Hollywood and The National Film Registry

The National Film Registry and Hollywood

The Fragile Magic of Film

• Films, despite their cultural significance, are incredibly fragile.
• About 50% of all films ever made are already lost.
• For the silent film era, this figure skyrockets to 90-95%.
• Early film stock from the late 1880s, primarily nitrate film, was catastrophically flammable and dangerous.
• Water was ineffective against nitrate film fires; a 1937 Fox catalog fire in New Jersey incinerated 40,000 film cans, including the entire pre-1935 Fox library.
• Studio indifference also contributed to film loss, as old reels were often discarded for their silver content or simply thrown away.
• A shocking example from 1959 involved RKO Pictures ordering many films to be dumped into Santa Monica Bay.
• Poor storage conditions, such as film reels in sweltering, non-air-conditioned concrete bunkers, contributed to their degradation.
• High temperatures caused chemical breakdowns, leading to sticky, honey-like droplets oozing from film rolls, which would harden into brittle crusts and eventually crumble into powder.
• Unexpected discoveries, such as films used as landfill in Dawson City, Yukon, preserved by permafrost, and rusty cans of nitrate film in Prague, have revealed lost cinematic works like Colleen Moore’s “Her Wild Oat.”
• Many American films discarded in the US were saved overseas due to different storage practices or a higher perceived value.
• The loss of films is not just about losing old movies but also vital parts of collective history, cultural narratives, and understanding of society.
• Films serve as trusted records of how people lived, worked, dreamed, and perceived their world, offering unique windows into American history with nuance and empathy.
• This is why the National Film Registry is so important.

The National Film Registry

• The overwhelming crisis of film loss led to the establishment of the National Film Registry (NFR) in 1988 under the National Film Preservation Act.
• Housed within the Library of Congress, the the National Film Registry’s mission is to protect and preserve films that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
• The National Film Registry began selecting films in 1989 and adds up to 25 films each year, with the total exceeding 850 by 2022.
• The selection process is rigorous and democratic, allowing anyone to nominate up to 50 films per year.
• Nominations are reviewed by the National Film Preservation Board, a diverse group of film scholars, archivists, and industry professionals, before the final decision is made by the Librarian of Congress.
• To be considered, a film must be at least 10 years old since its theatrical release, a rule designed to allow for historical hindsight rather than immediate popularity or hype.
• This 10-year rule ensures that a film’s lasting impact and legacy can be properly assessed, encouraging thoughtful curation beyond fleeting trends.

Categories of Significance

• Films are chosen to enter the National Film Registry based on cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance, with any one of these criteria being sufficient for selection.

Cultural Significance

• Films with cultural significance powerfully reflect or influence society, shaping cultural movements or impacting public discourse.
• Examples include “The Social Network,” which captured the Zeitgeist of the nascent digital age and reshaped human connection, and “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “The Color Purple” for their profound societal reflections.

Historical Significance

• Films of historical significance document important events, eras, or figures, offering insights into filmmaking evolution or societal change, acting as irreplaceable historical records.
• “Schindler’s List” and “12 Years a Slave” are powerful examples, as are newsreels.
• A remarkable case involves the meticulous reconstruction of Marion Anderson’s 1939 concert footage, showcasing a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement.

Aesthetic Significance

• This category celebrates artistic achievement, innovation, or distinctive style in films that advanced cinematic techniques.
• “Citizen Kane” is recognized for its revolutionary deep focus and narrative structure.
• “Star Wars” is noted for its groundbreaking special effects that redefined sci-fi cinema.
• “The Wizard of Oz” is celebrated for its iconic and dazzling use of Technicolor.

Animation and Short Films in the National Film Registry

• As of 2022, 51 animated productions have been inducted into the National Film Registry, making up about 6% of the total collection, including features, shorts, and hybrids.

Disney

• Disney’s foundational works such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (one of the first 25 films inducted), “Pinocchio,” “Fantasia,” “Dumbo,” and “Bambi” are well-represented, demonstrating Disney’s enduring legacy in shaping animation and culture.
• Later triumphs like “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and several Renaissance-era films are recognized for their critical and financial impact.
• “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” is celebrated for bringing animation back into the mainstream in a spectacular way.

Pixar

• Surprisingly, only two Pixar films, “Toy Story” and “WALL-E,” were inducted into the National Film Registry as of 2022.
• “Toy Story” is a rare case of an animated feature inducted within the 10-year minimum, recognized not just for popularity but as the first computer-animated feature film ever released, with an undeniable immediate massive impact on the industry.
• “WALL-E” was lauded for its artistic merit and its prescient social commentary and predictions about humanity’s future.

DreamWorks

• Only “Shrek” from DreamWorks has been inducted, specifically for its immense influence on pop culture and the burgeoning internet culture of the early 2000s.
• The NFR rarely inducts sequels, making “Shrek 2” unlikely to be included despite its popularity.

Short Films

• There are 37 short subjects in the National Film Registry, many of which may not be widely known but have undeniable impact.
• Examples include the thought-provoking documentary short “Why Man Creates” (1968) and the pioneering “A Computer Animated Hand” (early digital animation).
• Early animation is represented by Winsor McCay’s groundbreaking works like “Little Nemo” and “Gertie the Dinosaur.”
• Iconic shorts like “Steamboat Willie,” marking Mickey Mouse’s first public appearance, “classic Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons,” and “Three Little Pigs” (preserved in its original version despite later debate about historical context versus modern sensibilities) are also included.

Looney Tunes

• Despite its status as an American comedy institution with thousands of original cartoons, Looney Tunes has only four inductees into the National Film Registry: “Porky in Wackyland,” “Duck Amuck,” “One Froggy Evening,” and “What’s Opera, Doc?”.
• This highlights that inclusion into the National Film Registry is not solely about widespread recognition or nostalgia, but about specific, demonstrable significance within their established criteria.
• Future animated films potentially considered for induction include Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland,” “Aladdin,” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” as well as Pixar’s “Finding Nemo,” “Up,” and “The Incredibles.”

The Work of Archivists and Preservationists

• Preservation and restoration are painstaking but crucial efforts to safeguard cinematic treasures.

Preservation

• Preservation is fundamentally about securing a film’s long-term physical survival, often by moving it to a more stable format.
• Modern polyester film, stored in meticulously controlled cold and dry environments, can last an incredible 500-700 years, or even longer (“passive storage”).

Restoration

• Restoration is usually a more extensive and intensive project aimed at bringing a film back as close as possible to its opening day quality.
• This process is akin to archaeology, involving meticulously digging through vaults to locate original negatives or the finest surviving prints and then painstakingly reassembling them.
• Digital tools are indispensable in restoration, allowing preservationists to scan films into high-resolution digital files and virtually “clean up” images by meticulously removing dirt, scratches, and splice marks.
• The intent is to enhance clarity and restore the film to its original aesthetic without altering the director’s artistic vision, removing the damage of time, not reinterpreting the art.
• A dedicated staff member spent his entire career finding missing pieces of “All Quiet on the Western Front,” restoring its powerful silent ending which would otherwise have been lost.

The Digital Paradox

• The belief that digital archiving is permanent is a modern paradox.
• Digital content is, in some ways, even more fragile than physical film.
• Hard drives fail, and DVDs and CDs degrade.
• The industry cycles through new, incompatible digital formats every 18 months, leading to a huge challenge of format obsolescence.
• Digital media requires constant, active migration to new carriers, a perpetual and resource-intensive process, unlike film stored stably in cold storage.
• Digital copies were once believed to last forever, but this is not the case, making digital part of the problem rather than the inherent solution for truly long-term preservation.
• For ultimate longevity and stability, modern polyester film remains the gold standard for long-term archiving.

Why Film Preservation the National Film Registry really Matters

• Preserved films are more than just entertainment; they are trusted records of how people felt, worked, and dreamed.
• They offer invaluable windows into American movie history, allowing for a deeper understanding of the past, acknowledging progress and unfinished work in society.
• Films provide unique perspectives on universal themes like love, identity, and social change, serving as indispensable educational tools.
• These iconic American films also inspire future storytellers, modeling bold choices in writing, performance, and visual style, directly influencing filmmakers and shaping the future of cinema.
• The communal joy of experiencing a film in a theater, laughing or crying together, is a shared visceral connection that transcends time.
• The National Film Registry ensures these voices and stories remain available for learning and reflection, not locked away in damaged prints or forgotten digital files.
• Film, in its many forms, is truly the language of our time, reminding us of the fragility of our cinematic heritage and the tireless efforts of archivists to safeguard what remains.