'A Clockwork Orange,' 'The Dark Knight,' And 'Shrek' Are Among Films Added To National Film Registry By The Library Of Congress
Somebody once told us the world was going to roll us, but we didn't anticipate this. Shrek — alongside such films as A Clockwork Orange, The Dark Knight, and The Hurt Locker — has been deemed a work of "important cultural, artistic, and historic" value by the Library of Congress, which revealed its National Film Registry 2020 list today. 25 films made the list of new additions to the National Film Registry, including, yes, Shrek.
Remember when Shrek debuted at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or? When the green troll voiced by Mike Myers became one of the biggest cultural phenomenons of the 21st century? The Library of Congress does, and it's marking Shrek's part in cinematic history by adding it to the National Film Registry, alongside 24 other films that are part of its 2020 list of additions. The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress has been preserving films that "represent important cultural, artistic and historic achievements in filmmaking" since 1989, granting the honor to nearly 800 films now.
And they're adding 25 more with their 2020 list, which includes Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, Melvin Van Peebles' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, the Sidney Poitier-led Lillies of the Field, Ida Lupino's Outrage, Kathleen Collins' Losing Ground, Julie Dash's Illusions, plus Grease, Blues Brothers, Wattstax, and more.
I respect Shrek's right to be on this list and can't deny that the DreamWorks animated film was the zeitgeist for several years, but it will never not be funny to see it listed along the likes of classics like A Clockwork Orange or The Joy Luck Club. It's even funnier to think of Shrek sitting in the hallowed annals of the Library of Congress. This is a movie that literally opens with fart and poop jokes. Oh, cinema.
2. Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)
3. Bread (1918)
4. The Battle of the Century(1927)
5. With Cara and Camera Around the World (1929)
6. Cabin in the Sky (1943)
7. Outrage (1950)
8. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
9. Lilies of the Field (1963)
10. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
11. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
12. Wattstax (1973)
13. Grease (1978)
14. The Blues Brothers (1980)
15. Losing Ground (1982)
16. Illusions (1982)
17. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
18. The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)
19. Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
20. The Ground (1993-2001)
21. Shrek (2001)
22. Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)
23. The Hurt Locker (2008)
24. The Dark Knight (2008)
25. Freedom Riders (2010)