Hannibal Lecter and Bambi picked for posterity

BAMBI, Forrest Gump and Hannibal Lecter have at least one thing in common: Their cinematic adventures were chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the world’s largest archive of film, TV and sound recordings.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991), a harrowing psychological thriller about the cannibalistic serial killer Lecter, and Forrest Gump (1994), starring Tom Hanks as the guileless hero who thinks “life is like a box of chocolates,” were critical and commercial successes that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The animated Disney classic Bambi is among the most beloved movies ever made.

A majority of the 25 titles chosen this year for inclusion in the National Film Registry are lesser-known — including silent films, documentaries, avant-garde cinema and even home movies. The Library of Congress announced the selections this week.

The registry began in 1989 under an act of Congres and now includes 575 films. Its aim is not to identify the best movies ever made but to preserve films with artistic, cultural or historical significance. Previous titles chosen range from The Birth of a Nation” to National Lampoon’s Animal House.

Forrest Gump has its critical detractors but was praised for its technical achievements, including the seamless incorporation of the title character into historical footage.

More than 2,200 films were nominated for the registry this year. The National Film Preservation Board pares them down before Librarian of Congress James H Billington makes the final selections.

“These films are selected because of their enduring significance to American culture,” Billington said in a statement. “Our film heritage must be protected because these cinematic treasures document our history and culture and reflect our hopes and dreams.”

Leggett said he was pleased by the inclusion of The Negro Soldier, a 1944 documentary produced by Frank Capra that was groundbreaking for its realistic and positive depiction of African-Americans. It became mandatory viewing for soldiers entering the army in the latter stages of the war and was shown in commercial theatres.

The oldest movies selected this year are both from 1912. The Cry of the Children is about the child labour reform movement, set pre-First World War, and A Cure for Pokeritis stars John Bunny, regarded as the American film industry’s earliest comic superstar.

Charlie Chaplin’s first feature, The Kid (1921), was also chosen for the registry.

Among the other titles chosen: The Big Heat, a 1953 film noir starring Glenn Ford; The Lost Weekend, Billy Wilder’s Oscar-winning alcoholism drama; Porgy and Bess, starring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge; Stand and Deliver, starring Edward James Olmos as an inspiring East Los Angeles math teacher; and John Ford’s epic 1924 Western The Iron Horse.