16 Cinematic Classics Officially Entering The National Film Registry
Every year, the Library of Congress selects a group of films that shaped American culture, history, and artistic expression, and the 2025 additions to the National Film Registry are stacked with unforgettable titles. Animated heroes, groundbreaking indies, unforgettable dramas, and bold cinematic experiments all made the cut.
The new class spans more than a century of storytelling, honoring films that changed conversations, pushed creative limits, and defined entire eras of moviemaking. Silver screen legends sit alongside modern classics, proving great storytelling never fades.
Scroll through the full list, revisit old favorites, and see which selections earned a permanent spotlight. Which title deserves a standing ovation in your book?
1. Clueless (1995)
As if this movie wasn’t already iconic enough, now it’s officially part of American film history! Director Amy Heckerling’s teen comedy starring Alicia Silverstone became a cultural landmark the moment it hit theaters in 1995.
Loosely based on Jane Austen’s classic novel Emma, the film swapped English countryside charm for Beverly Hills glamour. Its snappy dialogue, unforgettable fashion, and surprisingly sharp social commentary made it way more than just a silly teen flick.
2. Inception (2010)
What if your dreams had dreams? Christopher Nolan asked that exact question and turned it into one of the most jaw-dropping films ever made.
Inception hit theaters in 2010 and immediately broke people’s brains in the best possible way.
Its layered storyline, featuring thieves who steal secrets from inside dreams, challenged audiences to pay close attention. The film’s visual effects and spinning-top ending sparked debates that are honestly still going on today.
3. The Karate Kid (1984)
Wax on, wax off. Those four words became legendary the moment Mr. Miyagi said them to young Daniel LaRusso in this beloved 1984 classic.
Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita delivered performances that still hit hard decades later.
Beyond the karate kicks and crane poses, the film is really about finding courage and trusting a mentor. How often does a sports movie also teach you about patience, respect, and friendship?
This one does all three beautifully.
4. Philadelphia (1993)
Tom Hanks delivered one of the most courageous performances in Hollywood history in this 1993 drama that tackled the HIV/AIDS crisis head-on. Philadelphia was one of the first major studio films to confront the epidemic with honesty and heart.
Bruce Springsteen’s haunting Oscar-winning song The Streets of Philadelphia gave the film an emotional backbone that still resonates. Watching it today, audiences are reminded how powerful cinema can be when it chooses compassion over silence.
5. Before Sunrise (1995)
Romance rarely gets more honest than two strangers sharing one magical night in Vienna. Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise follows Jesse and Celine as they wander the city talking about life, love, and everything in between.
Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy made the chemistry feel completely real, which is a rare and beautiful thing. Time itself becomes a character here, ticking quietly in the background as dawn threatens to end something wonderful before it barely began.
6. The Incredibles (2004)
Pixar absolutely outdid itself with this superhero family adventure that somehow manages to be a clever commentary on conformity and exceptionalism. Bob Parr, also known as Mr. Incredible, is a retired superhero stuck in a boring desk job, which is honestly relatable on a cosmic level.
The animation was groundbreaking for its time, and the story balanced action, humor, and heart with remarkable skill. Even after twenty years, this film holds up like a superhero landing on solid ground.
7. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Wes Anderson built an entire fictional world for this visually dazzling film, and it is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Every frame of The Grand Budapest Hotel feels like a perfectly arranged painting, packed with quirky details begging to be noticed.
The story follows a legendary concierge and his young lobby boy across a fictional European country between the World Wars. Wes Anderson even did historical research at the Library of Congress while crafting this film, which is a genuinely cool behind-the-scenes fact.
8. White Christmas (1954)
Holiday classics don’t get much cozier than this beloved 1954 musical starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. White Christmas was actually the first film ever released in VistaVision, a widescreen format that made everything look grander and more spectacular.
The film follows two entertainers who fall for a sister act and end up saving a Vermont inn from financial ruin. If you’ve never watched it curled up with hot cocoa during December, you are genuinely missing out on something magical.
9. High Society (1956)
Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra walk into a movie. The result?
One of the most glamorous musicals of the 1950s. High Society is a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, updated with jazz flair and spectacular star power.
Louis Armstrong appears in the film, adding genuine musical royalty to an already glittering cast. Surprisingly, this was Grace Kelly’s final film before she became Princess of Monaco, making every scene feel like a sparkling farewell to Hollywood.
10. Daughters of the Dust (1991)
Julie Dash made history with Daughters of the Dust, becoming the first African American woman to have a feature film receive wide theatrical release in the United States. That alone earns it a permanent place in the history books.
Set in 1902 among the Gullah Geechee people of the Sea Islands, the film is lyrical, visually breathtaking, and deeply rooted in African American cultural traditions. Beyonce has cited it as a major influence on her visual album Lemonade, which tells you everything.
11. Imitation of Life (1959)
Douglas Sirk’s Imitation of Life takes the shiny surface of 1950s American prosperity and peels it back to reveal painful truths about race, identity, and motherhood. Lana Turner stars, but the film’s emotional center belongs to Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner.
Moore received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Annie Johnson, a Black housekeeper whose light-skinned daughter rejects her racial identity. The film was a massive box office hit that critics initially dismissed but now recognize as a quietly radical masterpiece.
12. Enter the Dragon (1973)
Bruce Lee only completed five feature films before his tragic passing in 1973, but Enter the Dragon is the one that introduced him to the entire world. Released just weeks after his passing, it became an instant global phenomenon.
Shot partly in Hong Kong and partly in Los Angeles, the martial arts tournament storyline gave Lee room to showcase techniques that genuinely changed how action films were made forever. His speed, precision, and charisma on screen remain unmatched by almost anyone who came after.
13. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbor Totoro has been making children and adults cry happy tears since 1988, and its addition to the National Film Registry feels long overdue. Hayao Miyazaki created a world so warm and full of wonder it practically glows.
Two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, discover magical forest spirits near their new countryside home in rural Japan. The film has no villain, no dramatic climax, just pure childhood joy captured with extraordinary animation and a heart-swelling score by Joe Hisaishi.
14. Jezebel (1938)
Bette Davis was robbed of the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, so she channeled every ounce of that energy into Jezebel and won an Academy Award for it. That is the kind of legendary Hollywood revenge story that never gets old.
Set in pre-Civil War New Orleans, the film follows a headstrong Southern belle whose stubborn choices cost her dearly. Director William Wyler brought out a career-defining performance from Davis that remains one of the most electrifying in classic Hollywood history.
15. Thelma and Louise (1991)
Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise arrived in 1991 like a thunderclap, and Hollywood hasn’t quite recovered since. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis play two friends whose weekend road trip becomes something far more complicated and far more powerful than anyone expected.
The film sparked massive conversations about female agency, justice, and freedom that were genuinely ahead of their time. That final scene at the edge of the Grand Canyon remains one of the most debated, discussed, and celebrated endings in American movie history.
16. An American in Paris (1951)
Gene Kelly dancing through an 18-minute ballet sequence inspired by Impressionist paintings is exactly as spectacular as it sounds. An American in Paris won six Academy Awards in 1951, including Best Picture, and it absolutely earned every single one of them.
Kelly plays an American painter living in post-World War II Paris who falls for a charming French woman with a complicated past. The film blends romance, humor, and jaw-dropping choreography into something that feels less like a movie and more like a dream you never want to wake from.
