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.