Vote to get Times Square in the National Film Registry
Back in the '80s when Ted Turner was colorizing everything, the government alloted funds for the preservation of movies deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant," and each December, a new batch of 25 films are added to The National Film Registry. More often than not, the movies that are chosen are well-known (The Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka, Casablanca, and Rocky Horror are all in the registry, just to name a few), but they usually include a few more obscure titles for good measure. The cool thing is that the public can nominate titles for inclusion (it was the overwhelming internet fan-push that got "Back to the Future" on the list). This is from the NFR's FAQ:
What is the National Film Registry?
It is a list of films deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" that are earmarked for preservation by the Library of Congress. These films are not selected as the 'best' American films of all time, but rather as works of enduring importance to American culture. They reflect who we are as a people and as a nation.
https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/
Is Times Square the "best" movie? Not by any stretch of the imagination. But it IS culturally significant (the punk movement, the gay subtext), historically significant (the aforementioned, the push to clean up Times Square, etc.), aesthetically significant (the sleazy NYC depicted in the film no longer exists), and since it's struck such a deep chord in so many people, clearly it does reflect who some of us are.
Now, why I think it's important is because this is a movie that's fallen between the cracks. The VHS & DVD are long out of print, and allegedly there's only one 35mm copy in circulation. Who owns the rights, where the hell are the negatives and who's upkeeping them? This was independently produced by the now-defunct Robert Stigwood Organization, it's not a major studio production, so I would hate to think that the movie might someday be lost as a result of neglect. And on that note...
Writer/director Alan Moyle said that Anchor Bay went looking for his director's cut but couldn't find it - and in my mind, that is not definitive proof that it's been lost forever. The workprint of Orson Welles' long-lost film "Too Much Johnson" was unearthed a few years ago, so stranger things have certainly happened. I've had this longtime dream that someone's gonna go poking around for elements and discover Moyle's cut, which has been tucked away in canisters somewhere for 40 years (probably labeled "She Got the Shakes"), just waiting to be found. Matter of fact, here's a segment from the National Film Registry documentary "These Amazing Shadows" in which they discuss how they discovered the uncensored version of the 1933 classic "Baby Face."
https://youtu.be/VseS2yZqhiA?t=40m6s
That's precisely my dream for "Times Square."
So here's what you do. Go to the link below and fill out the form. You can nominate up to 50 films, so if there's something else that you think should be preserved, have your say. They start over from scratch each year, so if it doesn't make the list in 2016, then vote on it again in 2017. "Times Square" is never gonna have the rabid fanbase of "Back to the Future," but I think if a bunch of fans push for its inclusion, it might stand a chance of making the list.
http://libraryofcongress.polldaddy.com/s/national-film-registry-nominations-2016
And by the way, I don't really do social media, so if you wanna copy/excerpt this post on Facebook or whatever, feel free. The more interest generated, the better the odds are that it'll get picked. share