National Film Registry

The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB's inception in 1988.

History
Throughout the 1980s, several prominent filmmakers and industry personalities in the United States, such as Frank Capra and Martin Scorsese, advocated for Congress to enact a film preservation bill in order to avoid commercial modifications (such as pan and scan and editing for TV) of classic films, which they saw as negative. In response to the controversy over the colorization of originally black and white films in the decade specifically, Representatives Robert J. Mrazek and Sidney R. Yates introduced the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, which established the National Film Registry, its purpose, and the criteria for selecting films for preservation. The Act was passed and the NFR's mission was subsequently reauthorized by further acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, 2008, and 2016. The National Film Preservation Board's mission, to which the NFR contributes, is to ensure the survival, conservation, and increased public availability of America's film heritage. The 1996 law also created the non-profit National Film Preservation Foundation which, although affiliated with the NFPB, raises money from the private sector.

Selection criteria
The NFPB adds to the NFR up to 25 "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films" each year, showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation. A film becomes eligible for inclusion ten years after its original release. For the first selection in 1989, the public nominated almost 1,000 films for consideration. Members of the NFPB then developed individual ballots of possible films for inclusion. The ballots were tabulated into a list of 25 films that was then modified by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington and his staff at the Library for the final selection. Since 1997, members of the public have been able to nominate up to 50 films a year for the NFPB and Librarian to consider.

The NFR includes films ranging from Hollywood classics to orphan films. A film is not required to be feature-length, nor is it required to have been theatrically released in the traditional sense. The Registry contains newsreels, silent films, student films, experimental films, short films, music videos, films out of copyright protection or in the public domain, film serials, home movies, documentaries, animation and independent films. As of the 2023 listing, there are 875 films in the Registry.

Number of films by release year
As of the 2023 induction there are 875 total films. For purposes of this list, multi-year serials are counted only once (as they are in the Registry) by year of completion.

Age of Registry selections
The oldest film in the registry, Newark Athlete, was released in 1891, while the most recent, 12 Years a Slave and 20 Feet from Stardom, were each released in 2013.

Timespan from release to selection
Released in 1898, and selected in December 2022, Mardi Gras Carnival experienced the longest wait, at 124 years (considering the fact that the film was already almost a century old before the Registry was even established, the "wait" was technically only 33 years), while Raging Bull, released theatrically in the United States on December 19, 1980, and inducted in October 1990, holds the record for the shortest delay, having been inducted slightly shy of the 10-year minimum. Only eight other films have been inducted at the 10-year mark: Do the Right Thing, Goodfellas, Toy Story, Fargo, 13 Lakes, Freedom Riders, 12 Years a Slave and 20 Feet from Stardom.

Directors with multiple entries (2 or more)

 * 11
 * John Ford: The Iron Horse, The Informer, Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, My Darling Clementine, The Quiet Man, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, How the West Was Won (segment)
 * 10
 * George Cukor: Dinner at Eight, The Prisoner of Zenda (uncredited) Gone with the Wind (uncredited), The Women, The Philadelphia Story, Gaslight, Adam's Rib, Born Yesterday, A Star Is Born, My Fair Lady
 * Howard Hawks: Scarface, Twentieth Century, Bringing Up Baby, Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday, Sergeant York, Ball of Fire, The Big Sleep, Red River, Rio Bravo
 * William Wyler: Dodsworth, Jezebel, Wuthering Heights, Mrs. Miniver, Memphis Belle, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Heiress, Roman Holiday, Ben-Hur, Funny Girl
 * 9
 * Alfred Hitchcock: Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds
 * Leo McCarey: Mighty Like a Moose, Pass the Gravy (supervising director), The Battle of the Century, Big Business (supervising director) , Duck Soup, Ruggles of Red Gap, Make Way for Tomorrow, The Awful Truth, Going My Way
 * 8
 * Elia Kazan: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Gentleman's Agreement, A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, East of Eden, A Face in the Crowd, Wild River, America America
 * 7
 * Frank Capra: The Strong Man, The Power of the Press, It Happened One Night, Lost Horizon, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Why We Fight, It's a Wonderful Life
 * Wilfred Jackson: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (sequence director), The Old Mill, Pinocchio (sequence director) , Fantasia, Dumbo (sequence director) , Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp
 * Buster Keaton: One Week, Cops, Sherlock Jr., The Navigator, The General, Steamboat Bill, Jr., The Cameraman
 * Steven Spielberg: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan
 * George Stevens: Swing Time, Gunga Din, Woman of the Year, George Stevens' World War II footage, A Place in the Sun, Shane, Giant
 * Billy Wilder: The Lost Weekend, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, Sabrina, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment
 * 6
 * Charlie Chaplin: The Immigrant, The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator
 * D. W. Griffith: Lady Helen's Escapade, A Corner in Wheat, The Musketeers of Pig Alley, The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Broken Blossoms
 * John Huston: The Maltese Falcon, The Battle of San Pietro, Let There Be Light, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen
 * Stanley Kubrick: Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining
 * Vincente Minnelli: Cabin in the Sky, Meet Me in St. Louis, An American in Paris, The Bad and the Beautiful, The Band Wagon, Gigi
 * King Vidor: The Big Parade, The Crowd, Show People, Hallelujah, Our Daily Bread, The Wizard of Oz (uncredited)
 * 5
 * William Kennedy Dickson: Newark Athlete, Blacksmith Scene, Edison Kinetographic Record of a Sneeze, The Dickson Experimental Sound Film, Rip Van Winkle
 * Spike Lee: She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, 4 Little Girls, Bamboozled
 * Ernst Lubitsch: Lady Windermere's Fan, Trouble in Paradise, Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner, To Be or Not to Be
 * Sidney Lumet: 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis, Dog Day Afternoon, Network
 * Otto Preminger: Laura, Carmen Jones, The Man with the Golden Arm, Porgy and Bess, Anatomy of a Murder
 * Martin Scorsese: Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, The Last Waltz, Raging Bull, Goodfellas
 * Ben Sharpsteen: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (sequence director), Pinocchio (supervising director) , Fantasia, Dumbo (supervising director) , Cinderella (supervising director)
 * William Wellman: Wings, The Public Enemy, Wild Boys of the Road, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Story of G.I. Joe
 * 4
 * Robert Altman: M*A*S*H, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye, Nashville
 * Francis Ford Coppola: The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now
 * Michael Curtiz: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Casablanca, Mildred Pierce
 * Stanley Donen: On the Town, Singin' in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Charade
 * Clyde Geronimi: Bambi (sequence director; uncredited), Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty (supervising director)
 * Mervyn LeRoy: Little Caesar, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Gold Diggers of 1933, The House I Live In (uncredited)
 * Hamilton Luske: Pinocchio (supervising director), Fantasia, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp
 * Rouben Mamoulian: Applause, Love Me Tonight, Becky Sharp, The Mark of Zorro
 * Edwin S. Porter: Life of an American Fireman, The Great Train Robbery, Dream of a Rarebit Fiend, Tess of the Storm Country
 * Martin Ritt: Edge of the City, Hud, Sounder, Norma Rae
 * Preston Sturges: The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Hail the Conquering Hero
 * Maurice Tourneur: The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England, The Poor Little Rich Girl, The Blue Bird, The Last of the Mohicans
 * Josef von Sternberg: It (uncredited), The Last Command, The Docks of New York, Morocco
 * Raoul Walsh: Regeneration, The Thief of Bagdad, The Big Trail, White Heat
 * Orson Welles: Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Lady from Shanghai, Touch of Evil
 * James Whale: Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, Show Boat
 * 3
 * James Algar: Fantasia, Bambi (sequence director), The Living Desert
 * Samuel Armstrong: Fantasia, Dumbo (sequence director), Bambi (sequence director)
 * Lloyd Bacon: 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Knute Rockne, All American
 * Clarence G. Badger: Jubilo, Hands Up!, It
 * Reginald Barker: The Bargain, The Italian, Civilization
 * Mel Brooks: The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein
 * Clarence Brown: The Last of the Mohicans, Flesh and the Devil, National Velvet
 * James Cameron: The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Titanic
 * John Cassavetes: Shadows, Faces, A Woman Under the Influence
 * Edward F. Cline: One Week, Cops, The Bank Dick
 * Merian C. Cooper: Grass, King Kong, This Is Cinerama
 * Blake Edwards: Days of Wine and Roses, The Pink Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany's
 * Norm Ferguson: Pinocchio (sequence director), Fantasia, Dumbo (sequence director)
 * Dave Fleischer: Snow White, Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor, Let's All Go to the Lobby (uncredited)
 * Victor Fleming: Red Dust, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz
 * Samuel Fuller: V-E+1, Pickup on South Street, Shock Corridor
 * David Hand: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (supervising director), Fantasia, Bambi (supervising director)
 * Chuck Jones: Duck Amuck, One Froggy Evening, What's Opera, Doc?
 * Henry King: Tol'able David, State Fair, Twelve O'Clock High
 * Jack Kinney: Pinocchio (sequence director), Dumbo (sequence director) , The Story of Menstruation (uncredited)
 * John Landis: National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Michael Jackson's Thriller
 * John Lasseter: Luxo Jr., Tin Toy, Toy Story
 * George Lucas: Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, American Graffiti, Star Wars
 * Winsor McCay: Little Nemo, Gertie the Dinosaur, The Sinking of the Lusitania
 * Lewis Milestone: All Quiet on the Western Front, The Front Page, A Walk in the Sun
 * Dudley Murphy: St. Louis Blues, Black and Tan, The Emperor Jones
 * Nicholas Ray: In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar, Rebel Without a Cause
 * Rob Reiner: This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally...
 * Bill Roberts: Fantasia, Dumbo (sequence director), Bambi (sequence director)
 * Ridley Scott: Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise
 * Luis Valdez: I Am Joaquín, Zoot Suit, La Bamba
 * W. S. Van Dyke: The Thin Man, Naughty Marietta, The Prisoner of Zenda (uncredited)
 * Erich von Stroheim: Foolish Wives, Greed, The Wedding March
 * Lois Weber: Suspense, Where Are My Children? (uncredited), Shoes
 * Robert Wise: The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story, The Sound of Music
 * Frederick Wiseman: Titicut Follies, High School, Hospital
 * Robert Zemeckis: Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump
 * Fred Zinnemann: High Noon, From Here to Eternity, Oklahoma!
 * 2
 * Robert Aldrich: Kiss Me Deadly, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
 * Woody Allen: Annie Hall, Manhattan
 * Kenneth Anger: Eaux d'Artifice, Scorpio Rising
 * Hal Ashby: Harold and Maude, Being There
 * Billy Bitzer: Westinghouse Works, 1904, Interior New York Subway, 14th Street to 42nd Street
 * Les Blank: Chulas Fronteras, Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers
 * John Boorman: Point Blank, Deliverance
 * Frank Borzage: Humoresque, Seventh Heaven
 * Richard Brooks: Blackboard Jungle, In Cold Blood
 * Tod Browning: Dracula, Freaks
 * Clyde Bruckman: The General, The Battle of the Century
 * Charles Burnett: Killer of Sheep, To Sleep with Anger
 * Shirley Clarke: The Cool World, Portrait of Jason
 * Joel and Ethan Coen: Fargo, The Big Lebowski
 * Julie Dash: Illusions, Daughters of the Dust
 * Cecil B. DeMille: The Cheat, The Ten Commandments
 * Jonathan Demme: Stop Making Sense, The Silence of the Lambs
 * Richard Donner: Superman, The Goonies
 * Clint Eastwood: The Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven
 * Rob Epstein: Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives, The Times of Harvey Milk
 * Robert J. Flaherty: Nanook of the North, Louisiana Story
 * Robert Florey: The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra, Daughter of Shanghai
 * Miloš Forman: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus
 * Bob Fosse: Cabaret, All That Jazz
 * John Frankenheimer: The Manchurian Candidate, Seconds
 * William Friedkin: The French Connection, The Exorcist
 * Robert Gardner: The Hunters, Dead Birds
 * Louis J. Gasnier: The Perils of Pauline, The Exploits of Elaine
 * Burt Gillett: Flowers and Trees, Three Little Pigs
 * Michael Gordon: Cyrano de Bergerac, Pillow Talk
 * Alfred E. Green: Ella Cinders, Baby Face
 * T. Hee: Pinocchio (sequence director), Fantasia
 * George Roy Hill: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting
 * William K. Howard: The Power and the Glory, Knute Rockne, All American (uncredited)
 * John Hubley: Gerald McBoing-Boing (supervising director), The Hole
 * John Hughes: The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off
 * Gene Kelly: On the Town, Singin' in the Rain
 * Jim Klein: Growing Up Female, Union Maids
 * Randal Kleiser: Peege, Grease
 * Stanley Kramer: Judgment at Nuremberg, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
 * Gregory La Cava: So's Your Old Man, My Man Godfrey
 * Fritz Lang: Fury, The Big Heat
 * David Lean: The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia
 * Ang Lee: The Wedding Banquet, Brokeback Mountain
 * Pare Lorentz: The Plow That Broke the Plains, The River
 * Ida Lupino: Outrage, The Hitch-Hiker
 * Terrence Malick: Badlands, Days of Heaven
 * Joseph L. Mankiewicz: All About Eve, King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
 * Anthony Mann: Winchester '73, The Naked Spur
 * George Marshall: Destry Rides Again, How the West Was Won
 * Albert and David Maysles: Salesman, Grey Gardens
 * Oscar Micheaux: Within Our Gates, Body and Soul
 * Errol Morris: The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War
 * F. W. Murnau: Sunrise, Tabu: A Story of the South Seas
 * Gregory Nava: El Norte, Selena
 * Fred C. Newmeyer: Safety Last!, The Freshman
 * Fred Niblo: The Mark of Zorro, Ben-Hur
 * Mike Nichols: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate
 * Christopher Nolan: Memento, The Dark Knight
 * George Pal: Tulips Shall Grow, John Henry and the Inky-Poo
 * Gordon Parks: The Learning Tree, Shaft
 * Sam Peckinpah: Ride the High Country, The Wild Bunch
 * Arthur Penn: Bonnie and Clyde, Little Big Man
 * D. A. Pennebaker: Dont Look Back, Monterey Pop
 * Roman Polanski: Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown
 * Julia Reichert: Growing Up Female, Union Maids
 * Robert Rossen: All the King's Men, The Hustler
 * Denis Sanders: A Time Out of War, Czechoslovakia 1968
 * Paul Satterfield: Fantasia, Bambi (sequence director)
 * John Sayles: Return of the Secaucus 7, Matewan
 * Franklin J. Schaffner: Planet of the Apes, Patton
 * Ernest B. Schoedsack: Grass, King Kong
 * Edward Sedgwick: The Phantom of the Opera (uncredited), The Cameraman
 * George B. Seitz: The Exploits of Elaine, Love Finds Andy Hardy
 * Don Siegel: Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dirty Harry
 * Douglas Sirk: All That Heaven Allows, Imitation of Life
 * Victor Sjöström: He Who Gets Slapped, The Wind
 * Phillips Smalley: Suspense, Where Are My Children? (uncredited)
 * John M. Stahl: Imitation of Life, Leave Her to Heaven
 * Ralph Steiner: H2O, The City
 * Robert Stevenson: Old Yeller, Mary Poppins
 * Mel Stuart: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Wattstax
 * John Sturges: Bad Day at Black Rock, The Magnificent Seven
 * Frank Tashlin: The Way of Peace, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
 * Sam Taylor: Safety Last!, The Freshman
 * Jacques Tourneur: Cat People, Out of the Past
 * Wayne Wang: Chan Is Missing, The Joy Luck Club
 * John Waters: Pink Flamingos, Hairspray
 * Fred M. Wilcox: Lassie Come Home, Forbidden Planet
 * Robert M. Young: Alambrista!, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
 * Charlotte Zwerin: Salesman, Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser