December 17, 2024
LOS ANGELES – On December 17, 2024, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the annual selection of 25 motion pictures that have been added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. These films were selected for inclusion due to their cultural, historic, and aesthetic importance to the nation’s film heritage. Included on this year’s list are No Country for Old Men (2007), directed by Joel and Ethan Cohen and winner of the DGA Award for Feature Film Directing, and The Miracle Worker (1962) directed by the late Arthur Penn, Pride of the Yankees (1942) directed by the late Sam Wood, and Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) directed by the late Michael Curtiz. Penn, Wood and Curtiz all served as members of the DGA National Board prior to their deaths.
“Films reflect our nation’s history and culture and must be preserved in our national library for generations to come. 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,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “This is a collective effort in the film community to preserve our cinematic heritage, and we are grateful to our partners, including the National Film Preservation Board.”
Among the films selected for the 2024 National Film Registry, the following were directed by current or past DGA Members:
- Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) Michael Curtiz
- Pride of the Yankees (1942) Sam Wood
- Invaders from Mars (1953) William Cameron Menzies
- The Miracle Worker (1962) Arthur Penn
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Tobe Hooper
- Uptown Saturday Night (1974) Sidney Poitier
- Up in Smoke (1978) Lou Adler
- Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982) Nicholas Meyer
- Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Martin Brest
- Dirty Dancing (1987) Emile Ardolino
- Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989) Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman*
- Powwow Highway (1989) Jonathan Wacks*
- My Own Private Idaho (1991) Gus Van Sant*
- American Me (1992) Edward James Olmos
- Mi Familia (1995) Gregory Nava*
- No Country for Old Men (2007) Joel and Ethan Cohen
- The Social Network (2010) David Fincher
*Filmed prior to the Director’s DGA membership.
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 motion pictures to the National Film Registry. The films must be at least 10 years old. The Librarian makes the annual registry selections after conferring with the distinguished members of the National Film Preservation Board — which includes, on behalf of the DGA, Directors Martin Scorsese as a board member and Christopher Nolan as an alternate, as well as M. Night Shyamalan as a member-at-large — and a cadre of Library specialists.
More than 6,700 titles were nominated by the public. Nominations for next year will be accepted through Aug. 15, 2025, at www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/nominate.
- CLICK HERE for a full list of all 25 of the newly registered films