The National Film Registry strives to highlight “the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation.” Up to 25 movies are added to the registry’s 700+ list each year, and 2016’s inductees include several cult and mainstream favorites, the most notable of which being Wes Anderson’s seminal, career-defining coming-of-age movie Rushmore.
Released in 1998, Rushmore is the youngest film among this year’s inductees (the only feature fiction film in the registry more recent is The Matrix, which was inducted in 2012). While some might find it’s inclusion premature, Rushmore deserves the nod for numerous reasons.
For one, it served as a thesis statement for Anderson himself, a major American filmmaker whose visual storytelling and mastery of tone has both captured the zeitgeist and had a seismic influence on both mainstream and cult filmmaking. The film also reinvigorated the career of Bill Murray, whose subdued, nuanced approach to drama also had an impact on performance and iconography in 21st century filmmaking.
That’s not to say Rushmore is the only movie that matters on the list. Other inductees include John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club, Disney’s The Lion King, and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. As always, the registry encompasses several decades, styles, and approaches to filmmaking. 1903’s Life of an American Fireman was included, as was Penelope Spheeris’ multi-part The Decline of Western Civilization documentary series.
Check out the National Film Registry’s Class of 2016 below:
The Atomic Café
Ball of Fire
The Beau Brummels
The Birds
Blackboard Jungle
The Breakfast Club
The Decline of Western Civilization
East of Eden
Funny Girl
Life of an American Fireman
The Lion King
Lost Horizon
Musketeers of Pig Alley
Paris Is Burning
Point Blank
The Princess Bride
Putney Swope
Reverend Solomon Sir Jones films
Rushmore
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Suzanne, Suzanne
Thelma & Louise
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
A Walk in the Sun
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
