Library of Congress

Thanks to the Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, 25 more motion pictures have been included in the National Film Registery of the Library of Congress, and they will surely retain a place in your living room for generations to come. These films will be officially, digitally and uniquely preserved and stored in our nation's capital, so you will be able to pass down not only your beloved TV lift cabinet to your children, but the films that you enjoyed watching on it.

As part of the National Film Preservation Act, every year the Library of Congress selects 25 films that preserves America's film patrimony for inclusion in the Library of Congress. Films selected in 2010 covered a period between 1891 and 1996. Without this preservation, according to James H. Billington, Americans risk losing out on their unique motion picture heritage. Billington says that already about half of all the films created prior to 1950 and almost 90 percent of films made before 1920 have been lost forever because they were not preserved in any lasting measure.

The group of films presented for consideration in 2010 came from the public, and the public put forward 2,112 different films. Some of the notable films selected for inclusion in 2010 were two films by George Lucas, both his 1967 student film and his special-effects extravaganza, "The Empire Strikes Back."

Another film shows what San Francisco looked like prior to the devastating 1906 earthquake that destroyed much of the city. Here is the full list of 25 motion pictures the Library of Congress selected:

1)  “AIRPLANE!” (1980)

2)  “ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN” (1976)

3)  “BARGAIN, THE” (1914)

4)  “CRY OF JAZZ” (1959)

5)  “ELECTRONIC LABYRINTH: THX 1138 4EB” (1967)

6)  “EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, THE” (1980)

7)  “EXORCIST, THE” (1973)

8)  “FRONT PAGE, THE” (1931)

9)  “GREY GARDENS” (1976)

10) “I AM JOAQUIN” (1969)

11) “IT'S A GIFT” (1934)

12) “LET THERE BE LIGHT” (1946)

13) “LONESOME” (1928)

14) “MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW” (1937)

15) “MALCOLM X”  (1992)

16) “MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER” (1971)

17) “NEWARK ATHLETE” (1891)

18) “OUR LADY OF THE SPHERE” (1969)

19) “THE PINK PANTHER” (1964)

20) “PRESERVATION OF THE SIGN LANGUAGE”  (1913)

21) “SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER” (1977)

22) “STUDY OF A RIVER” (1996)

23) “TARANTELLA” (1940)

24) “TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, A” (1945)

25) “TRIP DOWN MARKET STREET, A” (1906)

The fact that these films will now never be forgotten gives the American public a sense that watching and sharing films with their families is an important tradition to keep. Most people can remember the first time they saw some of these films, perhaps on a first date with a future spouse or while skipping school because of an illness. No matter what the memory of the film was, it can now be shared with many future generations.