[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 26, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E321-E322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY TOUR

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                         HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 26, 1997

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
Library of Congress, the Bishop Museum Film Archives, and other 
institutions, organizations, and individuals who are working to 
preserve the rich film heritage of this great Nation. The Library of 
Congress is host to the National Film Preservation Board which advises 
the Librarian of Congress on selections to the National Film Registry 
and on national film preservation policy. Through the generosity of the 
James Madison Council and support from leading directors committed to 
film preservation, the Library of Congress is sponsoring its second 
season of the National Film Registry tour. The tour showcases 26 
feature films and 10 short subjects from the National Film Registry in 
their original 35 millimeter or 16 millimeter formats. The American 
public can enjoy a unique opportunity to sample films from the 
Library's collections. During its first season, the tour hosted public 
screenings of a broad variety of classic American films in eight cities 
across the country.
  Each year, the board, members of the public, and the Librarian of 
Congress select up to 25 films for inclusion on the Registry. The films 
chosen are not necessarily the best American films ever made nor the 
most famous. Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, 
films selected for the Registry are those that continue to have 
enduring cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance.
  Created in 1988, the National Film Preservation Board recognizes the 
vital contribution of film to the American heritage. The perilous state 
of America's film heritage was documented by the Library and the 
National Film Preservation Board in ``Film Preservation 1993: A Study 
of the Current State of American Film Preservation.'' More than half of 
all American films made before 1951 are lost forever. Film is a fragile 
medium, and motion pictures, both old and new, face deterioration 
problems. Only by storing films in low-temperature and low-humidity 
environments can the decay process be slowed. The majority of American 
films do not receive this care and are in critical need of 
preservation.
  The National Film Registry Tour pays tribute to American filmmaking 
and promotes public awareness of the need to protect and preserve 
America's film heritage. As Dr. Billington notes, ``The moving picture 
is not so much the art form as the language of our time. Motion 
pictures provide an unparalleled record of American life and culture. 
If we can preserve

[[Page E322]]

these films, researchers will have the sights and sounds that flesh out 
the written record of great events and everyday life.'' Of special 
significance when the tour stopped in Honolulu earlier this month was 
the screening of Hawaiian regional films including ``This is America'' 
(1947), which urges support of Hawaii statehood. One highlight of this 
event was the Library's donation of a new 16 millimeter print of a pre-
1915 film shot in Hawaii (featuring substantial footage shot by the 
Thomas Edison Company in 1906) to the Bishop Museum Archives.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in applauding the efforts of the 
Library of Congress, the Bishop Museum Film Archives, the International 
Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, the Museum of Modern Art 
Department of Film and Video, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and 
all others involved in this important work.

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