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September 12, 2000
Contact: Audrey Fischer (202) 707-0022

Library of Congress Desk Calendar Features America's Film Treasures

The Movies: Preserving America's Film Treasures, a 2001 desk calendar, has recently been published by the Library of Congress in association with Pomegranate Communications, Inc. The films pictured in the calendar are drawn from those selected for the National Film Registry. Each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant motion pictures to the Registry. The calendar includes a list of the 275 films added to the Registry since 1989.

Approximately 90 percent of all films made during the silent era and 50 percent of films produced before 1950 have disappeared forever, making the commitment to preserving America's cinematic treasures of crucial importance. The Library of Congress works to ensure that the films on the Registry are preserved for all time, either through the Library's massive motion picture preservation program at Dayton, Ohio, or through collaborative ventures with other archives, motion picture studios, and independent filmmakers.

"After more than a century of motion picture history, the battle to take film seriously as an art form has almost been won," writes film director Martin Scorsese in the calendar's introduction. "Now the effort must focus on saving our movie heritage."

The calendar celebrates America's rich motion-picture heritage. Each day of the year provides another fascinating fact about films, actors, and creators of cinema. The calendar also includes still photos, frame enlargements, and lobby cards from 53 movies, each with a full caption. From "The Great Train Robbery" (1903), which provided a blueprint for countless other Western films, to "Bladerunner" (1982), a futuristic film depicting Los Angeles in 2019, the calendar chronicles nearly a century of filmmaking.

The Movies: Preserving America's Film Treasures is available for $13.95 from booksellers and from the Library of Congress Sales Shop (Credit card orders: 202-707-0204).

Other 2001 calendars featuring the Library's unique and diverse collections include: Charles and Ray Eames: 2001 Desk Calendar; Women Who Dare; The Civil War; Edward S. Curtis: Portraits of Native Americans; Classical Music; American Military Aircraft of World War II; Shakespeare's Realm; and David Roberts: Travels in Egypt and the Holy Land.

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PR 00-127
9/12/00
ISSN 0731-3527