Every year, the National Film Preservation Board ads 25 movies to the National Film Registry which are deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The Registry aims for a mix of popular movies (that always make headlines and bring more attention to their work) and silent/independent movies that may not be as splashy but are no less worthy of inclusion. This year the big titles include The Man with the Golden Arm, Lilies of the Field, A Clockwork Orange, Grease, The Blues Brothers, The Joy Luck Club, Shrek, The Hurt Locker, and The Dark Knight. Like most NFR additions, it’s hard to argue with the inclusion as these movies have stood the test of time and are worth revisiting.

For me, the most surprising inclusion on this year’s list is Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, not because of its addition, but because it hadn’t already been added in a previous year. Sweet Sweetback is one of the most important movies in the history of Black cinema and it kicked off the Blaxsploitation movement of the 1970s, so I’m surprised it took until 2020 for the movie to finally make the National Film Registry.

Over 5,5000 titles were nominated by the public, but to make the cut, films must not only be “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant, but also at least 10 years old. Let’s get Mad Max: Fury Road in there in 2025.

Here are the 25 films added to the National Film Registry for 2020 in chronological order:

  1. Suspense (1913)
  2. Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)
  3. Bread (1918)
  4. The Battle of the Century(1927)
  5. With Cara and Camera Around the World (1929)
  6. Cabin in the Sky (1943)
  7. Outrage (1950)
  8. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
  9. Lilies of the Field (1963)
  10. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
  11. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
  12. Wattstax (1973)
  13. Grease (1978)
  14. The Blues Brothers (1980)
  15. Losing Ground (1982)
  16. Illusions (1982)
  17. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
  18. The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)
  19. Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
  20. The Ground (1993-2001)
  21. Shrek (2001)
  22. Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)
  23. The Hurt Locker (2008)
  24. The Dark Knight (2008)
  25. Freedom Riders (2010)