Listing the National Film Heritage - Time for us to get some serious public attention-seeking

I have long been what I think may be a solitary voice in suggesting that the NFSA should have long ago established something similar to the US Library of Congress National Film Registry. If we had something similar here it would be, or indeed already have been, another way of ensuring a regular public focus on the preservation and circulation of our own treasures. When raising it with the two previous directors of the NFSA, the thought was met with complete indifference. So.....

My mind was again focussed on this especially when I received a newsy email today from the ever-enthusiastic cinephiles Dennis Doros and Amy Heller at Milestone Films in  New Jersey. Among other things their email drew attention to Eric Levy's National Film Registry Fan Site (link below), the sort of public attention grabbing device that I would hope any list of the Australian film heritage would also attract. 

Here's what Eric says to introduce his site:

Welcome to my National Film Registry Fan Site. 

This website is in no way associated with or endorsed by the National Film Registry, the National Film Preservation Board, or the United States Library of Congress. I’m just a Film Registry enthusiast who wants to share his passion.

The aim of the site is to provide information about all of the titles on the Library of Congress National Film Registry, especially where they are available on home video formats or online. For now, I don’t plan to list when and where the titles are playing theatrically or streaming.

I’ve been carefully following the National Film Registry since its inception in 1989. Like most cinephiles, I love lists of movies, but the Film Registry has stood apart from the majority of film lists because of its breadth; it has its share of classic Hollywood titles, of course, but the Film Preservation Board and the Librarians of Congress have clearly made an effort to include more esoteric fare than “best-movie” lists tend to contain. Yet while many of the Registry’s more obscure titles are available on a home video format or online, some of them remain difficult to find. This website is intended to make the search easier.

Throughout the site, film titles are followed by their year of release/year of entry into the Film Registry. 

If you want to know more, including the dates and sources of video and DVD releases of all available titles on the Registry JUST CLICK HERE.

Now I also discover that some little time ago a group of Italian film-makers, critics and curators drew up such a list for their own national cinema. Wikipedia advises The project was established in 2008 by the Venice Days festival section of the 65th Venice International Film Festival, in collaboration with Cinecittà Holding and with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.

The list was edited by Fabio Ferzetti, film critic of the newspaper Il Messaggero, in collaboration with film director Gianni Amelio and the writers and film critics Gian Piero Brunetta, Giovanni De Luna, Gianluca Farinelli, Giovanna Grignaffini, Paolo Mereghetti, Morando Morandini, Domenico Starnone and Sergio Toffetti.

So...how many have you seen...and how many have featured at Cinema Reborn since its inception in 2018. Just asking.....

..and to kick things off, anyone reading this is welcome to send in a list of ten films that should be on Australia's treasury. Send them to filmalert101@gmail.com No limits, short long old new drama doco commercial promo... over to you. All lists published...

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The list of the 100 Italian films to be saved (Italian: 100 film italiani da salvare) was created with the aim to report "100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978". 

Four Steps in the Clouds

Ossessione

Rome, Open City

Bicycle Thieves

Cops and Robbers

Everybody Go Home

Long Night in 1943

Divorce Italian Style

Il sorpasso

8½

The Leopard

Bread and Chocolate

Fantozzi

Padre Padrone

The Tree of Wooden Clogs

In chronological order:

1. Four Steps in the Clouds (Quattro passi fra le nuvole) by Alessandro Blasetti (1942)
2. Ossessione by  Luchino Visconti (1943)
3. Rome, Open City (Roma città aperta) by  Roberto Rossellini (1945)
4. Paisà by Roberto Rossellini (1946)
5. Shoeshine (Sciuscià) by  Vittorio De Sica (1946)
6. L'onorevole Angelina by  Luigi Zampa (1947)
7. Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette) by  Vittorio De Sica (1948)
8. La terra trema by  Luchino Visconti (1948)
9. Bitter Rice (Riso amaro) by  Giuseppe De Santis (1949)
10. City of Pain (La città dolente) by  Mario Bonnard (1949)
11. Heaven over the Marshes (Cielo sulla palude) by  Augusto Genina (1949)
12. Stromboli, terra di Dio by  Roberto Rossellini (1949)
13. Chains (Catene) by  Raffaello Matarazzo (1949)
14. Path of Hope (Il cammino della speranza) by  Pietro Germi (1950)
15. Sunday in August (Domenica d'agosto) by  Luciano Emmer (1950)
16. Story of a Love Affair (Cronaca di un amore) by  Michelangelo Antonioni (1950)
17. Variety Lights (Luci del varietà) by  Alberto Lattuada and Federico Fellini (1950)
18. Father's Dilemma (Prima comunione) by Alessandro Blasetti (1950)
19. Bellissima by  Luchino Visconti (1951)
20. Two Cents Worth of Hope (Due soldi di speranza) by  Renato Castellani (1951)
21. Cops and Robbers (Guardie e ladri) by  Steno e Mario Monicelli (1951)
22. Miracle in Milan (Miracolo a Milano) by  Vittorio De Sica (1951)
23. La famiglia Passaguai by  Aldo Fabrizi (1951)
24. Umberto D. by  Vittorio De Sica (1952)
25. Europa '51 by Roberto Rossellini (1952)
26. The White Sheik (Lo sceicco bianco) by  Federico Fellini (1952)
27. Toto in Color (Totò a colori) by  Steno (1952)
28. Little World of Don Camillo. (Don Camillo) by  Julien Duvivier (1952)
29. Bread, Love and Dreams (Pane, amore e fantasia) by  Luigi Comencini (1953)
30. I vitelloni by  Federico Fellini (1953)
31. Neapolitans in Milan (Napoletani a Milano) by  Eduardo De Filippo (1953)
32. Eager to Live (Febbre di vivere) by  Claudio Gora (1953)
33. The Wayward Wife (La provinciale) by  Mario Soldati (1953)
34. Neapolitan Carousel (Carosello napoletano) by  Ettore Giannini (1953)
35. Empty Eyes (Il sole negli occhi) by Antonio Pietrangeli (1953)
36. The Beach by Alberto Lattuada (1954)
37. The Gold of Naples (L'oro di Napoli) by  Vittorio De Sica (1954)
38. An American in Rome (Un americano a Roma) by  Steno (1954)
39. The Art of Getting Along (L'arte di arrangiarsi) by  Luigi Zampa (1954)
40. Senso by  Luchino Visconti (1954)
41. La strada by  Federico Fellini (1954)
42. A Free Woman (Una donna libera) by  Vittorio Cottafavi (1954)
43. The Abandoned (Gli sbandati) by  Francesco Maselli (1955)
44. A Hero of Our Times (Un eroe dei nostri tempi) by  Mario Monicelli (1955)
45. Poveri ma belli by  Dino Risi (1956)
46. Il grido by Michelangelo Antonioni (1957)
47. Nights of Cabiria (Le notti di Cabiria) by  Federico Fellini (1957)
48. Big Deal on Madonna Street (I soliti ignoti) by  Mario Monicelli (1958)
49. You're on Your Own (Arrangiatevi!) by Mauro Bolognini (1959)
50. The Great War (La grande guerra) by Mario Monicelli (1959)
51. I magliari by  Francesco Rosi (1959)
52. Everybody Go Home (Tutti a casa) by Luigi Comencini (1960)
53. La dolce vita by  Federico Fellini (1960)
54. Rocco and His Brothers (Rocco e i suoi fratelli) by  Luchino Visconti (1960)
55. Girl with a Suitcase (La ragazza con la valigia) by  Valerio Zurlini (1960)
56. Long Night in 1943 (La lunga notte del '43) by  Florestano Vancini (1960)
57. Il bell'Antonio by  Mauro Bolognini (1960)
58. A Difficult Life (Una vita difficile) by Dino Risi (1961)
59. Divorce Italian Style (Divorzio all'italiana) by  Pietro Germi (1961)
60. Il posto by  Ermanno Olmi (1961)
61. Accattone by  Pier Paolo Pasolini (1961)
62. Leoni al sole by  Vittorio Caprioli (1961)
63. Il sorpasso by Dino Risi (1962)
64. Salvatore Giuliano by Francesco Rosi (1962)
65. L'eclisse by  Michelangelo Antonioni (1962)
66. Mafioso by  Alberto Lattuada (1962)
67. I mostri by  Dino Risi (1963)
68. Hands over the City (Le mani sulla città) by Francesco Rosi (1963)
69. 8½ by  Federico Fellini (1963)
70. The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) by  Luchino Visconti (1963)
71. The Ape Woman (La donna scimmia) by  Marco Ferreri (1963)
72. Chi lavora è perduto d by Tinto Brass (1963)
73. La vita agra by  Carlo Lizzani (1964)
74. Fists in the Pocket (I pugni in tasca) by Marco Bellocchio (1965)
75. I Knew Her Well (Io la conoscevo bene) by  Antonio Pietrangeli (1965)
76. Love Meetings (Comizi d'amore) by Pier Paolo Pasolini (1965)
77. The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (Signore & signori) by  Pietro Germi (1966)
78. The Hawks and the Sparrows (Uccellacci e uccellini) by Pier Paolo Pasolini (1966)
79. The Battle of Algiers (La battaglia di Algeri) by  Gillo Pontecorvo (1966)
80. China Is Near (La Cina è vicina) by  Marco Bellocchio (1967)
81. Dillinger Is Dead (Dillinger è morto) by  Marco Ferreri (1968)
82. Bandits in Milan (Banditi a Milano) by  Carlo Lizzani (1968)
83. Be Sick... It's Free (Il medico della mutua) by  Luigi Zampa (1968)
84. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto by  Elio Petri (1970)
85. The Conformist (Il conformista) by  Bernardo Bertolucci (1970)
86. L'udienza by  Marco Ferreri (1971)
87. Diario di un maestro by  Vittorio De Seta (1972)
88. The Mattei Affair (Il caso Mattei) by Francesco Rosi (1972)
89. The Scientific Cardplayer (Lo scopone scientifico) by  Luigi Comencini (1972)
90. Nel nome del padre by  Marco Bellocchio (1972)
91. Amarcord by  Federico Fellini (1974)
92. We All Loved Each Other So Much (C'eravamo tanto amati) by  Ettore Scola (1974)
93. Bread and Chocolate (Pane e cioccolata) by Franco Brusati (1974)
94. Fantozzi by Luciano Salce (1975)
95. 1900 (Novecento) by  Bernardo Bertolucci (1976)
96. Illustrious Corpses (Cadaveri eccellenti) by Francesco Rosi (1976)
97. A Special Day (Una giornata particolare) by Ettore Scola (1977)
98. An Average Little Man (Un borghese piccolo piccolo) by  Mario Monicelli (1977)
99. Padre padrone by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (1977)
100. The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L'albero degli zoccoli) by  Ermanno Olmi (1978)