Home Alone is among the list of 25 films selected as the Library of Congress announces this year’s additions to the National Film Registry. The films are chosen each year for their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage.
The public submitted 6,875 titles for consideration this year. Several titles selected this year drew significant support, including Home Alone and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
In addition to the holiday classic Home Alone, some of the films selected this year include the space drama Apollo 13, Disney’s 1955 beloved animation Lady and the Tramp, the sci-fi sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and the Halloween and holiday favorite The Nightmare Before Christmas, Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave and the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom. Plus, there’s the selection of Love & Basketball, which has grown new audiences over the years as an inspiring classic love story.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host a television special Thursday, Dec. 14, starting at 8 p.m. ET to screen a selection of films named to the registry this year. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will join TCM host, film historian and Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Director and President Jacqueline Stewart, who is chair of the National Film Preservation Board, to discuss the films.
Stewart said this year’s selections highlight the “breadth of experiences in American culture, in American history.”
Plans to screen two of the newly selected holiday films for audiences at the Library of Congress in December, include The Nightmare Before Christmas on Dec. 21 at 6:30 p.m. and Home Alone on Dec. 28 at 6:30 p.m. Free timed-entry passes are available at loc.gov/visit.
Select titles from 35 years of the National Film Registry are also freely available online in the National Screening Room.
Films Selected for the 2023 National Film Registry
- 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)
Other films with Chicago connections that are part of the National Film Registry include:
- The Blues Brothers (1980) – Directed by John Landis, this iconic musical comedy features numerous Chicago locations and landmarks.
- The Dark Knight (2008) – Although not entirely set in Chicago, much of Christopher Nolan’s Batman film was shot in the city, and it features several recognizable Chicago locations.
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) – Directed by John Hughes, this classic teen comedy is set in Chicago, and many of its scenes were filmed in the city.
- The Untouchables (1987) – Brian De Palma directed this crime drama, which is based on the real-life efforts of law enforcement to bring down Al Capone in Chicago during the Prohibition era.
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