Home Alone Secures Its Spot Among 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry. On Wednesday, the Library of Congress added “Home Alone,” “Apollo 13,” “12 Years a Slave,” and 22 other movies to the National Film Registry.
Annually during the holiday season, the Library of Congress selects 25 films for inclusion in the registry to contribute to the preservation of the nation’s film heritage. These films are chosen based on their “cultural, historic, or aesthetic importance.”
This year’s lineup features a “varied array of movies, filmmakers, and iconic elements of Hollywood, delving into the intricacies of history, social justice, reform, the immigrant experience, and beyond.” Notably, a few of the films in the selection have a heritage spanning over a century.
Additionally, the lineup encompasses the beloved 1990 holiday classic “Home Alone,” featuring Macaulay Culkin, and Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” released in 1993.
The selection includes iconic Disney films, science fiction flicks, and a diverse range of offerings, bringing the total number of films in the registry to 875. Several of these films have also been incorporated into the vast collection of two million moving image items housed in the Library.
In addition to movies such as “Love & Basketball” from 2000 and “Desperately Seeking Susan” from 1985, the selection extends to various films that, according to Jacqueline Stewart, film historian, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Director and President, and chair of the National Film Preservation Board, “acknowledge the diverse range of Asian American experiences.”
The chosen titles encompass the film “Cruisin’ J-Town,” the documentary “Maya Lin: A Strong, Clear Vision,” and the Bohulano Family Film collection. This collection comprises home movies captured by a family in Stockton, California’s Filipino community during the 1950s-1970s.
TCM is set to air a television special as a tribute to the featured films.
To mark the inclusion of the new additions, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will present a television special at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 14. The program will showcase a curated selection of films recently added to the registry. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will join Jacqueline Stewart in a discussion about the featured films during the broadcast.
The Library of Congress is organizing a holiday screening event featuring “The Nightmare Before Christmas” at 6:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 21 and “Home Alone” at 6:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 28. Complimentary timed-entry passes can be obtained at this link.