ENTERTAINMENT: Ghostbusters and Top Gun added to US National Film Registry

Ghostbusters, Top Gun, The Shawshank Redemption and LA Confidential are among 25 films that have been added to the US National Film Registry.

The 1920 film The Mark of Zorro and Peter Sellers' 1979 comedy
Being There have also been chosen for preservation at the Library of Congress.

Documentaries, silent movies and one of the earliest film recordings made in 1894 are also on the list.

Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman said the film's inclusion was "an honour".

"Making Ghostbusters was one of the great joys of my life," he said.

"It's an honour to know that a movie that begins with a ghost in a library, now has a spot on the shelves of the Library of Congress. It's humbling to be part of a collection of extraordinary films that I have loved all my life."

The library makes the annual registry selections after conferring with members of the National Film Preservation Board, library film staff and considering thousands of public nominations.

Some 675 films are now on the list, which represent "important cultural, artistic and historic achievements in film-making".

Frank Darabont, director of The Shawshank Redemption, said he could "think of no greater honour" than for the film to be considered "part of our country's cinematic legacy".

"I express my deepest thanks to all those who chose it for inclusion in the National Film Registry… and most of all to the audiences who embraced our movie and have kept it alive all these years."

Older films on the list include the 1959 melodrama Imitation of Life starring Lana Turner and Jimmy Stewart's psychological western Winchester '73.

The silent films selected this year include the Spanish-language version of Dracula from 1931, which was shot concurrently with the English-speaking film starring Bela Lugosi.

The oldest surviving copyrighted motion picture, which was produced by Thomas Edison's team of inventors is also on the list.

The Sneeze, which was filmed in 1894, became synonymous with the invention of movies.

Other films on the list that feature early cinematic techniques are Dream of a Rarebit Fiend made in 1906, using trick photography, and Disney's 1937 animation The Old Mill.

"Selecting a film for the National Film Registry recognises its importance to cinema and America's cultural and artistic history," said Congress librarian David Mao.

"The registry is an invaluable way to advance public awareness of the richness, creativity and variety of our nation's film heritage."

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