Jocelyn Noveck
AP – They’ll have what she’s having.
The 1989 rom-com When Harry Met Sally is one of 25 films chosen this year to enter the National Film Registry, a list that ranges from Disney’s The Little Mermaid to an 1898 silent documentary about the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.
Also chosen this year for preservation: Marvel’s Iron Man, John Waters’ Hairspray, Brian de Palma’s Carrie and the 1950 Cyrano de Bergerac starring Jose Ferrer, whose performance made him the first Hispanic actor to win a Best Actor Oscar.
The registry is housed at the Library of Congress, which since 1988 has selected movies for preservation based on their cultural and historic importance. This year’s picks bring the total number of films in the registry to 850 – many of which are among the 1.7 million films in the library’s collections.
The oldest film selected this year is the 1898 Mardi Gras Carnival, a silent-era documentary with the earliest known footage of the carnival in New Orleans. A copy was recently found at the Eye Filmmuseum in the Netherlands.
“We are proud to add 25 more films by a group of vibrant and diverse filmmakers to the National Film Registry as we preserve our cinematic heritage,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
Among the films entering the registry:
– When Harry Met Sally (1989), Rob Reiner’s much-loved rom-com starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan and one of the best scenes ever filmed in a deli.
– Iron Man (2008), the Marvel superhero film starring Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow, directed by Jon Favreau.
– Carrie (1976), the Brian de Palma horror classic about a teen outcast with telekinetic powers.
– Hairspray (1988), the John Waters version of the story about teenagers in Baltimore. The film would go on to become a successful Broadway musical.
– Charade (1963) by Stanley Donen, the only movie to pair Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.
– Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) directed by Michael Gordon, the first United States (US) film version of Rostand’s 1897 French play.
– The Little Mermaid (1989), the classic Disney production with Alan Menken and Howard Ashman songs about Ariel, who lives under the sea but wishes she were human.
