The National Film Registry Class of 1992: Baby Got Back

December 3^rd, 1992: After receiving its first renewal the previous June, the National Film Registry is back with another 25 movies, reaching the important milestone of 100 movies! Having just finished watching the last of this group, it’s time for me to take a look back. Here again is the National Film Registry Class of 1992, along with my previous write-ups:

The Birth of a Nation (1915) (“[It’s] even worse than you think it is.” “totally indefensible.”)
Within Our Gates (1920) (“the earliest surviving film to be directed by an African-American”, “a powerful reminder of…what filmmaking from different voices can accomplish.”)
The Big Parade (1925) (“not the greatest movie ever made, but it is an undeniably important film”, “the silent film medium at the height of its artistry”)
The Gold Rush (1925) (“the first essential in Chaplin’s filmography, but his best work as an artist was still ahead of him.”)
Big Business (1929) (“[Laurel & Hardy] are hilarious throughout this short, but I miss hearing them speak.”)
Morocco (1930) (“Am I missing something with [von Sternberg]?”)
Footlight Parade (1933) (“too much backstage/not enough musical”)
The Bank Dick (1940) (“the most polished of [W.C. Fields’] inducted films”)
Double Indemnity (1944) (“filmdom’s quintessential film noir entry”)
Detour (1945) (“the best of the B [movies]”)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) (“an enjoyable classic Hollywood melodrama and a fine representation of Max Ophuls.”)
Adam’s Rib (1949) (“the ‘two steps forward, one step back” of feminism in film, but Tracy and Hepburn’s natural chemistry help smooth over the rough patches.”)
Carmen Jones (1954) (“a testament to the career of Dorothy Dandridge.” “Preminger, you’ve done it again!”)
Salt of the Earth (1954) (“the only blacklisted movie in film history.”, “a message that still rings true…70 years later”)
The Night of the Hunter (1955) (“quite bizarre, but admittedly it’s that bizarreness that has helped it endure”)
Paths of Glory (1957) (“has ‘minor classic’ written all over it, but it’s fun to see where Stanley Kubrick got his ‘start’.”)
What’s Opera, Doc? (1957) (“one of the most revered and influential pieces of classic animation”)
Psycho (1960) (“a game changer for the thriller genre”, “I’ll be damned if this movie still can’t scare the crap out of me every time.”)
Dog Star Man (1961-1964) (“One hell of an experimental trip”, “a sort of cinematic Rorschach test.”)
Ride the High Country (1962) (“a well-made, character-driven western enhanced by [Sam Peckinpah’s] unique perspective.”)
Castro Street (1966) (“I could not get into [this movie], but it’s my own fault for not doing my homework.”)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) (“helped define a new era of filmmaking, and is a no-brainer for NFR inclusion.”)
Salesman (1969) (“the subject matter is fascinating…but I just couldn’t get into this one.”)
Nashville (1975) (“a bit slow by today’s standards, [but] there are enough dynamic characters and performances to hold your interest.”)
Annie Hall (1977) (“a great film…[a]s difficult as it is for me to separate the art from the artist”)

Other notes

The big NFR news at the time was that in June 1992, the National Film Preservation Act got renewed by Congress for an additional four years, guaranteeing more movies being added to the Registry through 1996, bringing the total to an even 200 movies. Also noteworthy is that with this renewal, films added to the Registry are no longer required to have been shown in a theater, opening the door for more unconventional entries like “Dog Star Man” and “Castro Street” (and later on the Zapruder film). Reports on the renewal also claim it lifted its feature-length requirement, allowing shorts to be inducted, but that announcement contradicts such previous short entries as “Meshes of the Afternoon” and “Gertie the Dinosaur“.
My first takeaway from seeing this list again was, “Man this a good group”. Every movie on this list is either an untouchable classic or iconic enough to make the cut regardless of my opinion. You also get the beginnings of the NFR’s ongoing game of “Who isn’t on the list yet?” (Robert Altman! Marlene Dietrich! Bugs Bunny!). While not every movie on the list is one I feel should have cracked the top 100, each of them has a solid enough legacy to make their inclusion inevitable.
At the time of the Class of 1992 induction, future NFR entries “Malcolm X” and “Unforgiven” were playing in theaters. Also playing at the time that I have dogeared for eventual NFR induction: “Aladdin”, “The Bodyguard”, and “Reservoir Dogs”.
While we’re on the subject of 1992: I mean, of course “Annie Hall” should be on the list, but only a few months after the whole Soon-Yi thing? If you ask me, that was too soon…Yi.
Shoutout to Variety’s article about that year’s induction: “Diverse pix mix picked“. What does that even mean?
This year’s group of double-dippers is lower than in previous years (a trend that will continue as each year’s selection covers a longer timespan). For 1992, we have actors Shelley Duvall, Jeff Goldblum, and Adolphe Menjou, composer Miklos Rozsa, and title sequence designer Saul Bass.
Thematic double-dippers: ’40s film noir, tragic romances, World War I, films told entirely in flashbacks, Cross dressing, Depression era career pivots, opera music with new lyrics, bank robberies, mining for gold, thoroughly misguided patriotism, Christmas in Los Angeles, criminals trying to sell their cars, and Jeff Goldblum with minimal dialogue.
Favorites of my own subtitles: You’re in Good Hands with…Murder!, You Can Kill Me Al, Let’s Get Bizet, Rev! Run!, Oedipal Arrangements, Grumpy Gold Men, Brother Can You Spare a Crime?, Jesus Schlept, and What’s It All About, Alvy? Special shoutout to my alt “Double Indemnity” subtitle: Like a Good Murder, Stanwyck is There.
And of course, points to the NFR for inducting Oscar Micheaux’s “Within Our Gates” the same year as “Birth of a Nation”. The inclusion of “Birth of a Nation” on a list of significant American films was unavoidable, and I appreciate that this NFR roster permanently links it with a rebuttal by America’s most prominent Black director of the time. Librarian of Congress James Billington even pointed out in his Registry announcement that “Birth” is one of the films on the list that highlight “unpleasant or even reprehensible points of view.” Though to be fair he may have been referring to “What’s Opera, Doc?” and Elmer Fudd’s pro-wabbit kiwwing agenda.