U.S. registry adds ‘Thriller’ video

— Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, with that memorable graveyard dance, will rest among the nation’s treasures in the world’s largest archive of film, TV and sound recordings.

The 1983 music video directed by John Landis, though still the subject of lawsuits over profits, was one of 25 films to be inducted Wednesday for preservation in the 2009 National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

It’s the first music video named to the registry. It had been considered in past years, but after Jackson’s death the time was right, said Steve Leggett, coordinator of the National Film Preservation Board.

Joining the King of Pop in the 2009 class will be the Muppets from 1979’s The Muppet Movie - the first time on the big screen for Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy - and the 1957 sci-fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man, among other titles.

The library works with film archives and movie studios to ensure original copies are kept safe. It also acquires a copy for preservation in its own vaults among millions of other recordings at the Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in the hills near Culpeper, Va.

Congress established the registry in 1989, which now totals 525 films. They are selected not as the “best” American films but instead for their enduring importance to U.S. culture.

Front Section, Pages 7 on 12/31/2009

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