NFR GETS SERIOUS, STUDLY "SCHINDLER" ON LIST WITH HESTON, PRESLEY, POPEYE.

WASHINGTON -- The Library of Congress named a string of sometimes overlooked entertainment-industry icons Tuesday when it included films featuring Charlton Heston, Kin Tin Tin, Elvis Presley and Popeye in this year's 25 films selected for the National Film Registry.

By selecting Ben-Hur, Clash of the Wolves, Jailhouse Rock and Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor, Librarian of Congress James Billington illustrates the long-term goal of the National Film Preservation Act to preserve culturally, historically or aesthetically significant motion pictures.

"We realized that a number of cultural icons hadn't been included," said Gregory Lukow, chief of the Library of Congress' motion picture, broadcast and recorded sound division. "It's the first time Elvis, Popeye and Andy Warhol have been selected. These are three of the American filmmaking icons of one kind or another in America. Kin Tin Tin was the biggest star of the 1930s."

The selections, which bring the National Film Registry to 400 titles, span the spectrum of film--from the cult classics like Enter the Dragon to serious drama like Schindler's List. In between, there is room for Daughters of the Dust, the first feature-length film by a black woman to receive wide theatrical release; Warhol's Empire; and Duck and Cover, a landmark civil-defense film seen by millions of schoolchildren in the 1950s.

Enter the Dragon turned Bruce Lee into a uniquely American kind of hero and launched a filmmaking revolution that carved out a new genre that includes Jackie Chan films and House of Flying Daggers, said Steve Leggett, staff coordinator for the National Film Preservation Board.

"This whole Hong Kong thing really started with Enter the Dragon," Leggett said. "It was the first one for what's been a trend for the last three decades, and it's a pretty good film. Of course, he died before it was released."

The selection of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven makes up for the Library's inability to select any of the spaghetti Westerns that redefined the genre because they are Italian, not American.

Selecting a Popeye cartoon puts the sailor on the same plane as Mickey Mouse. The two animated figures dominated the genre during the 1930s and '40s.

"It's one of the longer cartoons," Leggett said. "They used a third camera to give it a 3-D kind of effect, and he gets to beat up Bluto in the end, which is always fun."

Rin Tin Tin's story could be a film. The German shepherd was rescued from a German trench during World War I by American soldier Lee Duncan, who trained the dog and took him to Hollywood.

"He was one of Hollywood's biggest stars," Leggett said. "He was an amazing animal who won all the jumping contests. All the films have that same theme: The dog rescues the people who do something stupid. But they saved Warner Bros. in the 1920s. Without him, Warner Bros. would have gone down."

"Ben-Hur was an Academy favorite," Leggett said. "The chariot scene is the one everyone talks about, of course. Everyone seems to remember the scene where the guy is dragged by the reins and then run over."

Schindler's List was selected in its second year of eligibility. Films have to be 10 years old before they are eligible.

"It's a departure for (Steven) Spielberg, who did Jurassic Park that same year," Leggett said. "It's an incredibly powerful film that's recognized an outstanding critical accomplishment and a major work."

Selection in the National Film Registry singles out films for preservation either in the Library of Congress' own facilities or facilities elsewhere. Big studio releases usually are cared for at their own archives, or other variants of public and private film archives. Entry in the registry often puts a priority on the films named. If they aren't being preserved, inclusion in the registry often moves them up on the priority list.

"Our film heritage is America's living past," Billington said in announcing this year's selections. "It celebrates the creativity and inventiveness of diverse communities and our nation as a whole. By preserving American films, we safeguard a significant element of our cultural history."

Films are nominated for consideration each year, and the staff at the Library and the National Film Preservation Board go through them all. The board and staff recommendations go to Billington, who makes the ultimate decision.

"The registry is not a calculation of what film won the most awards or sold the most tickets, although Ben-Hur, at the time, won more Academy Awards than any other film," Lukow said. "The registry is about the films that are important to the culture of the country. Duck and Cover was one of the most-watched films ever by every school kid in America in the 1950s."

2004 List

1. Ben-Hur	1959
2. The Blue Bird	1918
3. A Bronx Morning	1931
4. Clash of the Wolves	1925
5. The Court Jester	1956
6. D.O.A.	1950
7. Daughters of the Dust	1991
8. Duck and Cover	1951
9. Empire	1964
10. Enter the Dragon	1973
11. Eraserhead	1978
12. Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers	1980
13. Going My Way	1944
14. Jailhouse Rock	1957
15. Kannapolis, NC	1941
16. Lady Helen's Escapade	1909
17. The Nutty Professor	1963
18. OffOn	1968
19. Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor	1936
20. Pups Is Pups (Our Gang)	1930
21. Schindler's List	1993
22. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	1954
23. Swing Time	1936
24. There It Is	1928
25. Unforgiven	1992

Hollywood Reporter; 12/29/2004
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