News

December 1, 2024: The Visual Communications label is now offering streaming services through their website. This means that the Film Registry titles Manzanar (1971/2022) and Cruisin’ J-Town (1975/2023) are available to stream for a fee (click on the titles for links). Thanks to Tony Cirimele for this news.

November 29, 2024: Director George Ingmire has launched a new website, which means his film Think of Me First as a Person (1975/2006) is once again available.

November 27, 2024: Lionsgate has announced their own boutique label Lionsgate Limited. Their first two releases are 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Disc combo limited editions of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974/1995) and Apocalypse Now (1979/2000).

November 25, 2024: For those in the Los Angeles area, the vary rare Film Registry title With Car and Camera Around the World (1929/2020) is screening at the Ted Mann Theater on Monday, December 9th, 2024. Additional details here. Hopefully this restoration means a home video release is in the works as well.

November 22, 2024: Site News: I have added two more pictures to this site.

November 20, 2024: More exciting news: The intrepid Benjamin Wilson has discovered an excellent print of the rare Film Registry title Verbena Trágica (1938/1996) with English subtitles on YouTube! The subtitles are far from perfect, but they are acceptable.

November 15, 2024: Site News: I’ve added a new list to the Additional Statistics menu.

November 5, 2024: Warner Archive has announced its first 4K Ultra HD title: John Ford’s The Searchers (1956/1989).

November 4, 2024: R.I.P. Quincy Jones, composer for the Film Registry titles The Pawnbroker (1964/2008), In the Heat of the Night (1967/2002), and In Cold Blood (1967/2009).

October 29, 2024: R.I.P. Teri Garr, star of the Film Registry titles T.A.M.I. Show (1964/2006), The Conversation (1974/1995), Young Frankenstein (1974/2003), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977/2007), The Black Stallion (1979/2002), and Tootsie (1982/1998).

October 15, 2024: Anthony Mann’s Winchester ’73 (1950/2015) makes its Blu-ray Disc and 4K Ultra HD debut this January thanks to the Criterion Collection.

October 1, 2024: R.I.P. John Amos, star of the Film Registry title Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971/2020).

September 11, 2024: Some very exciting news to share! Benjamin Wilson has finally received the digital scan of D.W. Griffith’s short film Lady Helen’s Escapade (1909/2004) from the Library of Congress (see July 4, 2024 below). Benjamin and I are planning an official online premiere this Friday, September 13th at 5:00 Central Standard Time. We will also be hosting an online pre-screening discussion at 4:30 Central Standard Time. If you would like to attend that, please e-mail me at eric (at) filmregistry (dot) net. If you cannot be there for our premiere, the film will be available afterwards as well. Update September 14, 2024: Thanks to all who attended our premiere!

September 10, 2024: Just discovered another wonderful Film Registry blog.

September 9, 2024: R.I.P. James Earl Jones, star of the Film Registry titles Dr. Strangelove (1964/1989), Field of Dreams (1989/2017), The Lion King (1994/2016), Matewan (1987/2023), Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope (1977/1989), Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (1980/2010), and Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi (1983/2021).

September 4, 2024: Clarence G. Badger’s Jubilo (1919/2021) gets re-released on DVD at a reasonable price thanks to Alpha Video.

August 15, 2024: R.I.P. Gena Rowlands, star of the Film Registry titles Faces (1968/2011), Shadows (1959/1993), and A Woman Under the Influence (1974/1990).

July 31, 2024: Just discovered another wonderful Film Registry blog.

July 18, 2024: William Worthington’s The Dragon Painter (1919/2014) makes its Blu-ray Disc debut this September thanks to Milestone.

July 11, 2024: R.I.P. Shelley Duvall, star of the Film Registry titles Annie Hall (1977/1992), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971/2010), Nashville (1975/1992), and The Shining (1980/2018).

July 4, 2024: D. W. Griffith’s short film Lady Helen’s Escapade (1909/2004) is one of the handful of Film Registry titles that is currently completely unavailable. My good friend, collaborator, and fellow Film Registry enthusiast Benjamin Wilson has been in touch with the Library of Congress and has started a gofundme page to raise money to get the film digitized and released online. Please consider donating. The total needed is only $379. Update July 8, 2024: The goal has been reached! Thank you to all who contributed. Details will be posted here as they develop.

July 1, 2024: The very rare Film Registry title Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913/2014) is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.

June 29, 2024: Michael Pressman’s Boulevard Nights (1979/2017) makes its Blu-ray Disc debut in August thanks to Warner Archive.

June 20, 2024: R.I.P. Donald Sutherland, star of the Film Registry titles M*A*S*H (1970/1996) and National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978/2001).

June 15, 2024: William Wellman’s The Story of G.I. Joe (1945/2009) returns to print and makes its Blu-ray Disc debut next month thanks to Ignite Films.

June 12, 2024: Billy Woodberry’s Bless Their Little Hearts (1984/2013) makes its Blu-ray Disc debut next month thanks to Milestone.

June 1, 2024: Caveat Emptor: There is apparently a manufacturing error on the recently released 4K Ultra HD of Titanic (1997/2017). Details, including a disc replacement program, here.

May 17, 2024: Sony has announced a 20-Blu-ray Disc Three Stooges collection. It is not the complete films, and the list of included titles has not been announced, so I cannot determine whether the new set includes Lou Breslow’s Punch Drunks (1934/2002). I will confirm and add the title to the Release Calendar as soon as the contents are announced. Update August 12, 2024: Confirmed!

May 16, 2024: The rare Film Registry title, Grace Cunard and Francis Ford’s silent short film Unmasked (1917/2014), gets restored and makes its Blu-ray Disc debut this July thanks to Undercrank Productions.

May 12, 2024: R.I.P. Roger Corman, director of the Film Registry title House of Usher (1960/2005), and star of the Film Registry titles The Godfather Part II (1974/1993) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991/2011).

April 27, 2024: The rare Film Registry title The Lighted Field (1987/2023) has been found online by my tireless sleuth Benjamin Wilson.

April 15, 2024: Just discovered this wonderful podcast on the NFR.

March 13, 2024: Site News: I’ve added a Contact page to the main menu.

March 8, 2024: Site News: I’ve added a second picture to this site. It can be seen here.

February 26, 2024: The rare Film Registry title Water and Power (1989/2008) has been found online by Mr. Benjamin Wilson (thank you again).

February 5, 2024: Site News: I’ve added my 2024 nominations to the My Nominations page.

January 20, 2024: R.I.P. Norman Jewison, director of the Film Registry title In the Heat of the Night (1967/2002).

January 17, 2024: British home video label Eureka Entertainment has announced that they will begin releasing titles from their catalog in North America later this year. Eureka is home to the Masters of Cinema label, which has released several Film Registry titles. Additional details here.

December 13, 2023: The 2023 additions to the Film Registry were announced this morning. Here they are:

  1. A Movie Trip Through Filmland (1921)
  2. Dinner at Eight (1933)
  3. Bohulano Family Film Collection (1950s-1970s)
  4. Helen Keller in Her Story (1954)
  5. Lady and the Tramp (1955)
  6. Edge of the City (1957)
  7. We’re Alive (1974)
  8. Cruisin’ J-Town (1975)
  9. ¡Alambrista! (1977)
  10. Passing Through (1977)
  11. Fame (1980)
  12. Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
  13. The Lighted Field (1987)
  14. Matewan (1987)
  15. Home Alone (1990)
  16. Queen of Diamonds (1991)
  17. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
  18. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
  19. The Wedding Banquet (1993)
  20. Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994)
  21. Apollo 13 (1995)
  22. Bamboozled (2000)
  23. Love & Basketball (2000)
  24. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
  25. 20 Feet From Stardom (2013)

I have updated the entire site to reflect the new additions.

November 15, 2023: Michael Roemer’s Nothing but a Man (1964/1993) returns to print and makes its Blu-ray Disc debut this February thanks to the Criterion Collection.

November 9, 2023: The rare Film Registry title The Inner World of Aphasia (1968/2015) has been found online by Mr. Benjamin Wilson (thank you again).

November 1, 2023: The rare Film Registry title The Revenge of Pancho Villa (1936/2009) has been discovered in its entirety, complete with English intertitles, online. Thanks again to Mr. Benjamin Wilson for finding yet another obscure Film Registry title.

November 1, 2023: Kent Mackenzie’s The Exiles (1961/2009) makes it’s Blu-ray Disc debut in December thanks to Milestone. The disc also includes James Young Deer’s White Fawn’s Devotion (1910/2008), likewise making it’s Blu-ray Disc debut.

October 30, 2023: I have discovered a little more information about Aloha Wanderwell’s With Car and Camera Around the World (1929/2020). Click on the title to access the new links.

October 30, 2023: Found another good Film Registry blog.

October 27, 2023: Caveat Emptor: There is apparently a manufacturing error on the newly released 4K Ultra HD of Rosemary’s Baby (1968/2014). Details, including a disc replacement program, here.

October 26, 2023: Leo McCarey’s Duck Soup (1933/1990) makes its stand-alone Blu-ray Disc debut next month thanks to Universal.

October 24, 2023: Excellent article by Bill Hunt on his The Digital Bits website about the future of physical media.

October 18, 2023: Just discovered a wonderful Film Registry blog. Well worth checking out.

October 13, 2023: R.I.P. Piper Laurie, star of the Film Registry titles The Hustler (1961/1997) Carrie (1976/2022)

October 12, 2023: Best Buy has announced that they will soon no longer be carrying physical media. This means they will also no longer be home to any special exclusive editions as they have in the past, so get any that you want quickly. More information here.

October 6, 2023: There seems to be some new clarification about Ernie Gehr’s Serene Velocity (1970/2001). Click on the title for more information.

October 3, 2023: Kino Lorber’s four-DVD set Edison: The Invention of the Movies, home to eight early Film Registry titles, returns to print today.

September 29, 2023: Exciting news: Mr. Benjamin Wilson found a complete version of Martin Brest’s very rare Film Registry title Hot Dogs for Gauguin (1972/2009) online. It can be seen here. My deepest gratitude to Mr. Wilson for alerting me to this.

September 22, 2023: I don’t usually post about theatrical releases, but Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense (1984/2021) gets re-released in IMAX theaters in the U.S. today in a special restored 40th anniversary print. Regular theatrical release next week.

September 6, 2023: The rare Film Registry title A Time for Burning (1966/2005) is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.

August 7, 2023: Grapevine Video has announced that they will be ending operations on September 6. They may still release the occasional new title, but September 6 is the last day to purchase existing inventory from their website.

August 7, 2023: R.I.P. William Friedkin, director of the Film Registry titles The French Connection (1971/2005) and The Exorcist (1973/2010).

July 17, 2023: Tod Browning’s Freaks (1932/1994) returns to print and makes its Blu-ray Disc debut this October thanks to the Criterion Collection.

July 13, 2023: Olive Films has officially folded. Most of their titles are still available from Amazon. (See September 16, 2022 below.)

June 15, 2023: Luis Valdez’s La Bamba (1987/2017) returns to print on Blu-ray Disc this September thanks to the Criterion Collection.

June 12, 2023: Ida Lupino’s Outrage (1950/2020) gets its first U.S. release on Blu-ray Disc and DVD this August thanks to Kino Lorber. (See February 16, 2023 below.)

May 31, 2023: Site News: Due to the amount of spam messages I’ve been receiving, I have disabled comments on this website.

May 31, 2023: Josef Berne’s Jam Session (1942/2001) returns to print and makes its Blu-ray Disc debut on July 25 as part of Kino Lorber’s Soundies: The Ultimate Collection.

May 18, 2023: I just learned that Robert Nakamura’s Manzanar (1971/2022) is available on DVD at non-institutional prices from Visual Communications. Click on the title for details.

May 15, 2023: Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman (1996/2021) returns to print and makes its Blu-ray Disc debut on July 11 thanks to the Criterion Collection.

May 14, 2023: Lynn Reynolds’s newly restored Sky High (1922/1998) makes it’s Blu-ray Disc debut this June thanks to Undercrank Productions.

May 10, 2023: R.I.P. Kenneth Anger, director of the Film Registry titles Eaux d’Artifice (1953/1993) and Scorpio Rising (1963/2022).

May 10, 2023: Albert Parker’s The Black Pirate (1926/1993) and Abraham Polonsky’s Force of Evil (1948/1994) both return to print on Blu-ray Disc this July thanks to the Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber, respectively.

May 8, 2023: Site News: I have added an FAQ page.

May 5, 2023: Site News: I have added a new list to the main menu: Significant firsts in cinema and Film Registry history.

May 2, 2023: Site News: I have added links to Letterboxd for all of the titles on the Film Registry.

May 2, 2023: I just learned that Julien Bryan’s Siege (1940/2006) is available on DVD. Click on the title for details.

May 1, 2023: I just learned that Wilfred Jackson’s The Old Mill (1937/2015) is available as a bonus feature on most DVD and Blu-ray Disc editions of Bambi (1942/2011).

April 20, 2023: Noel M. Smith’s newly restored Clash of the Wolves (1925/2004) makes it’s Blu-ray Disc debut this June thanks to Kino Lorber.

April 18, 2023: The Warner Archive DVDs of Robert Z. Leonard and W.S. Van Dyke’s Naughty Marietta (1935/2003) and Vincente Minnelli’s Cabin in the Sky (1943/2020) are back in print.

April 16, 2023: Site News: I’ve added my 2023 nominations to the My Nominations page.

March 28, 2023: The rare Film Registry title The Crowd (1928/1989) can be seen online at the Internet Archive. Thanks to Benjamin Wilson for alerting me to this.

February 28, 2023: Bruce Brown’s The Endless Summer (1966/2002) returns to print on DVD today thanks to BayView Entertainment.

February 16, 2023: I just learned that Ida Lupino’s Outrage (1950/2020) was released on Blu-ray Disc in Australia last year. As far as I can tell, this is the first ever home video release of the film anywhere. There are rumors of an upcoming U.S. Blu-ray Disc release. I will report it here if and when the rumors are confirmed. (See June 12, 2023 above.)

February 11, 2023: The very rare Film Registry title The Girl Without a Soul (1917/2018) can be seen online for a fee through the George Eastman Museum. Click on the title for details.

January 9, 2023: R.I.P. Melinda Dillon, star of the Film Registry titles The Cry of Jazz (1959/2010), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977/2007), The Muppet Movie (1979/2009), and A Christmas Story (1983/2012).

December 31, 2022: The rare Film Registry titles Suzanne, Suzanne (1982/2016), Growing Up Female (1971/2011), Betty Tells Her Story (1972/2022), and The Hole (1962/2013) are all currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.

December 29, 2022: Mr. Benjamin Wilson has added a nearly complete playlist of Film Registry titles to YouTube.

December 20, 2022: Arthur Hiller’s The Hospital (1971/1995) returns to print today thanks to new label Sandpiper Pictures.

December 14, 2022: The 2022 additions to the Film Registry were announced this morning. Here they are:

  1. Mardi Gras Carnival (1898)
  2. Cab Calloway Home Movies (1948-1951)
  3. Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
  4. Charade (1963)
  5. Scorpio Rising (1963)
  6. Behind Every Good Man… (1967)
  7. Titicut Follies (1967)
  8. Mingus (1968)
  9. Manzanar (1971)
  10. Betty Tells Her Story (1972)
  11. Super Fly (1972)
  12. Attica (1974)
  13. Carrie (1976)
  14. Union Maids (1976)
  15. Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977)
  16. Bush Mama (1979)
  17. The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
  18. itam hakim, hopiit (1984)
  19. Hairspray (1988)
  20.  The Little Mermaid (1989)
  21.  Tongues Untied (1989)
  22.  When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
  23.  House Party (1990)
  24.  Iron Man (2008)
  25.  Pariah (2011)

I have updated the entire site to reflect the new additions.

December 2, 2022: Sight and Sound Magazine published their decennial lists of the best films of all time as voted by critics and directors. Several Film Registry titles made both lists.

September 24, 2022: Caveat emptor: Issues are being reported about Paramount’s 4K Ultra HD of Byron Haskin’s The War of the Worlds (1953/2011) (and the Blu-ray Disc of When Worlds Collide from the same package). Details here and here.

September 16, 2022: Olive Films titles can no longer be ordered through the label’s website, though all of their titles appear to still be in print. I have removed links to their site from the pages for their titles.

September 8, 2022: Criterion announced the release of Andrew Stanton’s WALL•E (2008/2021). The announcement calls it “our first collaboration with Disney and Pixar.” Hopefully this means more Disney-Pixar titles are forthcoming from Criterion.

August 10, 2022: Site News: Added the first photograph to this website. Check it out on the page for Think of Me First as a Person (1975/2006).

July 24, 2022: After being out of print on home video for years, King Kong (1933/1991) finally gets re-released on Blu-ray Disc by Warner Archive.

May 31, 2022: Wayne Wang’s Chan Is Missing (1982/1995) returns to print and makes its Blu-ray Disc debut thanks to the Criterion Collection.

March 5, 2022: Site News: I’ve added my 2022 nominations to the My Nominations page.

February 15, 2022: Leo McCarey’s Mighty Like a Moose (1926/2007) makes its Blu-ray Disc Debut today thanks to the Criterion Collection.

February 14, 2022: R.I.P. Ivan Reitman, director of the Film Registry title Ghostbusters (1984/2015).

February 12, 2022: Site news: I have added a translation and commentary to the page for George Veditz’s Preservation of the Sign Language (1913/2010).

February 8, 2022: Mervyn LeRoy’s Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933/2003) makes its Blu-ray Disc debut today thanks to Warner Archive.

January 19, 2022: British label Indicator/Powerhouse has announced that it will begin distribution of their titles in the US and Canada. Details here.

January 7, 2022: R.I.P. Sidney Poitier, star of the Film Registry titles In the Heat of the Night (1967/2002), Porgy and Bess (1959/2011), Blackboard Jungle (1955/2016), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967/2017), Lilies of the Field (1963/2020), and Edge of the City (1957/2023).

January 6, 2022: R.I.P. Peter Bogdanovich, director of the Film Registry title The Last Picture Show (1971/1998).

December 14, 2021: The 2021 additions to the Film Registry were announced this morning. Here they are:
1. Ringling Brothers Parade Film (1902)
2. Jubilo (1919)
3. The Flying Ace (1926)
4. Hell-Bound Train (1930)
5. Flowers and Trees (1932)
6. Strangers on a Train (1951)
7. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
8. Evergreen (1965)
9. Requiem-29 (1970)
10. The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971)
11. Pink Flamingos (1972)
12. Sounder (1972)
13. The Long Goodbye (1973)
14. Cooley High (1975)
15. Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)
16. Chicana (1979)
17. The Wobblies (1979)
18. Star Wars Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983)
19. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
20. Stop Making Sense (1984)
21. Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987)
22. The Watermelon Woman (1996)
23. Selena (1997)
24. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
25. WALL•E (2008)
I have updated the entire site to reflect the new additions.

September 21, 2021: R.I.P. Melvin Van Peebles, director of the Film Registry title Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971/2020).

August 11, 2021: The Criterion Collection announced today that they will finally start releasing 4K Ultra HD discs. Among the first six scheduled are Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane (1941/1989). I will add this title to the Release Calendar as soon as it’s officially announced. Details here.

July 5th, 2021: R.I.P. Richard Donner, director of the Film Registry titles The Goonies (1985/2017) and Superman (1978/2017).

June 2, 2021: Milestone Films has struck a new distribution deal with Kino Lorber. Kino Lorber will now be the exclusive distributor of Milestone’s home video titles. Details here.

February 9, 2021: After being out of print on home video for years, Kino Lorber releases Bert Stern’s Jazz on a Summer’s Day (1959/1999) on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

January 7, 2021: R.I.P. Michael Apted, director of the Film Registry title Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980/2019).

December 31, 2020: R.I.P. Joan Micklin Silver, director of the Film Registry title Hester Street (1975/2011).

December 14, 2020: The 2020 additions to the Film Registry were announced this morning. Here they are:

  1. Suspense (1913)
  2. Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)
  3. Bread (1918)
  4. The Battle of the Century (1927)
  5. With Car and Camera Around the World (1929)
  6. Cabin in the Sky (1943)
  7. Outrage (1950)
  8. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
  9. Lilies of the Field (1963)
  10. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
  11. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
  12. Wattstax (1973)
  13. Grease (1978)
  14. The Blues Brothers (1980)
  15. Losing Ground (1982)
  16. Illusions (1982)
  17. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
  18. The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)
  19. Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
  20. The Ground (2001)
  21. Shrek (2001)
  22. Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)
  23. The Hurt Locker (2008)
  24. The Dark Knight (2008)
  25. Freedom Riders (2010)