Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Preserved in the Library of Congress

Thu, 31 December 2009 04:23:50 ET

Inducted for preservation in the 2009 National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, the King of Pop's 14-minute mini-movie becomes the first music video named to the registry.

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video has been kept secured in the Library of Congress. The video directed by John Landis was inducted into 2009 National Film Registry for preservation on Wednesday, December 30, Associated Press reported. It is among a line-up of 25 films, which are deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant to be preserved for all time".

Steve Leggett, coordinator of the National Film Preservation Board, revealed that the 14-minute mini-movie has been considered for the induction. The library felt the time is right after Jackson's sudden passing in June. "Because of the way the recording industry is evolving and changing, we thought it would be good to go back to the development of an earlier seismic shift, which was the development of the music video," he said.

With the induction, the video dubbed by the library as "the most famous music video of all time" becomes the first music video named to the registry. It earned the spot for its achievements, including its Guinness World Record as the world's best-selling album. It was given the honor on February 7, 1984, after securing the sales of 9 million copies.

"Thriller" is inducted at the registry along with the such like 1979's "The Muppet Movie", the 1957 sci-fi classic "The Incredible Shrinking Man", 1938's "Jezebel" which starred Bette Davis, and 1940's "The Mark of Zorro" among others. They are all chosen for their enduring importance to U.S. culture.

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