In 1988, the National Film Preservation Act create the National Film Registry, which selects a couple dozen films each year for preservation in the Library of Congress. Up to 25 films are selected annually as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films.” These have to be at least ten years old, can be feature, short experimental or ‘other’ — anything that is film, really — and are chosen from a list of films nominated by the public.
This year, 2228 films were nominated by the public and twenty-five were selected for preservation. Among those are the big Oscar winner The Silence of the Lambs, everyone’s favorite autistic history hero Forrest Gump, Charlie Chaplin‘s The Kid and one of the greatest (and earliest) train movies ever made, John Ford‘s The Iron Horse.
We’ve got a more complete list below. Read More »
In honor of Walt Disney Animation releasing it’s 50th full length film Tangled, our friends the Fine Brothers have filed the latest episode of their popular “Spoiler” series. You might remember that we’ve featured their videos 100 Movie Spoilers in 4 minutes, Spoiling Every Best Picture Winner in Oscar History, 50 spoilers of 2009 in 4 minutes, and 100 Horror Movie Spoilers in 5 Minutes. Hit the jump to watch their latest. And if it isn’t completely obvious already, please be warned that the following video contains spoilers.
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On December 23, 1935, Walt Disney wrote an eight page letter to a gentleman named Don Graham at the Chouinard Art Institute (now Cal Arts) asking him to help train new, and improve old, Disney animators. Walt felt that many of the men he employed weren’t working up to their potential and that by focusing on a few simple things, the studio’s output would improve exponentially. Well, after this letter, the studio released – in order – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi. So, it seemed to have worked.
The letter is a fascinating look into the genius mind of Walt Disney, as it details the unique way he looked at movies, humor, drawing, running a company and much more. He details the minutia – such as body type and rhythm of movement – of animation and implores animators not to ignore these incredibly important things. Animators, or just fans of Disney, should really enjoy this. Check out scans of the letter and link to the full transcript after the break. Read More »
