'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Airplane' added to the National Film Registry

"Airplane!" added to the National Film Registry? Surely this is serious!

The beloved comedy is just one of 25 motion pictures recently added to the registry as part of the National Film Preservation Act.

This year's selections - which include classics, documentaries, and shorts - span from 1891-1996, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and are chosen by the Librarian of Congress James H. Billington for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant.

Included in the latest picks: "Malcolm X," "Grey Gardens," "The Exorcist," All the President's Men," "Saturday Night Fever," and "The Empire Strikes Back."

"The National Film Registry is a reminder to the nation that the preservation of our cinematic creativity must be a priority," says Billington, "because about half of the films produced before 1950 and as much as 90 percent of those made before 1920 have been lost to future generations."

Here is a complete list of the 2010 inductees:

1. "Airplane!" (1980)

2. "All the President's Men" (1976)

3. "The Bargain" (1914)

4. "Cry of Jazz" (1959)

5. "Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB" (1967)

6. "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980)

7. "The Exorcist" (1973)

8. "The Front Page" (1931)

9. "Grey Gardens" (1976)

10. "I Am Joaquin" (1969)

11. "It's a Gift" (1934)

12. "Let There Be Light" (1946)

13. "Lonesome" (1928)

14. "Make Way for Tomorrow" (1937)

15. "Malcolm X" (1992)

16. "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" (1971)

17. "Newark Athlete" (1891)

18. "Our Lady of the Sphere" (1969)

19. "The Pink Panther" (1964)

20. "Preservation of the Sign Language" (1913)

21. "Saturday Night Fever" (1977)

22. "Study of a River" (1996)

23. "Tarantella" (1940)

24. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945)

25. "A Trip Down Market Street" (1906)