Pulp Fiction and Mary Poppins added to US National Film Registry

The films are among 25 titles deemed to hold cultural significance

John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' (AP)

Pulp Fiction and Mary Poppins are among the 25 films that have been added to the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

The registry, first created in 1912, seeks to preserve films that are culturally, historically or aesthetically significant enough to the US to merit preservation.

The two classic films join 23 other titles including the 1966 adaptation of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Philip Kaufman’s 1983 film The Right Stuff and 1960 Western The Magnificent Seven.

Librarian of Congress James H Billington, who hand-picked the films, said: “The National Film Registry stands among the finest summations of more than a century of extraordinary cinema. This key component of American cultural history, however, is endangered, so we must protect the nation’s matchless film heritage and cinematic creativity.”

The registry, which has 25 films added to it each year, is not limited to Hollywood movies, but includes documentaries, experimental films and animated titles as well.

Men and Dust, a 1940 documentary highlighting diseases plaguing miners in the Midwest, and 1962 animated film The Hole, were also added to the list.

The Library of Congress released a report last month highlighting the dearth of original US silent pictures still in circulation in the country.

The report found 75 per cent of silent pictures had been lost to neglect or decay, and only 14 per cent still existed in their original 35mm format.