How many of the 25 movies added to the National Film Registry have you seen?

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Home Alone, Terminator 2 and more have been added for their 'cultural, historical or aesthetical importance'.

Home Alone
Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone (Image credit: Disney/20th Century Studios)

Every December, the US Library of Congress' National Film Registry selects 25 movies that are added to its roster for preservation, and on December 13 the 2023 picks were announced. Among them were popular classics like Home Alone, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Spike Lee joint Bamboozled and Best Picture-winner 12 Years a Slave, but there are also movies on the list that go all the way back to 1921. 

The announcement of these 25 movies begs the question: how many of the newly minted entries to the National Film Registry have you seen?

Here is the complete list of 2023 additions to the National Film Registry and how (and if) you can watch them online:

  • A Movie Trip Through Filmland (1921); excerpt available on YouTube
  • Dinner at Eight (1933); available via digital on-demand
  • Bohulano Family Film Collection (1950s-1970s); not available online
  • Helen Keller: In Her Story (1954); available on YouTube
  • Lady and the Tramp (1955); streaming on Disney Plus
  • Edge of the City (1957); available via digital on-demand
  • We're Alive (1974); available on YouTube
  • Cruisin' J-Town (1975); excerpt available on YouTube
  • ¡Alambrista! (1977); streaming on The Criterion Channel
  • Passing Through (1977); not available online
  • Fame (1980); available via digital on-demand
  • Desperately Seeking Susan (1985); streaming on Tubi and Pluto TV
  • The Lighted Field (1987); not available online
  • Matewan (1987); not available online
  • Home Alone (1990); streaming on Disney Plus
  • Queen of Diamonds (1991); streaming on Mubi
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991); streaming on Paramount Plus
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993); streaming on Disney Plus
  • The Wedding Banquet (1993); streaming on Amazon Freevee, Tubi and Pluto TV
  • Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994); available online
  • Apollo 13 (1995); streaming on The Roku Channel
  • Bamboozled (2000); available via digital on-demand
  • Love & Basketball (2000); streaming on Tubi
  • 12 Years a Slave (2013); available via digital on-demand
  • 20 Feet from Stardom (2013); streaming on Cinemax

For more information on each of the movies, visit the Library of Congress' website, where filmmakers and film historians offer insights into each movie.

Personally, I've seen nine of the 25 movies selected this year, so might have to try and find some time to watch a few more.

As part of the additions to the National Film Registry, Turner Classic Movies is airing a special on Thursday, December 14, at 8 pm ET/PT, where TCM host, film historian, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures director and president and chair of the National Film Preservation Board Jacqueline Stewart will sit down with the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden to discuss many of the movies.

These 25 movies bring the total of movies of the National Film Registry to 875. Each year's selections are based on a list of movies nominated by the public. You can nominate movies for possible inclusion next year until August 15, 2024, at loc.gov/film.

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Michael Balderston
Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.