A few years ago, I decided to watch all of the Best Picture winning films. As I started to come close to completing that task, I started to think about what other list of movies I could tackle next. Call me a nerd, but I’ve been interested in lists for as long as I can remember, especially actionable lists. Do all of X, read all of X, collect all of X, watch all of X, etc.
Around this time is when I became aware of the National Film Registry, and I began considering it as my next movie-related “completist project.” As I began researching the films in the Registry, I noticed that while the vast majority of the films are easy to find, some of them (about 30ish) are rather difficult to get ahold of. Because I tend to also be a perfectionist, I didn’t want to dive into such a huge undertaking without a plan, so I began extensively researching those hard-to-find films.
And I found them—in various film archives across the country—that I will have to physically travel to if I want to view them. These archives tend to be open to the general public, though a couple of them require you to be working on some kind of research (which is why I’m also compiling these posts into a book, in case this whole endeavor wasn’t already foolish enough).
So might I fail in this task? Possibly. But I’m also in no rush to complete it. Slow and steady wins the race (or whatever other cliché you prefer). I recognize that the sheer amount of movies on the Registry (and the fact that more get added every year) means that this will likely take me at least a decade (probably more) to finish. And I plan to use that time to save up for the various trips around the country I’ll need to make. In the meantime, join me on my journey as I attempt to find, watch, and review all of them.
The NFR Completist 