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In the film White Heat (1949), James Cagney plays a gangster who trusts no one but the woman with whom he is obsessed his mother. This psychological crime thriller predates many other films of the genre that take a close look at the mind of a criminal. |
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In December 2003, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington named White Heat as one of 25 films added to the National Film Registry, which now lists 375 films deemed to have sufficient cultural, historical or aesthetical significance to be worthy of preservation. The list is designed to reflect the full breadth and diversity of America's film heritage, thus increasing public awareness of the richness of American cinema and the need for its preservation. In making the announcement, the Librarian said, Our film heritage is America's living past. It celebrates the creativity and inventiveness of diverse communities and our nation as a whole. By preserving American films, we safeguard a significant element of our cultural history. Rather than being a list of the best films (though many on the list are worthy of that designation), the National Film Registry aims to call attention to the critical need to preserve Americas film heritage by naming films that have made important contributions to film history. |
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