Jurassic Park, Brokeback Mountain among films added to the National Film Registry

Brokeback Mountain and Jurassic Park, along with 23 other films, are finally joining the National Film Registry this year.

Each year, 25 motion pictures are inducted into the National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress. These films must be at least 10 years old and the requirement is that they are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. This year is a bit of a milestone for the registry as it’s been 30 years since it first began.

This year, we have a film that dates all the way back to 1898, Something Good — Negro Kiss, which is a newly discovered 29-second film but played an important part of American cinema in the 19th century and it’s said to be the first glimpse of African-American intimacy portrayed on screen.

Another movie that is exciting to see in this lineup is Brokeback Mountain, a new age western film of two cowboys who fall in love. For me, that piece of cinema was one of the first times I saw LGBTQ representation on my TV screen and will continue to be the first film that flipped a switch, enticing me to begin questioning my own sexuality.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 12: A general view is shown at the premiere of Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on June 12, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

But the film I’m most excited for is Jurassic Park for pure aesthetic reasons alone. It’s about time that it was brought into this “movie hall of fame” as it’s an absolute cinematic masterpiece from the early 1990s and has created an entire franchise around it (including a ride at Universal Studios but I digress).

From musicals to westerns to thrillers, here is the entire lineup of all 25 films being praised in 2018:

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Broadcast News (1987)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Cinderella (1950)
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition to Crow Agency (1908)
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
The Girl Without a Soul (1917)
Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People (1984)
Hearts and Minds (1974)
Hud (1963)
The Informer (1935)
Jurassic Park (1993)
The Lady From Shanghai (1947)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Monterey Pop (1968)
My Fair Lady (1964)
The Navigator (1924)
On the Town (1949)
One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Rebecca (1940)
The Shining (1980)
Smoke Signals (1998)
Something Good — Negro Kiss (1898)

And if you’re interested in all the movies that have been inducted into the National Film Registry, you can check them out here!