Hello readers,
Well, it’s that time of year again; the National Film Preservation Board gathers to select the 25 films that I will one day force myself to binge. As the NFR sticks to their annual tradition, I shall stick to mine: nominating 50 movies and publishing my findings for consideration. Here are my 50 in order of random categorization. Movies with an asterisk (*) denote films I am submitting this year for the first time.
I will keep submitting these movies until conditions improve: Witness for the Prosecution (1957), The Miracle Worker (1962), The Great Escape (1963), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Carrie (1976), Big (1988), When Harry Met Sally (1989), The Sixth Sense (1999)
Some of my Favorites: Hardware Wars (1978), Clue (1985), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Home Alone (1990), Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996), Austin Powers (1997)*
Some of the GF’s Favorites: The Valley of the Dolls (1967)*, Almost Famous (2000)*
My obligatory Disney selections: The Band Concert (1935)*, Treasure Island (1950)*, The Jungle Book (1967)*
Disney-adjacent movies: Snow White (1916)*, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)*
How are neither of these films on the list yet?: Love Affair (1939)*, An Affair to Remember (1957)
Movies I’m surprised I’ve never submitted before: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)*, The Misfits (1961)*, The Way We Were (1973)*, Scarface (1983)*, Inglourious Basterds (2009)*
My mission to preserve American Theater on this list knows no bounds!: Original Cast Album: Company (1970), Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003)*
Franchises!: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)*, Spider-Man (2002)*
Going all in on Jane Fonda: The China Syndrome (1979)*, 9 to 5 (1980), On Golden Pond (1981)*
And Robin Williams too: Good Will Hunting (1997)*
Grab Bag: Dinner at Eight (1933)*, Captain Blood (1935)*, Advise and Consent (1962)*, Cleopatra (1963)*, Shampoo (1975)*, Smokey and the Bandit (1977)*, Blue Velvet (1986)*, Dirty Dancing (1987), Speed (1994), Fight Club (1999)*, No Country for Old Men (2007)
The first round of 2012 submissions: The Avengers (2012)*, Silver Linings Playbook (2012)*, Skyfall (2012)*
On average, 3.6 of the 50 films I submit every year make it into the NFR. I’ll be curious to see what the 0.6 movie is this year. Maybe 72 minutes of a lost film?
And as always, you can submit any American movie you want for NFR consideration. You can start nominating here, and check out a list of movies not yet on the NFR here.
Happy Viewing and Happy Nominating,
Tony
The Horse's Head 