Author: thehorsesheadblog

#382) Cabaret (1972)

OR “Manischer Elf Traum Mädchen”

Directed by Bob Fosse

Written by Jay Allen (and “Research Consultant” Hugh Wheeler). Based on the musical by Joe Masteroff, the play “I Am a Camera” by John Van Druten, and the novel “Goodbye to Berlin” by Christopher Isherwood. Songs by John Kander & Fred Ebb.

Class of 1995

Thanks Neil!

The Plot: British writer Brian Roberts (Michael York) arrives in 1931 Berlin to teach English, and rooms with Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli), an aspiring singer at the local cabaret. Despite Brian’s repressed homosexuality, the two begin a romantic relationship, which is turned on its head with the arrival of wealthy Baron Max von Heune (Helmut Griem). In the midst of this personal drama is the foreboding rise of the Nazi party, as well as commentary from the cabaret’s androgynous Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey). Oh, and it’s a musical.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises Fosse et al for a film adaptation that “maintains the vivacity of the stage version”. There’s also an essay by author/“Cabaret” commentary track Stephen Tropiano.

But Does It Really?: “Cabaret” is a notch above your average movie musical, if not one of the untouchables of filmdom. Bob Fosse succeeds in crafting a musical film for the more mature, gritty movie scene of the ‘70s, aided by a screenplay that wisely borrows from its source materials, and a star-making performance by Liza Minnelli. “Cabaret” tends to get lost in the shuffle of great movie musicals, but its unique presentation and dark subject matter makes it stand out among the crowd.

Everybody Gets One: Daughter of Hollywood legends Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, Liza Minnelli originally auditioned for Sally in the Broadway production, but was deemed too inexperienced. By the time the film rolled around, Minnelli was a bigger star, as well as an Oscar nominee for “The Sterile Cuckoo”. Joel Grey won the Tony for his work as the Emcee on Broadway, and is the only original company member cast in the film.

Wow, That’s Dated: Aside from some ‘70s cinematography, the only signs of the time come during the credits: “Cabaret” was produced by Allied Artists, and shot on location in West Germany.

Title Track: The title song is the climax of the movie, and Liza knocks it out of the park, aided by some very shrewd lighting and camera moves.

Seriously, Oscars?: A hit with critics and audiences, “Cabaret” entered the Oscar race with 10 nominations, tied for first place with “The Godfather”. The Corleone family took home Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay, but “Cabaret” won all eight remaining categories, including Director, Actress, and Supporting Actor (Grey).“Cabaret” still holds the record for most Oscars without winning Best Picture. Weirdly, neither of Kander & Ebb’s two new songs (“Mein Herr” and “Money”) were nominated that year.

Other notes

• As far as stage-to-film adaptations, “Cabaret” is quite unique. In a push for realism, all songs not sung in the cabaret were scrapped. As for the “book scenes”, most of the stage material was deleted in favor of restoring plot lines from both the original “Berlin Stories” and its first stage adaptation “I Am a Camera”. Can you imagine the film version of a stage musical taking this many liberties today? Theater geeks everywhere would be furious!
• “Willkommen” sets up not only the world of the cabaret, but also the creepy vibe of the whole movie. Like so many great performances, you can’t imagine anyone but Joel Grey as the Emcee (apologies to Alan Cumming).

• The other big change: On stage Sally Bowles was British and untalented, in the film she’s American and…Liza Minnelli.
• The Golden Rule of musical film adaptations: put your cut songs in the underscore. Listen closely for instrumental versions of “Don’t Tell Mama”, “It Couldn’t Please Me More”, “Married”, “Sitting Pretty” and “So What”.
• Michael York is one of those actors who I could listen to read the phone book. Or provide exposition in an homage to ‘60s spy movies.
• “Mein Herr” is the number that really showcases Fosse’s trademark choreography: precise isolated sexuality. Only Fosse can make standing on a chair that erotic.

• “I’m going to be a great film star. That is, if booze and sex don’t get me first.” Oh Liza…
• Most of the time I just kept thinking how daring and taboo this subject matter would have been in 1972. Bisexuality, abortions, Nazis: you didn’t see “Man of La Mancha” tackling any of this.
• I’m not Liza’s biggest fan, but she’s very good in this. It’s a fascinating performance that’s somehow larger than life while simultaneously subtle. And although Liza is a one-of-a-kind performer, there are still welcomed flashes of Judy hiding in the corners of her work.
• In true Fosse fashion, the doomed romance between the middle-aged Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz is replaced with a similar, younger, sexier version with Natalia Landauer and Fritz Wendel. It gets the same point across, but next to Marisa Berenson we all look like Lotte Lenya.
• Max is so close to being John McMartin.
• The one non-cabaret song to make the cut is Nazi anthem “Tomorrow Belongs to Me”. Sung by an obviously dubbed Hitler Youth, the song is still a stirring, dangerous moment in the film.

• Like any good production of “Cabaret”, the rise of the Nazis is subtle yet consistent. It’s never big enough to be concerned about until it’s too late. “If You Could See Her” is the pivotal turning point, in which anti-Semitism is initially mocked but ultimately accepted.

• “What good is sitting alone in your room?” Hey, I got 370 more movies to get through! Leave me alone!
• Oof that ending still packs a punch. I wonder how much of that is the Nazi reprisal we’re currently going through as a nation?

Legacy

• “Cabaret” was a hit and made Liza Minnelli a movie star. Bob Fosse would go on to direct such films as “Lenny” and future NFR entry “All That Jazz”.

• The stage version of “Cabaret” has been revived on Broadway three times, each incorporating songs from the movie. Joel Grey reprised the Emcee for the 20^th anniversary revival in 1987.

• Liza continues to perform songs from “Cabaret”, most famously in her follow-up collaboration with Bob Fosse: “Liza with a Z”. Joel Grey reprised “Willkommen” during his appearance on an early “Muppet Show”.

• The making of “Cabaret” is prominently featured in “Fosse/Verdon”, with Gwen Verdon finally getting her due as the glue holding Fosse and the movie together.

#381) Hospital (1970)

OR “NET Work”

Directed by Frederick Wiseman

Class of 1994

The Plot: After examining a Massachusetts mental institution, a Philadelphia high school, and the Kansas City Police Department, Fredrick Wiseman turns his direct cinema eye towards New York City’s Metropolitan Hospital. The doctors and nurses of this East Harlem establishment face a never-ending array of alcoholics, heroin addicts, abandoned children, poor families who cannot afford treatment, and everything in between. All this brought to you by the National Educational Television network, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and contributions from viewers like you. Thank you.

Why It Matters: While the NFR description only gives a brief rundown, the accompanying essay by film professor Barry Keith Grant explores the film’s examination of the Metropolitan as “a symptom of larger social ills”.

But Does It Really?: Like Wiseman’s other documentaries, “Hospital” is a frank yet neutral observation of an important American institution. Wiseman’s pseudo-blank slate approach to filmmaking allows you to bring your own perspective and bias towards the subject and draw your own conclusions. “Hospital” is still an engrossing view 50 years later, and you’ll get no argument against its NFR inclusion from me.

Every Former Network Gets One: Funded by the Ford Foundation for Adult Education, the National Educational Television network (NET) packaged pre-existing educational films and sent them to affiliates across the country. Its run in the ‘50s was more academic than entertaining (some called it “The University of the Air”), but that changed in 1958 with a move from Ann Arbor to New York, and a goal to become the fourth nationally broadcast television network (suck it, DuMont!). Throughout the ‘60s, NET commissioned several original documentaries that tackled social issues of the day. Among the young filmmakers recruited by the NET: former law instructor and “The Cool World” producer Fredrick Wiseman. Wiseman’s first four documentaries were all commissioned by NET.

Wow, That’s Dated: For starters, we’ll pour one out for NET (see “Legacy”). As for the specifics of the film, there are the now-outmoded medical standards of 1970, and the tail end of the era where nurses wore white dresses and hats. Other than that, the only thing that’s really changed about our hospital system is the amount on the bill.

Seriously, Emmys?: “Hospital” aired on NET in 1970, and took home Emmys for News Documentary Program and an Individual Achievement award for Wiseman’s directing. 24 years later, “Hospital” was the first television program to be inducted into the NFR.

Other notes

• For those of you wondering why a television documentary is on a list of essential films, this is explained on the NFR submission page:

“Registry criteria does not specifically prohibit television programs, commercials, music videos or foreign productions, however, the original intent of the legislation that established the Registry was to safeguard U.S. films. Consequently the National Film Preservation Board and the Librarian of Congress give first consideration to American motion pictures.”

• If you think about, a documentary in a hospital is a brilliant idea. Documentaries are about exploring humanity on a deeper level, and you’re already incredibly vulnerable when you’re in a hospital, so a film would amplify the whole experience. Exhibit A: The heartbreaking uncut close-up of the woman describing her mother’s medical history following her stroke. You are right there with her as she experiences the pain and frustration of telling a stranger about a loved one’s condition in an intense situation.
• And now for your consideration: several human brains. Dr. Don Knotts’ Older Brother shows a group of med students parts of a real brain, no doubt on loan from Abby…someone…
• I respect the decision to film “Hospital” in black & white: It would have been too gory in color. That being said, eating dinner during this viewing was still a bad call on my part.
• It’s fun hearing medical jargon spoken with a Brooklyn accent. Added bonus: the police officers that keep popping up sound like they’re straight out of “The Odd Couple”.
• What I appreciate most about this movie is at no point does Wiseman try to make saints or sinners out of the doctors and nurses: these are regular people trying to do their job and help these patients to the best of their ability.
• Another sign of the times: the patient who today would be identified as homosexual, but back then is diagnosed as schizophrenic. Not as dated: The phone maze the hospital psychiatrist has to navigate trying to get this man back on welfare.
• The film spends an extended amount of time with the young Paul Dano lookalike who has ingested mescaline. A majority of that screen time is devoted to an uninterrupted shot of the man freaking out and vomiting everywhere. I never thought I’d say this, but I’d rather watch “Eraserhead” again.
• Well thank god that scene is ov- oh don’t pan down to the vomit! Why would you do that!?
• Another extended close-up: the shot of the woman holding her husband’s hand as he’s admitted on a gurney and drifting in and out of consciousness. I’m not crying you’re crying.
• The Emergency Room: the one place in the 1970s where you can’t smoke!
• Shoutout to the doctor towards the end whose unkempt hair/chin curtain combo makes him a dead ringer for me circa 2006.
• The final sequence is a sermon at the hospital chapel attended by patients. This should be uplifting in theory, but something about passing around the collection plate at a hospital doesn’t feel right.

Legacy

• “Hospital” was the kind of stark, controversial documentary that NET was known for broadcasting. While critics often praised these films, affiliates were less enthused about alienating their viewers. It was films like “Hospital” that led to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shutting down the network. NET’s New York headquarters merged with WNDT to become WNET, and is still the home of NET’s successor: PBS.

• At age 89, Fredrick Wiseman is still going! In fact, in the year and a half since my post about “High School”, Wiseman has produced another documentary: 2018’s “Monrovia, Indiana”. Based on the trailer, Wiseman has not lost his touch.

#380) His Girl Friday (1940)                  

OR “Get Me Rewrite!”

Directed by Howard Hawks

Written by Charles Lederer. Based on the play “The Front Page” by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.

Class of 1993

The Plot: Morning Post editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant) is about to lose his star reporter/ex-wife Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) to her new fiancé, bland insurance salesman Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). Walter knows that a good story will lure Hildy back, and convinces her to interview Earl Williams (John Qualen), a convicted murderer set to hang in the morning. When Williams escapes, all hell breaks loose in the press room as only a Hawks screwball comedy can. There’s plenty to be said about love, politics, and the newspaper industry, and it’s all being said at the same time.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film a “fiery and funny battle of the sexes”, praising Hawks’ use of overlapping dialogue and “vibrant pace”.

But Does It Really?: “His Girl Friday” has a lot going for it: snappy dialogue, wonderful chemistry between Grant and Russell, and a pace so frenetic it can never be duplicated, only appreciated. I will argue that the film doesn’t hold up as well as others of the era, but the whole thing goes by so quickly who can tell? “His Girl Friday” deserves its spot on the NFR, and still has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but I’d be curious to see if future generations will revere it as much as we do now.

Shout Outs: Though the 1931 movie of “The Front Page” is not directly referenced here, Howard Hawks’ goal was to craft a remake of the original play that was faster and funnier than its predecessor.

Wow, That’s Dated: Umm…everything? From its printed newspaper setting and binary gender politics to its topical references and racially insensitive terminology, this movie is very much a product of its time. Speaking of…

Title Track: A “girl Friday” is slang for a man’s female assistant or secretary, and is derived from the Friday character in “Robinson Crusoe”. “His Girl Friday” didn’t coin the phrase, but did make it popular.

Seriously, Oscars?: While successful with critics and audiences, “His Girl Friday” was completely shut out at the Oscars. 1940 was a very crowded year at the Oscars (“Grapes of Wrath”, “Philadelphia Story” and “Rebecca”, to name just a few nominees), and Columbia was still finding its footing as a major movie studio. Plus “His Girl Friday” came out in January; even back then early releases didn’t get Oscar nods.

Other notes

• There are two different stories as to how “The Front Page” became “His Girl Friday”. Hawks’ version involves reading scenes from “The Front Page” at a party, and being impressed by how well the character of Hildy worked when read by a woman. The version from Hawks’ biographer Todd McCarthy says that Hawks initially planned a straightforward remake of “The Front Page”, but liked how Hildy’s lines sounded coming from his secretary at auditions. Either way, inspiration struck.
• Rosalind Russell was no one’s first choice for Hildy, and she knew it (Jean Arthur, Ginger Rogers and Irene Dunne all passed). Undeterred, Russell hired a comedy writer to punch-up her dialogue, and successfully snuck the lines into Hawks’ encouraged spontaneity. Russell more than holds her own in the final film, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Hildy.
• Hawks accomplished the film’s trademark overlapping dialogue by rewriting the lines so that the beginnings and endings could be talked over without missing anything important, and having the sound mixer on set adjusting the boom mics live for each take. Somewhere Robert Altman took notes.

• Poor Ralph Bellamy. He plays the third wheel so beautifully is it any wonder he got pigeonholed? Bellamy would eventually head to the theater for more substantial roles (You never saw FDR lose Eleanor to Cary Grant).

• Despite the breakneck banter of Grant and Russell, I always find something stagnate about the movie. Having now seen the original “Front Page” I think I’ve figured it out. The first scene of the play is now 25 minutes into the film, meaning that we get TWO first acts; the new one establishing Burns and Johnson as a divorced couple, and the original one setting up the reporters and Earl Williams. The movie doesn’t really get going until more than halfway through. It’s still fun, but there’s a bit of inertia for most of the runtime.
• If Endicott sounds familiar, that’s Cliff Edwards, aka Jiminy Cricket. “Pinocchio” would be released one month after “His Girl Friday”.
• Most risqué line by 1940 standards: “Earl shot the Professor right in the classified ads. …No, ads.”
• In addition to Cliff Edwards, fellow Disney voiceover actor Billy Gilbert (Sneezy) steals the show in his two scenes as Mr. Pettibone trying to deliver the Governor’s pardon.

• Also very 1940: Americans ignoring the rise of Hitler and the ongoing war in Europe.
• Cary Grant makes a few inside jokes throughout the movie. First, Walter describes Bruce as looking like “that fellow in the movies. You know, Ralph Bellamy.” Then he calls Williams a “mock turtle”, like the one Grant played in 1933’s “Alice in Wonderland” (though this line also appears in 1931’s “The Front Page”). And towards the end, he mentions the tragic fate of an “Archie Leach”, Cary Grant’s birth name.
• All of this just makes me wonder how many other male-centric classic movies could be improved upon with a change in gender. “The Godmother”? “Midnight Cowgirl”? “No Country for Your Grandma”?

Legacy

• “His Girl Friday” is one of those movies whose legacy is its genre shorthand. Anyone who talks quickly in a Trans-Atlantic accent is paying homage to “His Girl Friday” and the screwball comedy genre whether they know it or not.
• While there have been many remakes of “The Front Page” over the years, only one has included the “His Girl Friday” gender-swap. 1988’s “Switching Channels” updates the story to cable news and features the love triangle of Burt Reynolds, Kathleen Turner, and Christopher Reeve, none of whom spoke fondly of their time making the movie.

• There have been attempts to recreate the fast-paced world of “His Girl Friday”, most notably the TV show “Moonlighting”. Does anyone remember that show? It was a big deal back in the ‘80s. Anyway, they talked fast and had witty banter. Oh, and one of them was a young Bruce Willis.

• Some of Rosalind Russell’s dialogue is sampled in the Pomplamoose song “Expiration Date”. That really has nothing to do with anything, I just like Pomplamoose.

#379) The Night of the Hunter (1955)

OR “Rev! Run!”

Directed by Charles Laughton

Written by James Agee. Based on the novel by Davis Grubb.

Class of 1992

The Plot: Serial killer Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) travels around 1930s West Virginia posing as a reverend, marrying gullible women, and murdering them for their money. While serving a stint in prison, Powell’s cellmate Ben (Peter Graves) mentions he stole $10,000 in a bank robbery, but won’t reveal where the money is. After Ben is executed, Powell is released and zeroes in on Ben’s widow Willa (Shelley Winters). The new Mrs. Powell knows nothing about the money, but her children John and Pearl (Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce) were sworn to secrecy by their late father. Let’s just say that Powell and his stepchildren have a L-O-V-E/H-A-T-E relationship.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the film’s “occasionally outrageous dark humor, bucolic settings contrasted with gothic images, and an unsettling child’s-eye perspective.” An essay by film critic Peter Rainer is the movie’s defense against audiences “who think they’re smarter than this film”. And if there’s one thing that pisses me off, it’s film criticism that boils down to “you just didn’t get it”.

But Does It Really?: Sometimes I get a sixth sense about a movie on this list, where something doesn’t feel right, and I got that with “Hunter”. Don’t get me wrong, I still found the film effectively suspenseful, but ultimately I was thrown by the film’s noir-by-way-of-German-Expressionism aesthetic, somewhat watered down subject matter, and at times uncertain rookie director. The aforementioned Rainer essay admits the film can be “baffling” if you don’t “get the hang of it”, and that was me on this viewing. “Night of the Hunter” is quite bizarre, but admittedly it’s that bizarreness that has helped it endure for 65 years. I’ll give “Night of the Hunter” a minor classic designation, and move on.

Everybody Gets One: Paul Gregory was a Broadway producer whose credits included several plays directed by Charles Laughton. Once Gregory obtained the film rights to the novel “The Night of the Hunter”, he convinced Laughton to make his directorial film debut with the project. “Night of the Hunter” is the only film from Paul Gregory Productions.

Other notes

• For those of you unfamiliar with Charles Laughton: By 1955 Laughton was already an accomplished stage and film actor; winning an Oscar in 1933 for his performance as Henry VIII. Despite a film career that includes “Mutiny on the Bounty”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Witness for the Prosecution”, Laughton’s only NFR appearances as an actor are his supporting turn in “Spartacus”, and his lead work in the more obscure “Ruggles of Red Gap“.
• That…is a weird opening. But at least they picked a nice night to shoot it.
• This is the movie where Peter Graves, while sitting on the bottom bunk, punches Robert Mitchum in the face, causing him to fall out of the top bunk. How is that not the moment everyone remembers from this film?

• Turns out Robert Mitchum has a lovely singing voice. A few years later he even recorded…a Calypso album?
• The L-O-V-E/H-A-T-E monologue is a classic for a reason, but is the Bible really this discriminatory against the left hand? I thought the Lord loved a lefty!

• I’m used to seeing Shelley Winters in her later, campier years (looking at you, “Pete’s Dragon”), so it’s great to see her turn in a subtle, complex performance. Winters spoke fondly of her time on the film, and calls her Willa, “the most thoughtful and reserved performance I ever gave.”
• Stories about Laughton not getting on with the child actors and having Robert Mitchum direct their scenes are completely false; Mitchum made them up for his autobiography. Many cast and crewmembers (including Mitchum) have called Laughton a delight to work for, and have cited “Hunter” as one of their favorite filmmaking experiences.
• [Spoilers] The underwater shot of Willa’s corpse is amazing. Turns out that’s a dummy with a mask of Shelley Winters’ face, which is a little disappointing because Shelley Winters is an excellent swimmer.

• For proof of Laughton’s silent film influence, look no further than the iris zoom on the kids hiding in the cellar. It may be the only shot of its kind in the sound era.
• Yeah, the boat ride down the river is where the film loses me. There’s nothing wrong with it, but the movie takes a hard right into expressionism territory. And did they rent every animal for that shoot? Frogs, rabbits, horses; I was waiting for an elephant to cross the shot.

• “Don’t he never sleep?” Okay, movie you got me on that one. Well played.

• To prepare for his first directing gig, Charles Laughton studied every D.W. Griffith film he could get his hands on. It was during this process that the idea of casting Griffith staple Lillian Gish as Rachel came about. Gish’s performance worked best for me, effectively bringing out both Rachel’s well-worn toughness and angelic sweetness.
• Turns out the film’s biggest surprise is reserved for the end: It was a Christmas movie this whole time!
• And for anyone who didn’t get the film’s message to “save little children”, Lillian Gish beats you over the head with it about eight times in the last scene. Like The Dude 40 years later, the children abide.

Legacy

• “The Night of the Hunter” was met with mixed critical reactions and mediocre box office returns in 1955, making it difficult for Paul Gregory to fund his next film, an adaptation of “The Naked and the Dead”. Charles Laughton became disillusioned with film directing, and opted to return to the theater. “Hunter” is his sole film as a director.

• Despite its rough beginnings, “The Night of the Hunter” eventually found successes on late night TV and at film school screenings from cinema snobs who love them a good “Dr. Caligari” reference.
• In the early ‘70s, Charles Laughton’s widow Elsa Lanchester donated Laughton’s notes from the “Hunter” production, as well as hours of outtakes, to the American Film Institute. The footage was handed to UCLA, and the restored outtakes became the 2002 documentary “Charles Laughton Directs ‘The Night of the Hunter’”.

• Like many a classic movie, “The Night of the Hunter” has a TV Movie remake that is only remembered via its connection to the original. Starring Richard Chamberlain, “Night of the Hunter” aired on ABC in 1991, and hasn’t been heard from since.

• Interestingly enough, the main reference point from “Night of the Hunter” throughout the years has been the “L-O-V-E/H-A-T-E” tattoos. Those two words have shown up on quite a few knuckles in the last 65 years, most memorably in “Do the Right Thing”.

As 2019 (and the decade!) winds down, the National Film Preservation Board meets to discuss which 25 American films are worthy of NFR recognition. Now that the submission deadline has passed, it’s time for me to divulge the 50 movies I chose for consideration this year. Eight films from my previous selections have made the cut, so the odds are good you’re looking at a few soon-to-be-minted classics here.

My 50, Plus My Reason Why

I’m still surprised they haven’t made the cut yet: Carrie (1976), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Grease (1978), The Great Escape (1963), Harvey (1950), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

They are Minor Classics, but classics nonetheless: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Key Largo (1948), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), The Odd Couple (1968), White Christmas (1954), The Wild One (1954)

They have at least one Iconic Moment: Big (1988), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Return of the Jedi (1983), Royal Wedding (1951), The Seven Year Itch (1955)

I dunno, I just like them: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Clue (1985), Home Alone (1990), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Rope (1948), A Thousand Clowns (1965), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

They’re newly eligible: Avatar (2009), The Dark Knight (2008), There Will Be Blood (2007), Up (2009)

Bad Movies are people too: The Bad Seed (1956), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

This one’s for Mom: The Miracle Worker (1962)

The Library of Congress just restored it, so…: Frankenstein (1910)

Its sequel inexplicably made the list, but the original hasn’t: The Sheik (1921) [“Son of the Sheik” was added in 2003.]

“The Other Side of the Wind” isn’t eligible for a while: F for Fake (1973)

“Green Book” won Best Picture: Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

“Documentary Now!” can do no wrong: Original Cast Album: Company (1970)

“He hates these cans! Stay away from the cans!”: The Jerk (1979)

These talented artists STILL aren’t on the list:

Jane Fonda: 9 to 5 (1980)

Eddie Murphy: Eddie Murphy Raw (1987)

Robin Williams: Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Glenn Close (and hasn’t she been through enough already?): Fatal Attraction (1987)

Tim Burton: Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Mr. Magoo: When Magoo Flew (1955)

The Amazing RANDO!: Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)

And finally: Because I dare you, National Film Registry. I fucking dare you: Song of the South (1946)