Noir Désir Des Visages Des Figures Songs
Prospero Barela
Brief descriptions of each Registry title can be found here, and expanded essays are available for select titles.The authors of these essays are experts in film history, and their works appear in books, newspapers, magazinesand online. Some of these essays originated in other publications and are reprinted here by permission of theauthor. Other essays have been written specifically for this website. The views expressed in these essays arethose of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Library of Congress.
"Seventh Heaven" (also referred to as "7th Heaven"), directed by Frank Borzage and based on the play by AustinStrong, tells the story of Chico (Charles Farrell), the Parisian sewer worker-turned-street cleaner, and hiswife Diane (Janet Gaynor), who are separated during World War I, yet whose love manages to keep them connected."Seventh Heaven" was initially released as a silent film but proved so popular with audiences that it wasre-released with a synchronized soundtrack later that same year. The popularity of the film resulted in itbecoming one of the most commercially successful silent films as well as one of the first films to be nominatedfor a Best Picture Academy Award. Janet Gaynor, Frank Borzage, and Benjamin Glazer won Oscars for their work onthe film, specifically awards for Best Actress, Best Directing (Dramatic Picture), and Best Writing(Adaptation), respectively. "Seventh Heaven" also marked the first time often-paired stars Janet Gaynor andCharles Farrell worked together. Added to the National Film Registry in 1995.
Expandedessay by Aubrey Solomon (PDF, 694KB)
Special-effects master Ray Harryhausen provides the hero (Kerwin Mathews) with a villanous magician (TorinThatcher) and fantastic antagonists, including a genie, giant cyclops, fire-breathing dragons, and asword-wielding animated skeleton, all in glorious Technicolor. And of course no mythological tale would becomplete without the rescue of a damsel in distress, here a princess (Kathryn Grant) that the evil magicianshrinks down to a mere few inches. Harryhausen's stunning Dynamation process, which blended stop-motionanimation and live-actions sequences, and a thrilling score by Bernard Herrmann ("Psycho," "The Day the EarthStood Still") makes this one of the finest fantasy films of all time. Added to the National Film Registry in 2008.
Expanded essayby Tony Dalton (PDF, 900KB)
Considered to be one of the best westerns of the 1950s, "3:10 to Yuma" has gained in stature since its originalrelease as audiences have recognized the progressive insight the film provides into the psychology of its twomain characters that becomes vividly exposed during scenes of heightened tension. Frankie Laine sang the film'spopular theme song, also titled "3:10 to Yuma." Often compared favorably with "High Noon," this innovativewestern from director Delmer Daves starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin in roles cast against type and was based ona short story by Elmore Leonard. Added to the National Film Registry in 2012.
James Benning's feature-length film can be seen as a series of moving landscape paintings with artistry and scopethat might be compared to Claude Monet's series of water-lily paintings. Embracing the concept of "landscape asa function of time," Benning shot his film at 13 different American lakes in identical 10-minute takes. Each isa static composition: a balance of sky and water in each frame with only the very briefest suggestion of humanexistence. At each lake, Benning prepared a single shot, selected a single camera position and a specificmoment. The climate, the weather and the season deliver a level of variation to the film, a unique play oflight, despite its singularity of composition. Curators of the Rotterdam Film Festival noted, "The power of thefilm is that the filmmaker teaches the viewer to look better and learn to distinguish the great varieties in thelandscape alongside him. [The list of lakes] alone is enough to encompass a treatise on America and its history.A treatise the film certainly encourages, but emphatically does not take part in." Benning, who studiedmathematics and then film at the University of Wisconsin, currently is on the faculty at the CaliforniaInstitute of the Arts (CalArts). Added to the National Film Registry in 2014.
Expandedessay by Scott MacDonald (PDF, 316KB)
At a little less than 90 minutes, "42nd Street" is a fast-moving picture that crackles with great dialogue andsnappily plays up Busby Berkeley's dance routines and and the bouncy Al Dubin-Harry Warren ditties that includethe irrepressably cheerful "Young and Healthy" (featuring the adorable Toby Wing), "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" andthe title number. A famous Broadway director (Warner Baxter) takes on a new show despite his ill health, thenfaces disaster at every turn, including the loss of his leading lady on opening night. The film features BebeDaniels as the star of the show and Berkeley regulars Guy Kibbee, Ginger Rogers, Dick Powell, and Ruby Keeler,whom Baxter implores, "You're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" Added to the National Film Registry in 1998.
Stanley Kubrick's landmark epic pushed the envelope of narrative and special effects to create an introspectivelook at technology and humanity. Arthur C. Clarke adapted his story "The Sentinel" for the screen version andhis odyssey follows two astronauts, played by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, on a voyage to Jupiter accompaniedby HAL 9000, an unnervingly humanesque computer running the entire ship. With assistance from special-effectsexpert Douglas Trumbull, Kubrick spent more than two years creating his vision of outer space. Despite someinitial critical misgivings, "2001" became one of the most popular films of 1968. Billed as "the ultimate trip,"the film quickly caught on with a counterculture audience that embraced the contemplative experience that manyolder audiences found tedious and lacking substance. Added to the National Film Registry in 1991.
Expanded essay byJames Verniere (PDF, 691KB)
Directed by Stuart Paton, the film was touted as "the first submarine photoplay." Universal spent freely onlocation, shooting in the Bahamas and building life-size props, including the submarine, and taking two years tofilm. J. E. Williamson's "photosphere," an underwater chamber connected to an iron tube on the surface of thewater, enabled Paton to film underwater scenes up to depths of 150 feet. The film is based on Jules Verne's"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and to a lesser extent, "The Mysterious Island." The real star of the film is itsspecial effects. Although they may seem primitive by today's standards, 100 years ago they dazzled contemporaryaudiences. It was the first time the public had an opportunity to see reefs, various types of marine life andmen mingling with sharks. It was also World War I, and submarine warfare was very much in the publicconsciousness, so the life-size submarine gave the film an added dimension of reality. The film was immenselypopular with audiences and critics. Added to the National Film Registry in 2016.
Freight handlers Bud Abbott and Lou Costello encounter Dracula and Frankenstein's monster when they arrive fromEurope for a house of horrors exhibit. After the monsters outwit the hapless duo and escape, Dracula returns forCostello whose brain he intends to transplant into the monster. Lon Chaney Jr. as the lycanthropic LawrenceTalbot, Bela Lugosi in his final appearance as Dracula and Glenn Strange as the Monster all play their rolesperfectly straight as Bud and Lou stumble around them. Throughout the film, Dracula and the Monster cavort inplain view of the quivering Costello who is unable to convince the ever-poised and dubious Abbott that themonsters exist. until the wild climax in Dracula's castle, where the duo are pursued by all three of the film'smonstrosities.
Expandedessay by Ron Palumbo (PDF, 424KB)
Based on the infamous 1925 case of Kentucky cave explorer Floyd Collins, who became trapped underground and whosegripping saga created a national sensation lasting two weeks before Collins died. A deeply cynical look atjournalism, "Ace in the Hole" features Kirk Douglas as a once-famous New York reporter, now a down-and-outhas-been in Albuquerque. Douglas plots a return to national prominence by milking the story of a man trapped ina Native American cave dwelling as a riveting human-interest story, complete with a tourist-laden, carnivalatmosphere outside the rescue scene. The callously indifferent wife of the stricken miner is no moresympathetic: "I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons." Providing a rare moral contrast is Porter Hall,who plays Douglas' ethical editor appalled at his reporter's actions. Such a scathing tale of media manipulationmight have helped turn this brilliant film into a critical and commercial failure, which later led Paramount toreissue the film under a new title, "The Big Carnival."
Expandedessay by Molly Haskell (PDF, 330KB)
With an Oscar-nominated script by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, "Adam's Rib" pokes fun at the double standardbetween the sexes. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play husband and wife attorneys, each drawn to the samecase of attempted murder. Judy Holliday, defending the sanctity of her marriage and family, intends only tofrighten her philandering husband (Tom Ewell) and his mistress (Jean Hagen) but tearfully ends up shooting andinjuring the husband. Tracy argues that the case is open and shut, but Hepburn asserts that, if the defendantwere a man, he'd be set free on the basis of "the unwritten law." As the trial turns into a media circus, thecouple's relationship is put to the test. Holliday's first screen triumph propelled her onto bigger roles,including "Born Yesterday," for which she won an Academy Award. The film is also the debut of Ewell, who wouldbecome best known for his role opposite Marilyn Monroe in "The Seven Year Itch", and Hagen, who would flooraudiences as the ditzy blonde movie star with the shrill voice in "Singin' in the Rain."
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