals (Saturday Night Fever, 1977).

Among the comedies included are Blake Edwards's iconic The Pink Panther (1964), starring Peter Sellers; the disaster film parody Airplane! (1980), starring Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen; and the slapstick It's a Gift (1934), starring W.C. Fields.

Science fiction was represented by the sequel to the original Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, directed by Irvin Kershner, as well as George Lucas's 1967 student short "Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB".

(Incidentally, Nielsen, Kershner, and Edwards all recently died.)

However, among the more popular titles were also some lesser known works, such as the two-minute 1913 short "Preservation of the Sign Language" and several shorts by experimental or avant-garde filmmakers, such as Our Lady of the Sphere by Lawrence Jordan and the meditative 1996 film Study of a River by Peter Hutton.

The Librarian is encouraging nominations to be made for the 2011 registry at the National Film Preservation Board website.

This year, the final 25 were selected from a whopping 2,112 nominated films. A total of 550 films are on the registry.

Here is the full list of the selections added to the registry.

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 (1981)
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)