Provocative strikes news: The Empire Strikes Back and The Pink Panther saved for future generations

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Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/Lucasfilm A diminutive but wise teacher of the Jedi arts, a bumbling French detective and a charismatic but controversial African American leader can now rest easy — the movies they appeared in have been inducted into a prestigious list of “culturally significant” US films . Movie Videos & Movie Scenes at MOVIECLIPS.com  1. This year’s additions bring the list’s total figure to 550 movies. The 25 films selected this year include “The Empire Strikes Back,” the 1980 sequel to “Star Wars” that many critics and fans consider the best of George Lucas’ six “Star Wars” films. Selected titles include 1980′s The Empire Strikes Back and Airplane! , 1973′s The Exorcist , 1976′s All the President’s Men , and 1992′s Malcolm X for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The selection spans almost the entire history of Hollywood film-making, from 1891 to 1996. This year’s selections bring the number of films in the registry to 550. “Empire” shocked moviegoers with the revelation that masked villain Darth Vader was the father of hero Skywalker. Blake Edwards, who died earlier this month, is honoured with the addition to the list of 1964′s The Pink Panther, the first of his Inspector Clouseau films.

While Lucas didn’t direct “Empire” — he entrusted it to the late Irvin Kershner — he got another film selected for the registry: the student short “Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB.” Lucas’ “Star Wars” and “American Graffiti” are also among the 550 titles in the registry. The 1980 comedy Airplane!, starring the late Leslie Nielson, also made the list, as did Elia Kazan’s first feature, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, from 1945. Hart’s first film and made him a star. Each year, the Library of Congress receives recommendations from the public as to which 25 movies ought to be included in the registry, which, with the 2010 crop, will include 550 films. Fields’ slapstick sensation It’s a Gift (1934) and the zany Airplane!  (1980) starring Leslie Nielsen. “Anything more than 10 years old can be included,” said Billington, who added that the only criteria for selection are that a film be culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. To be preserved for all time, these are not selected as the “best” American films of all time but rather as works of enduring significance to American culture. The film’s success, both commercially and cinematically, provides a rare example of a popular novel being ably adapted for the big screen.” 8. This year’s selections also include “Saturday Night Fever,” John Badham’s 1977 disco musical starring John Travolta as Tony Manero, the working-class youth known for his impressive moves on the dance floor at a Brooklyn nightclub.

For each title named, the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation works to ensure that the film is preserved for future generations, either through the Library’s massive motion-picture preservation program or through collaborative ventures with other archives, studios and independent filmmakers. The campus is home to more than 6 million items, including nearly 3 million sound recordings. The selections date back to 1891, with one of the first motion pictures ever made: “Newark Athlete,” a short film of a teenager swinging Indian clubs, an exercise aid. The most recent film to make the registry is Peter Hutton’s Study of a River, from 1996. Far from being a blockbuster, it’s a beguiling examination of the life of the Hudson river as seen through Hutton’s camera lens.