The United States’ National Film Registry is:
the registry of films selected by the National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. Established in 1988, the National Film Registry is meant to preserve up to 25 films deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” each year. To be eligible, films must be at least 10 years old. The films do not have to be feature-length or to have had a theatrical release. The Board and Librarian try each year to select an eclectic list of diverse films representing the broad range of American cinema history, from Hollywood classics to silent films and landmark independent, documentary, and avant-garde masterpieces. As of 2005, there were 425 films preserved in the National Film Registry.
The most recent film is Toy Story (1995), and the oldest film is Blacksmith Scene (1893).
Wikipedia maintains a list of all films preserved in the United States National Film Registry. It’s quite a diverse list, containing a lot of films that I’d never heard of and many I’m glad made the list.
