'When Harry Met Sally' added to US National Film registry

They’ll have what she’s having.

The 1989 rom-com When Harry Met Sally is one of 25 films chosen this year to enter the National Film Registry, a list that ranges from Disney’s The Little Mermaid to a 1898 silent documentary, long thought lost, about the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.

Also chosen this year for preservation: Marvel’s Iron Man, John Waters’ Hairspray, Brian de Palma’s Carrie and the 1950 Cyrano de Bergerac starring Jose Ferrer, whose performance made him the first Hispanic actor to win a best actor Oscar.

The registry is housed at the Library of Congress, which since 1988 has selected movies for preservation based on their cultural and historic importance. This year’s picks bring the total number of films in the registry to 850 — many of which are among the 1.7 million films in the library’s collections.

The oldest film selected this year is the 1898 Mardi Gras Carnival, a silent era documentary with the earliest known footage of the carnival in New Orleans. A copy was recently found at the Eye Filmmuseum in the Netherlands. Showing floats, spectators and marchers at a parade, the film is one of nine documentaries chosen, covering topics like the Attica prison rebellion, female union workers, mental health treatment, and others.

“We are proud to add 25 more films by a group of vibrant and diverse filmmakers to the National Film Registry as we preserve our cinematic heritage,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.

• Entertainment
• Americas