Michael Jackson's THRILLER & THE MUPPET MOVIE to live forever!

Kermit & MJ head the eclectic 2009 list of films to be preserved forever by the National Film Registry.

By Matt Holmes / June 25, 2011

John Landis' 1983 full length music video Michael Jackson's Thriller was today declared "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant," by the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Thriller will forever now be preserved among America's greatest treasures. The 14 minute video represented a new movement in pop culture and for the first time, was a place where movies & music met. It is regularly voted the greatest music video ever made.Thriller marked a dream team collaboration of top industry talents who came together to make something truly original. Jackson - the king of pop with his catchy record produced by Quincy Jones, Landis directing - the horror/comedy genius behind An American Werewolf in London, the legendary Elmer Bernstein helped with the score, horror legend Vincent Price on the voice-over, Rick Baker on prosthetics! You can't imagine a team like that ever coming together again. In truth, once MJ's sudden death rocked the world earlier this year - they couldn't really say no anymore, despite overlooking it several times in years past. If it wasn't culturally significant or a high priority for placement in the vault before, it sure became one in 2009. Thriller is the first music video ever chosen by the Registry but I don't think anyone could argue it's placing in the archive.

I like to think the 25 chosen annually (they are up to 525 now) will survive anything that the world and it's people can throw at them - whether it be nuclear war, earthquakes, hurricanes or a Equilibrium kind of society where art is thought to be dangerous. These works of American importance are now part of the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States, and will be what Dr. Zaius tries to hide from Charlton Heston along with the Statue of Liberty when the apes take over. I've just given myself the chuckles at the idea that The Muppet Movie, which has made the list this year, will be deemed a dangerous figure in 2034. Kudos to the panel for finally getting around to putting Sergio Leone's fairtytale tribute to the American West with Once Upon A Time in the West in the library, surely one of the greatest movies ever made. It's only been out over forty years - but ok, better late than never. Can you imagine living in a world where this didn't exist...

Sidney Lumet's crime classicDog Day Afternoon made the cut this year, one of Al Pacino's best performances and probably his most wide-ranging.

Another "it's about time" choice was The Mark of Zorro, the motion picture starring Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone, which is culturally significant for the fact it birthed Batman when it became the last movie Thomas Wayne would ever see...

The list was heavy on sci-fi last year but the geeks on the panel have cooled their jets this year and it's much more of an American classic list. However they still found room for The Incredible Shrinking Man, the inventive B-Movie horror based on a WAY superior Richard Matheson novel.

There was talk a few years ago that Eddie Murphy was to Dr. Dolittle this one up with Brett Ratner but THANKFULLY that remake hasn't happened yet. There's a great movie still waiting to be told from this book because as good as Jack Arnold's movie was, it didn't really match up to the size of Matheson's work.

Alongside Once Upon a Time in the West, another Henry Fonda movie made the cut this year, though William Wyler's Jezebel is best remembered for his co-star's Bette Davis's Oscar winning performance.

Wyler's Mrs. Minniver was also chosen...

Full list of 2009 here...

Dog Day Afternoon, Dir. Sidney Lumet (1975) The Exiles, Dir. Kent MacKenzie (1961) Heroes All, Dir. Anthony Young (1920) Hot Dogs for Gauguin, Dir. Martin Brest (1972) The Incredible Shrinking Man, Dir. Jack Arnold (1957) Jezebel, Dir. William Wyler (1938) The Jungle, Dir. Charlie Brown Davis, Jimmy Country Robinson, David Bat Williams (1967) The Lead Shoes, Dir. Sidney Peterson (1949) Little Nemo, Dir. Winsor McCay (1911) Mabels Blunder, Dir. Mabel Normand (1914) The Mark of Zorro, Dir. Rouben Mamoulian (1940) Mrs. Miniver, Dir. William Wyler (1942) The Muppet Movie, Dir. James Frawley (1979) Once Upon a Time in the West, Dir. Sergio Leone (1968) Pillow Talk, Dir. Michael Gordon (1959) Precious Images, Dir. Chuck Workman (1986) Quasi at the Quackadero, Dir. Sally Cruikshank (1975) The Red Book, Dir. Janie Geiser (1994) The Revenge of the Pancho Villa, Dir. Various (1930-36) Scratch and Crow, Dir. Helen Hill (1995) Stark Love, Dir. Karl Brown (1927) The Story of G.I. Joe, Dir. William Wellman (1945) A Study in Reds, Dir. Miriam Bennett (1932) Thriller, Dir. John Landis (1983) Under Western Stars, Dir. Joseph Kane (1938)

Full list of movies in the library here.