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A scene from the Oscar-winning film, “The Hurt Locker.” The film is one of 25 selected for preservation by the Library of Congress. (Courtesy of Lionsgate)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. As filming was underway in Amman, Jordan, Tony Mark knew there was something special about “The Hurt Locker.”
“No one thought that we were making a masterpiece,” Mark said. “It was a really good script. When (director) Kathryn (Bigelow) made her first cut, you knew right then, it wasn’t your average movie.”
Mark, a Santa Fe resident, served as an executive producer and unit production manager for the Oscar-winning 2008 film.
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The film, set during the Iraq War, tells the story of a sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.
The climatic pie fight from “Battle of the Century,” with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in the middle of the action. Hal Roach Studios.
“The Battle of the Century,” Laurel and Hardy’s 1927 silent short film, famed for its epic pie-in-the-face fight sequence, quickly disappeared after its theatrical release.
The 20-minute, two-reel bit of comic relief in the latter days of the Roaring Twenties got left behind in the rush to talkies, as did most silent films. The last known surviving copy of its famed second reel was considered lost for good by the 1960s. It seemed to be a flickering bit of entertainment lost to time, disintegrating film stock and a too-late appreciation of an outdated art form. Slate magazine once described the missing second reel, containing most of the pie-fight sequence, as “one of the most deeply mourned lost treasures in film history.”
Lilies of the Field are among the 25 movies tapped for preservation this year.
The national library said this year’s selections include a record nine films directed by women and film-makers of colour.
“With the inclusion of diverse film-makers, we are not trying to set records but rather to set the record straight by spotlighting the astonishing contributions women and people of colour have made to American cinema, despite facing often-overwhelming hurdles,” Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, said in a statement.
Hayden and film historian Jacqueline Stewart will discuss the new selections in a television special on Turner Classic Movies on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.
‘The Dark Knight,’ ‘Grease’ among films inducted into National Film Registry [Los Angeles Times :: BC-MOVIE-NATIONALFILMREGISTRY:LA]
This year’s inductees into the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, a collection of the most influential American movies, include a neo-noir superhero action spectacle, a ’50s-set ’70s musical and an animated send-up of a classic fairy tale trope.
“The Dark Knight,” “Grease” and “Shrek” are just three of the 25 pictures to be added to the registry, which aims to preserve movies of cultural, historical or aesthetic importance, ranging from blockbusters and musicals to silent films, documentaries and adaptations.
“This is not only a great honor for all of us who worked on ‘The Dark Knight,’ this is also a tribute to all of the amazing artists and writers who have worked on the great mythology of Batman over the decades,” Christopher Nolan said in a press announcement.
Dark Knight, Grease, The Joy Luck Club added to National Film Registry Toggle share menu
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Dark Knight, Grease, The Joy Luck Club added to National Film Registry Other inductees such as Shrek, The Blues Brothers and The Hurt Locker are among the 25 movies tapped for preservation this year.
This image released by the Library of Congress shows Heath Ledger, left, and Christian Bale in a scene from the 2008 film The Dark Knight. The film was added to the National Film Registry. (Warner Bros.-Library of Congress via AP)
15 Dec 2020 08:14AM Share this content
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This year s inductees into the National Film Registry include a record number of female directors and filmmakers of colour as well as a new crop of movies ranging from a silent short film thriller, classic musicals and an acclaimed Batman film.