Willy Wonka, Big Lebowski added to National Film registry

Los Angeles:  'The Big Lebowski', 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' are among the 25 films saluted by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in the organisation's annual selection of notable works.

The organisation says selection will help ensure preservation of these films. This year's choices bring the registry total to 650, a small fraction of the Library's vast collection of 1.3 million items.

As always, the choices are eclectic, including Hollywood films, indies, documentaries, silent movies and student films, reported Variety. "The National Film Registry showcases the extraordinary diversity of America's film heritage and the disparate strands making it so vibrant," said the Librarian of Congress James H Billington.

"By preserving these films, we protect a crucial element of American creativity, culture and history." The list also includes 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', 'Rosemary's Baby', John Lasseter's 1986 animated film, 'Luxo Jr.'; films from Howard Hawks, Arthur Penn and Frank Tashlin; two Fox musicals featuring Carmen Miranda; and Efrain Gutierrez's 1976 independent 'Please Don't Bury Me Alive!,' considered by historians to be the first Chicano feature film.

Also added to the registry are seven reels of untitled and unassembled footage from 1913 featuring vaudevillian Bert Williams, the first African-American Broadway headliner and the most popular recording artist before 1920.