‘Philadelphia’ among newest selections to Library of Congress National Film Registry

It’s hard to go wrong with Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, and the City of Philadelphia — and the Library of Congress apparently agrees.

Philadelphia, the Oscar-winning 1993 legal drama that helped bring America’s AIDS crisis into mainstream media, was among 25 films selected Thursday for inclusion in the Library’s National Film Registry for Preservation, based on “cultural, historic or aesthetic importance.”

“When we preserve films, we preserve American culture for generations to come,” said acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen, in a statement announcing the selections. “These selections for the National Film Registry show us that films are instrumental in capturing important parts of our nation’s story.”

Philadelphia — which The Inquirer named the fourth on its list of best Philly movie of all-time — features Hanks as a law partner fired after it becomes known he has AIDS, with Washington as the attorney hired to fight the termination.

In addition to Philadelphia, Ten Nights in a Barroom — a 1926 film produced by the Colored Players Film Corporation of Philadelphia — was also among the selections.

A silent film adapted from a 1854 Timothy Shay Arthur novel and subsequent play, the film featured an all-Black cast and represents one of only two surviving films produced by the company.

Philadelphia and Ten Nights in a Barroom are among several Philly-tied films to be honored by the Library of Congress throughout the years, joining the 1976 Sylvester Stallone film Rocky and 1940’s The Philadelphia Story starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

Though the 25 films announced on Thursday spanned more than a century of filmmaking, several contemporary films earned recognition; 11 of the 25 films selected this year were released in the 1990s or later. That includes seven films released after 2000, including Frida, The Hours, The Incredibles, Christopher Nolan’s Inception, and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Here’s a complete list of the 25 films selected for the 2025 National Film Registry: