Month: December 2019

AFI names top 2019 films, tv shows

The American Film Institute has announced its selections for top American made films and television shows of 2019.

Here are the lists:

Films of the Year

1917

THE FAREWELL

THE IRISHMAN

JOJO RABBIT

JOKER

KNIVES OUT

LITTLE WOMEN

MARRIAGE STORY

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

RICHARD JEWELL

AFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

CHERNOBYL

THE CROWN

FOSSE/VERDON

GAME OF THRONES

POSE

SUCCESSION

UNBELIEVABLE

VEEP

WATCHMEN

WHEN THEY SEE US

Honorees will gather on January 3, 2020, for recognition at the annual AFI Awards private luncheon in Los Angeles.

Library of Congress names 25 more films to registry

One of our favorite things about the holiday season is that each December the Library of Congress announces the addition of 25 films to the National Film Registry.

In its announcement this year, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden stated that the film were selected because of their cultural, historic and aesthetic importance to the nation’s film heritage. The films in the class of 2019 range from Prince’s 1984 autobiographical hit “Purple Rain” and Spike Lee’s 1986 breakout movie “She’s Gotta Have It” to Disney’s 1959 timeless fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty” and this year’s biggest public vote getter, Kevin Smith’s 1994 “Clerks.”

“The National Film Registry has become an important record of American history, culture and creativity,” said Hayden. “Unlike many other honors, the registry is not restricted to a time, place or genre. It encompasses 130 years of the full American cinematic experience – a virtual Olympiad of motion pictures. With the support of Congress, the studios and other archives, we are ensuring that the nation’s cinematic history will be around for generations to come.”

A musical biopic, a heartwarming tale about man’s best friend, early black cinema, a notorious real-life crime drama and the anatomy of war represent the diversity of the 2019 registry. They include blockbusters, documentaries, silent movies, animation and independent films. The 2019 selections bring the number of films in the registry to 775, which is a small fraction of the Library’s vast moving-image collection of more than 1.6 million items.

The list of 25 includes:

  1. Amadeus (1984)
  2. Becky Sharp (1935)
  3. Before Stonewall (1984)
  4. Body and Soul (1925)
  5. Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
  6. Clerks (1994)
  7. Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)
  8. Emigrants Landing at Ellis Island (1903)
  9. Employees Entrance (1933)
  10. Fog of War (2003)
  11. Gaslight (1944)
  12. George Washington Carver at Tuskegee Institute (1937)
  13. Girlfriends (1978)
  14. I Am Somebody (1970)
  15. Last Waltz, The (1978)
  16. My Name Is Oona (1969)
  17. A New Leaf (1971)
  18. Old Yeller (1957)
  19. The Phenix City Story (1955)
  20. Platoon (1986)
  21. Purple Rain (1984)
  22. Real Women Have Curves (2002)
  23. She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
  24. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
  25. Zoot Suit (1981)