Brokeback Mountain has been added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry.
The 2005 romantic drama—adapted from the short story by Annie Proulx—stars Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger as cowboys who fall in love in the Wyoming mountains before navigating a closeted relationship in 1960s and ’70s America.
Brokeback Mountain is considered the first gay-themed film to cross over into mainstream culture. The Ang Lee-directed production enjoyed commercial as well as critical success, garnering eight nominations at the 78th Academy Awards and winning three, for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score.
"I didn’t intend to make a statement with Brokeback Mountain," Lee stated in a press release from the Library of Congress. "I simply wanted to tell a purely Western love story between two cowboys. To my great surprise, the film ended up striking a deep chord with audiences; the movie became a part of the culture, a reflection of the darkness and light—of violent prejudice and enduring love—in the rocky landscape of the American heart."
"More than a decade has passed since Brokeback Mountain was released, but I hope that this film, a small movie with wide open spaces, continues to express something both fresh and fundamental about my adopted country," the Taiwan-born director added.
Brokeback Mountain was one of 25 "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films" inducted into the National Film Registry this year; others included My Fair Lady, Jurassic Park, and The Shining.
Rebecca was also added to the registry. The 1940 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock is considered a classic of LGBTQ cinema, due to the homoerotic relationship between the characters of Mrs. Danvers and Rebecca. This relationship, spotlighted in Vito Russo's The Celluloid Closet, was prevented from being more overt due to Hollywood censorship of the period.
"The National Film Registry turns 30 this year and for those three decades, we have been recognizing, celebrating and preserving this distinctive medium," Carla Hayden, librarian of Congress, stated in the release. "These cinematic treasures must be protected because they document our history, culture, hopes and dreams."
