Airplane!
The 1980 comedy classic is a parody film that featured Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, and Lloyd Bridges. The film grossed $171 million worldwide and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy as well as a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay.
Airplane!
Pan’s Labyrinth
Pan’s Labyrinth is a 2006 dark fantasy film by Guillermo del Toro. Starring Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones, and Ariadna Gil, the Spanish-Mexican film grossed $83 million worldwide and won three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and two Saturn Awards.
Pan’s Labyrinth
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 Steven Spielberg sci-fi film starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, and Francois Truffaut. The film grossed over $300 million worldwide and wone many awards including Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Saturn Awards. It was included in the National Film Registry for preservation by the US Library of Congress in 2007.
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Memento
2000’s Memento is a neo-noir mystery thriller starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Ann Moss, and Joe Pantoliano that was directed by Christopher Nolan. The film grossed $40 million and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. In 2017, it was included in the National Film Registry.
Memento
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is 2008 British drama starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, and Madhur Mittal that was nominated for a total of ten Academy Awards and ended up winning eight of them, including Best Picture, Best Direction, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also won seven BAFTA Awards, five Critics’ Choice Awards, and four Golden Globes.
Slumdog Millionaire
Almost Famous
Almost Famous is a comedy drama from 2000 that stars Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson and Patrick Fugit and was directed by Cameron Crowe. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won Best Original Screenplay. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture.
Almost Famous
Braveheart
1995’s epic historical drama Braveheart was directed by, co-produced, and starred Mel Gibson, who played Sir WIlliam Wallace, a 13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence. It grossed $210.4 million worldwide and $75.6 million in the United States.
Braveheart
Vertigo
This 1958 film noir psychological thriller is an Alfred Hitchock classic that starred James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. It is often regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, and was one of the very first films to be chosen for preservation by the Library of Congress in 1989.
Vertigo
Gladiator
Gladiator is a 2000 epic historical drama film starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Cnnie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, and Derek Jacobi. The film grossed $457 million worldwide and won five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects.
Gladiator
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
This 1975 comedy classic was both written by and featured the Monty Python comedy group that included Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. It has often been regarded as one of the greatest comedy films of all time and came in second after Airplane! on ABC’s Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time special.
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is a 1974 Western black comedy that was directed by and starred comedy legend Mel Brooks. The film starred Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder and was nominated for three Academy Awards. It was selected by the Library of Congress in 2006 to be chosen for preservation.
Blazing Saddles
All The President’s Men
All The President’s Men is a 1976 biographical political drama that recounts the Watergate scandal. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, and Martin Balsam. The film was nominated for several Oscars, Golden Globes, and BAFTA Awards and was included in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 201.
All The President’s Men
Avatar
2009’s Avatar was quite the phenomenon. James Cameron began the project in 1994 and spent years working on the film as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to bring it to fruition. The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver. The film was the second highest grossing film of all time, bringing in more than $3 billion. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won three of them.
Avatar
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a 1964 Disney film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke that combined live-action with animation. It was nominated for 13 Academy Awards including Best Picture. It won five of them for Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song. It was selected for the National Film Registry in 2013.
Mary Poppins
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is the final installment in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Released in 2003, the Peter Jackson film starred Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, and Orlando Bloom. It grossed over $1.1 billion and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning all of them, including Best Picture.
Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Inception
2010’s Inception is a Christopher Nolan sci-fi action film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, and Tom Hardy. The film brought in $828 million and is considered one of the best films of the 2010s. It won four Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects.
Inception
The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch is a 1969 Revisionist Western starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien, Ben Johnson, and Warren Oates. The film tells the story of an outlaw gang on the Mexico-United States border adapting to the changing world of 1913. It was chosen for the National Film Registry in 1999 and was named the 6th best Western of all time by the American Film Institute.
The Wild Bunch
The Searchers
The Searchers is a 1965 Western by John Ford starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, and Natalie Wood. It is often regarded as one of the best and most influential movies of all time and was called the greatest American Western by the American film institute. It was also included in the National Film Registry in 1989.
The Searchers
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 action film starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunoc, and Bonnie Bedelia. The film grossed $140 million and won four Academy Awards. It is considered one of the best action films and launched an entire franchise, with sequels including Die Hard 2, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Live Free or Die Die, and A Good Day to Die Hard.
Die Hard
Amadeus
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama starring as Tom Hulce as Mozart and F. Murray Abraham as fictional rival Antonio Salieri. Both actors were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, with Abraham winning the award. The film was nominated for 53 awards total and won 40 of them, eight of which were Academy Awards, including for Best Picture. It was included in the National Film Registry in 2019.
Amadeus
Ghostbusters
1984’s Ghostbusters is a comedy starring Bill Murray, Dan Akyroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis. The film grossed $295.2 million total. It was selected by the Library of Congrss in 2015 to be included in the National Film Registry. The success of Ghostbusters created a multi-billion dollar multimedia franchise and its popularity endures to this day.
Ghostbusters
Notorious
2009’s Notorious is a biographical drama that tells the story of rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G, who was portrayed by Jamal Woolard in the film. The movie grossed $44 million. Roger Ebert commended the film for focusing on Christopher Wallace himself and not his rapper persona.
Notorious
Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus is a 1947 psychological drama featuring Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David Farrar, Flora Robson, Esmond Knight, Jean Simmons, and Kathleen Byron. The films is noted for its technical mastery thanks to cinematographer Jack Cardiff who won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and the Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography. It also won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction done by Alfred Junge.
Black Narcissus
Strangers on a Train
Strangers on a Train is 1951 Alfred Hitchcock film that stars Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, and Robert Walker. The film initially was met with mixed reviews but has since become known as one of Hitchcock’s best films. It was included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2021.
Strangers On A Train
Badlands
Badlands is a 1973 neo-noir period drama starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as the two main characters. The film is a loose adaptation of real life murders Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate. Spacek was nominated for the Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles at the British Academy Film Awards. In 1993, the movie was included in the National Film Registry.
Badlands
Unforgiven
1992’s Unforgiven is a Western Revisionist film starring, directed by, and produced by Clint Eastwood. The film stars Eastwood in the lead role as well as Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris. It was included in the National Film Registry in 2004 and was remade in 2013 into a Japanese film starring Ken Watanabe.
Unforgiven
In a Lonely Place
In a Lonely Place is a 1950 film noir starring Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy and Carl Benton Reid. It is considered to be one of the greatest film noirs of all time, and in 2007, it was chosen to be included in the National Film Registry.
In A Lonely Place
Laura
Laura is a 1944 film noir starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Director, and it won Best Black and White Cinematography. It was included in the National Film Registry in 1999.
Laura
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The second in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, The Two Towers was released in 2002. The movie grossed $947 million and is the third highest grossing film of all time at the time of its release, behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Titanic. It was nominated for six Academy Awards total and is often regarded as one of the most influential films of all time, along with its two counterparts.
The Lord Of The Rings The Two Towers
The Apartment
1960’s The Apartment is a romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. The film tells the story of an insurance clerk who allows his senior co-workers to use his apartment for their extramarital affairs in hopes of climbing the corporate ladder. The subject matter was quite controversial at the time, but it still became a critical and commercial success. It was chosen to be in the National Film Registry in 1994.
The Apartment
Wall-E
Walle-E is a 2008 computer animated sci-fi film Pixar-Disney film with a voice cast by Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, and Sigourney Weaver. The film grossed $521.3 million worldwide and won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film in 2008 as well as the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It is considered to be one of the best animated movies of all time and was added to the National Film Registry in 2021.
Wall-E
Coco
Coco is a 2017 computer animated Pixar-Disney film with a voice cast starring Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Barnal, Benjamin Bratt, and Alanna Ubach. The film grossed $807 million worldwide and was nominated for two Academy Awards. It was selected as Best Animated Film of 2017 by the National Board of Review.
Coco
The Philadelphia Story
The Philadelphia Story is a romantic comedy from 1940 starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, and Ruth Hussey. The film was Hepburn’s first big hit after a string of duds. The movie received six Academy Award nominations and won the award for Best Actor for James Stewart and Best Adapted Screenplay for David Ogden Stewart.
The Philadelphia Story
Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 prison drama film starring Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, and Robert Drivas. The movie helped elevate Newman as one of the era’s top actors. The film, called the “touchstone of an era,” was nominated for several Academy Awards, winning the award for Best Supporting Actor for Kennedy. It was included in the National Film Registry in 2005.
Cool Hand Luke
Rebecca
Rebecca is a 1940 Alfred Hitchcock romantic psychological thriller starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, and George Sanders. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Award nominations, more than any others that year. It ended up winning two of them, one for Best Picture and one for Best Cinematography. It was included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2018.
Rebecca
L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential is 1997 neo-noir crime film featuring Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, David Strathairn, Kim Basinger, and Danny DeVito. The movie was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two of them for Best Supporting Actress for Basinger and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film that won the other seven awards was Titanic.
L.A. Confidential
The Kid
The Kid is a 1921 silent comedy drama film starring Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan. The film was the first full-length that Chaplin directed. It was an enormous success and and was chosen to be included in the National Film Regsitry in 2011. The film was one of many that featured Chaplin in his famous role as The Tramp.
The Kid
His Girl Friday
1940’s His Girl Friday is a screwball comedy featuring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, and Gene Lockhart. The film was included in the National Film Registry in 1993. It is also in the public domain since the copyright was never renewed.
His Girl Friday
Shadow of a Doubt
Shadow of a Doubt is a 1943 psychological thriller film noir by Alfred Hitchcock that stars Teresa Wright and Joseph Crotten. Gordon McDonell was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story. The film was included in the Library of Congress’ United States National Film Registry in 1991. Hitchcock said that it was his favorite of all of the films he made.
Shadow Of A Doubt
Aliens
Aliens is a 1986 sci-fi action James Cameron movie starring Sigourney Weaver. It is the second installment in the Alien film franchise and is often considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. Weaver won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the film was one of the highest grossing films of 1986 around the world.
Aliens