National Film Registry

Ringling Brothers Parade Film (1902)

Short subject, available to watch on Youtube

"The 3-minute film captures a Circus parade by the Ringling Brothers. The film was thought lost until 2020, when the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum found a copy and uploaded it to YouTube with an intro by David Kiehn." Wikipedia

Jubilo (1919)

Directed by Clarence G. Badger

Narrative feature, available to watch on the Internet Archive

"Jubilo, a tramp, makes himself useful doing odd jobs in a small farming community while he looks for the wife who deserted him while he was off in the war. He discovers that young Rose is his own daughter and not the daughter of prominent Judge Hardy, with whom Jubilo's wife had run off years before." IMDb

The Flying Ace (1926)

Directed by Richard E. Norman

Narrative feature, available to watch on Kanopy or request the DVD set Pioneers of African American Cinema

"A WWI fighter pilot returns to his former job as a railroad detective, and must recover a satchel filled $25,000 of stolen payroll, locate a missing employee, and capture the gang of thieves responsible." IMDb

Hellbound Train (1930)

Directed by James and Eloyce Gist

Narrative feature, available to watch a preview clip on Youtube or request the DVD set Pioneers of African American Cinema for the full feature

"...arguably the most significant rediscovery in Pioneers of African American Cinema. The film is the work of self-taught filmmakers James and Eloyce Gist, African American evangelists who employed cinema as a tool for their traveling ministry. Their surreal visual allegories were screened in churches and meeting halls, accompanied by a sermon and the passing of a collection plate. Rather than having a linear story, the film is instead a catalog of iniquity, a car-by-car dramatization of the sins of the Jazz Age (including gambling, dancing, alcohol, and the mistreatment of animals), presided over by a horned devil and culminating in a colossal derailment (a model train tossed into a bonfire). Admittedly, the production values are minimal—shot with handheld 16 mm equipment using natural light, sans audio—but the surreality of it all makes for a compelling viewing experience, and shows that renegade, visionary filmmakers can be found in the most unexpected places." The Criterion Channel

Flowers and Trees (1932)

Directed by Burt Gillett

Animated short subject, available to watch on Youtube

"A jealous stump threatens two trees that are in love by starting a forest fire. When the rain comes and puts out the fire the forest revives and celebrates the wedding." IMDb

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Narrative feature, request the DVD

"A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder." IMDb

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Directed by Robert Aldrich

Narrative feature, request the DVD

"A former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion." IMDb

Evergreen (1965)

Directed by Ray Manzarek

Short subject/experimental film, available to watch on Youtube (This is an age restricted video, some content may not be suitable for children)

"A series of scenes exploring the lives of a jazz musician and a girl that he goes home with in 1960s Los Angeles." IMDb

Requiem-29 (1970)

Directed by David Garcia

Experimental film, available to watch on Youtube

"This riveting film documents the chilling inhuman treatment of 50,000 Chicanos by police and the death of L.A. Times journalist Ruben Salazar at the Chicano National Moratorium in Los Angeles on August 29, 1970. Film includes footage of the mass march, police tactics used to disorganize and disperse the demonstrators, scenes from the inquest hearing into the death of Ruben Salazar and interviews with then "La Raza" editor, Raul Ruiz." UC Berkley

The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971)

Directed by Howard Alk

Documentary, request the DVD

"Fred Hampton was the leader of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. This film depicts his brutal murder by the Chicago police and its subsequent investigation, but also documents his activities in organizing the Chapter, his public speeches, and the programs he founded for children during the last eighteen months of his life." IMDb

Pink Flamingos (1972)

Directed by John Waters

Narrative feature, request the DVD

"Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as 'The Filthiest Person Alive'." IMDb

Sounder (1972)

Directed by Martin Ritt

Narrative feature, available to watch on Kanopy or request the DVD

"The oldest son of a loving and strong family of black sharecroppers comes of age in the Depression-era South after his father is imprisoned for stealing food." IMDb

The Long Goodbye (1973)

Directed by Robert Altman

Narrative feature, request the DVD

"Private investigator Philip Marlowe helps a friend out of a jam, but in doing so gets implicated in his wife's murder." IMDb

Cooley High (1975)

Directed by Michael Schultz

Narrative feature, request the DVD

"In 1964 on Chicago's Near-North Side, the lives of four carefree high school seniors and best friends, including an aspiring playwright and an all-city basketball champion, takes a tragic turn." IMDb

Chicana (1979)

Directed by Sylvia Morales

Documentary, available to watch on Kanopy or Internet Archive

"Over a collage of artworks, photographs, and documentary footage, Carmen Zapata and an array of Chicana activists narrate the history of struggles faced by Mexican and Mexican-American women from the pre-Columbian era to the present day." IMDb

Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)

Directed by Jeff Margolis

Narrative feature, request the DVD

"Richard Pryor's classic 1979 concert film has him discussing a wide range of topics, including race, the police and his favorite target -- himself." IMDb

The Wobblies (1979)

Directed by Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer

Documentary, available to watch on Kanopy or request the DVD

"The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905." Wikipedia. The film "boldly investigates a nation torn by naked corporate greed and the red-hot rift between the industrial masters and the rabble-rousing workers in the field and factory." IMDb

Return of the Jedi (1983)

Directed by George Lucas

Narrative feature, request the DVD (we own a copy!)

"After a daring mission to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebels dispatch to Endor to destroy the second Death Star. Meanwhile, Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side without falling into the Emperor's trap." IMDb

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Directed by Wes Craven

Narrative feature, request the DVD

"Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life." IMDb

Stop Making Sense (1984)

Directed by Jonathan Demme

Documentary, request the DVD

"An innovative concert movie for the rock group Talking Heads." IMDb