National Film Registry adds Home Alone, Terminator 2, 12 Years a Slave, Apollo 13, Love & Basketball and more

Last Updated on December 29, 2023

Whenever films reach a certain point of cultural, historical or aesthetic significance, they get added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. The movies are preserved for their contribution to the nation’s film heritage. Deadline reveals the 25 films that have been selected this year include Apollo 13, Home Alone and Lady and the Tramp, Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet; James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love & Basketball, Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, and Steve McQueen’s Best Picture Oscar winner 12 Years a Slave.

Ron Howard commented on his Apollo 13 film’s inclusion, “It’s a very honest, heartfelt reflection of something that was very American, which was the space program in that time and what it meant to the country and to the world… I was very proud of the outcome. The experience remains an absolute highlight. It was one of those experiences that none of us involved in will ever forget.”

Gina Prince-Bythewood also responds how her film, Love & Basketball, was a very personal project for her, “A great deal of this film was autobiographical. Monica’s character, growing up as an athlete, all the feelings she felt, feeling ‘othered’ and different as if something’s wrong with her because she loves sports. All those were things that I had to deal with growing up, being a female athlete and with my parents.”

Steve McQueen spoke about his 12 Years a Slave subject as he calls Solomon Northup “an American hero… Slavery for me was a subject matter that hadn’t been sort of given enough recognition within the narrative of cinema history. I wanted to address it for that reason, but also because it was a subject which had so much to do with how we live now. It wasn’t just something which was dated. It was something which is living and breathing, because you see the evidence of slavery today.” 

For more comments from the directors, head on over to Deadline HERE.

The full list reads:
A Movie Trip Through Filmland (1921)
Dinner at Eight (1933)
Bohulano Family Film Collection (1950s-1970s)
Helen Keller: In Her Story (1954)
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Edge of the City (1957)
We’re Alive (1974)
Cruisin’ J-Town (1975)
¡Alambrista! (1977)
Passing Through (1977)
Fame (1980)
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
The Lighted Field (1987)
Matewan (1987)
Home Alone (1990)
Queen of Diamonds (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Wedding Banquet (1993)
Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Bamboozled (2000)
Love & Basketball (2000)
12 Years a Slave (2013)
20 Feet from Stardom (2013)