Dirty Harry, The Matrix and Breakfast at Tiffany's are among the films which have been named American national treasures and added to the country's National Film Registry.

Clint Eastwood's popular 1971 cop movie and Keanu Reeves' 1999 sci-fi blockbuster have been selected for the honour, along with Audrey Hepburn's turn in the classic adaptation of Truman Capote's novella.

The annual list of 25 movies, which are selected for their "important cultural, artistic and historic achievements in filmmaking," also includes Madonna's 1992 baseball film A League Of Their Own, 1957's 3:10 To Yuma, A Christmas Story from 1983, and 1991's Slacker.

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington says, "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."

The registry now includes 600 films which will be preserved for future generations.