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1997 (9th Year)
National Film Registry

The National Film Preservation Board was founded by the Library of Congress in 1988. Each year the Board selects up to 25 films which are considered to be culturally, historically or aesthetically important. Films must be at least 10 years old to be eligible for the registry. Listed below are the films inducted into the National Film Registry in 1997.

TheOscar Nominated marker symbol appears next to those films which also received an Academy Award nomination (although this is not a requirement for induction). Click on the name of one of those films to display more information about it. You can also click on the  IMDb  link to to open a new browser window showing information about the film from the Internet Movie Database. Or, click on a year in the column on the right to display the National Film Registry inductees for that year.


Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)   IMDb
The Big Sleep (1946)   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerThe Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)   IMDb
Cops (1922) [short]   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerCzechoslovakia 1918-1968 (1969) [documentary short]   IMDb
Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life (1925) [documentary]   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerThe Great Dictator (1940)   IMDb
Harold and Maude (1971)   IMDb
Hindenburg Disaster Newsreel Footage (1937) [documentary short]   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerHow the West Was Won (1962)   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerThe Hustler (1961)   IMDb
Knute Rockne All American (1940)   IMDb
The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra (1928) [short]   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerLittle Fugitive (1953)   IMDb
Mean Streets (1973)   IMDb
Motion Painting No. 1 (1947) [animated short]   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerThe Music Box (1932) [short]   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerThe Naked Spur (1953)   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerRear Window (1954)   IMDb
Republic Steel Strike Riots Newsreel Footage (1937) [documentary]   IMDb
Return of the Secaucus Seven (1979)   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerThe Thin Man (1934)   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerTulips Shall Grow (1942) [animated short]   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerWest Side Story (1961)   IMDb
Oscar Nominated markerWings (1927)   IMDb