‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ & More Films That Were Added to the National Film Registry in 2024
Written by djfrosty on December 18, 2024
Twenty-five films have been selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2024 “due to their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage.” They include two that had Billboard 200-topping soundtracks, Beverly Hills Cop and Dirty Dancing; one (Dirty Dancing) that featured an Oscar-winning song, “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life”; and one (The Social Network) that featured an Oscar-winning score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
The selections span 115 years, from a silent film created to entice audiences at the dawn of cinema in 1895, Annabelle Serpentine Dance, to the newest selected film from 2010, The Social Network, a drama about social media.
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Popular Hollywood releases selected this year include the first Star Trek film added to the registry – 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, as well as Eddie Murphy’s first feature film on the registry, Beverly Hills Cop.
Two films selected this year, American Me and Up in Smoke, were produced by Lou Adler, a music industry legend who produced Billboard 200-topping albums by the Mamas and the Papas and Carole King. Adler, 91, was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 and received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 2019. Adler has several other films on the registry including Monterey Pop, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and 20 Feet From Stardom, in which he made an appearance.
The 2024 selections feature diversity both in the filmmakers and in the stories depicted on screen.
Five films selected this year include prominent Hispanic artists or themes – American Me, Mi Familia, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Spy Kids and Up in Smoke.
Mi Familia and American Me both feature actor Edward James Olmos, who is now featured in eight films on the registry. American Me marks his first appearance as a director on the registry.
With this year’s addition of Mi Familia, director Gregory Nava now has three explorations of the Hispanic experience on the registry. Mi Familia joins previous selections El Norte and Selena.
Two films this year, Up in Smoke and Spy Kids, feature Cheech Marin. These are Marin’s first films on the registry. Up in Smoke is also the first Cheech & Chong film on the registry.
Several films this year were made by Black directors, including Ganja and Hess (1973, Bill Gunn); Uptown Saturday Night (1974, Sidney Poitier), Will (1981, Jessie Maple) and Compensation (1999, Zeinabu irene Davis). Will is considered to be the first independent, feature-length film directed by a Black woman.
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, an Academy Award-winning documentary selected this year, tells the story of the National AIDS Memorial Quilt, and an important period in LGBTQ history.
Deaf characters and culture are represented in two films this year: The Miracle Worker from 1962 and Compensation from 1999. In The Miracle Worker, director Arthur Penn depicted the Helen Keller story in a direct and unsentimental manner that was unusual for its time.
The selection Powwow Highway from 1989 stands out as one of the first indie films to treat Native Americans as ordinary people, navigating the complexities of everyday life, departing from long-perpetuated stereotypes.
“Films reflect our nation’s history and culture and must be preserved in our national library for generations to come,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “We’re honored by the responsibility to add 25 diverse new films to the National Film Registry each year as we work to preserve our cultural heritage.”
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host a TV special on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. ET to screen a selection of films named to the registry this year. Hayden will join TCM host and film historian Jacqueline Stewart, who is chair of the National Film Preservation Board, to discuss the films.
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 motion pictures to the National Film Registry that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The films must be at least 10 years old. The Librarian makes the annual selections after conferring with the members of the National Film Preservation Board and a cadre of Library specialists.
This year’s selections bring the number of titles in the registry to 900. Also considered were 6,744 titles nominated by the public. Nominations for next year will be accepted through Aug. 15, 2025, at loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/nominate/.
Here’s a complete list of the 25 films that were selected as 2024 additions to the National Film Registry. They are listed in chronological order.
Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895)
KoKo’s Earth Control (1928)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Invaders from Mars (1953)
The Miracle Worker (1962)
The Chelsea Girls (1966)
Ganja and Hess (1973)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Zora Lathan Student Films (1975-76)
Up in Smoke (1978)
Will (1981)
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)
Powwow Highway (1989)
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
American Me (1992)
Mi Familia (1995)
Compensation (1999)
Spy Kids (2001)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
The Social Network (2010)