1998 Oscars

AMERICAN CINEMA

Oscars 1998

The 1998 Oscar nominations were announced on February 9, 1999

The Oscar ceremony was held on March 21, 1999, and was telecast on ABC

Here is the complete list on nominees, with the winners in red

Click here for my 1998 Academy Awards
Facts and Observations

Picture
Elizabeth
Life is Beautiful
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare in Love
The Thin Red Line

Director
Roberto Benigni, Life is Beautiful
Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan
John Madden, Shakespeare in Love
Terrence Malick, The Thin Red Line
Peter Weir, The Truman Show

Screenplay - Original
Bulworth
Life is Beautiful
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare in Love
The Truman Show

Screenplay - Adapted
Gods and Monsters
Out of Sight
Primary Colors
A Simple Plan
The Thin Red Line

Actor
Roberto Benigni, Life is Beautiful
Tom Hanks, Saving Private Ryan
Ian McKellen, Gods and Monsters
Nick Nolte, Affliction
Edward Norton, American History X

Actress
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love
Meryl Streep, One True Thing
Emily Watson, Hilary and Jackie

Supporting Actor
James Coburn, Affliction
Robert Duvall, A Civil Action
Ed Harris, The Truman Show
Geoffrey Rush, Shakespeare in Love
Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan

Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, Primary Colors
Brenda Blethyn, Little Voice
Judi Dench, Shakespeare in Love
Rachel Griffiths, Hilary and Jackie
Lynn Redgrave, Gods and Monsters

Cinematography
A Civil Action
Elizabeth
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare in Love
The Thin Red Line

Film Editing
Life is Beautiful
Out of Sight
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare in Love
The Thin Red Line

Art Direction
Elizabeth
Pleasantville
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare in Love
What Dreams May Come

Musical or Comedy Score
A Bug's Life
Mulan
Patch Adams
The Prince of Egypt
Shakespeare in Love

Dramatic Score
Elizabeth
Life is Beautiful
Pleasantville
Saving Private Ryan
The Thin Red Line

Sound
Armageddon
The Mask of Zorro
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare in Love
The Thin Red Line

Sound Effects Editing
Armageddon
The Mask of Zorro
Saving Private Ryan

Visual Effects
Armageddon
Mighty Joe Young
What Dreams May Come

Costume
Beloved
Elizabeth
Pleasantville
Shakespeare in Love
Velvet Goldmine

Makeup
Elizabeth
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare in Love

Foreign Film
Central Station, Brazil
Children of Heaven, Iran
The Grandfather, Spain
Life is Beautiful, Italy
Tango, Argentina

Documentary Feature
Dancemaker
The Farm:Angola, USA
The Last Days
Lenny Bruce:Swear to Tell The Truth
Regret to Inform

Documentary Short
The Personals:Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years
A Place in the Land
Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square

Live Action Short
Culture
Election Night
Holiday Romance
The Postcard
Victor

Animated Short
Bunny
The Cantebury Tales
Jolly Roger
More
When Life Departs

Original Song
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", Armageddon
"The Prayer", Quest For Camelot
"A Soft Place to Fall", The Horse Whisperer
"That'll Do", Babe:Pig in the City
"When You Believe", Prince of Egypt

Facts and Observations


  • Shakespeare in Love was the big winner, with seven Oscars. Saving Private Ryan came home with five. The only other multiple-oscar winner for the night was Life is Beautiful with three

  • Roberto Benigni is only the second foreign performer to win an acting oscar. The first was Sophia Loren for Two Women in 1961

  • All in all, I thought it was a pretty weak ceremony. I don't think even one of host Whoopi Goldberg's jokes was funny. The dance number to the best dramatic score was just about the stupidest thing I've ever seen at an Oscar ceremony.

  • I was devastated when their tribute to those who'd passed away didn't include director Stanley Kubrick. Whoopi didn't even mention him like she mentioned Gene Siskel.
    But then Spielberg came out, and he wasn't carrying an envelope, so I had this feeling that just maybe... And I wasn't disappointed.

  • Roberto Benigni was quite a happy winner. The man climbed on the chairs in front of him and raised his arms in triumph when he won for best foreign film. And he seemed to have this huge smile on his face during the whole ceremony. Well, he deserved everything he got. Life is Beautiful is a magnificent film.

  • It is extremely rare for the film that wins for best director to not win for best picture. But that's what happened here. The last time was in 1989, when Driving Miss Daisy won for picture, but Oliver Stone was named best director for Born on the Fourth of July. So, next year, when you go to enter your office oscar contest, remember that it's very rare.

  • The presentation of the honorary oscar to director Elia Kazan, who directed such classics as Gentleman's Agreement, On the Waterfront, and A Streetcar Named Desire, as well as naming names of suspected Communists to the House Un-American Activities Committee in the early 50's, was not as fraught with controversy as one might have expected from all the pre-show hype. Some people didn't stand and clap, but no one booed. And Kazan's speech was NOT overly-inspiring.

  • I didn't care for the way they combined the presentation of clips from Elizabeth & Shakespeare in Love, and also The Thin Red Line & Saving Private Ryan. I hope that's not a habit they get into every year. Especially when so much time is wasted on costumes, song and score. I think every best picture nominee should be presented with a 5-minute short film, like a documentary or something. You know, behind-the-scenes kind of stuff. And skip the performances of the best song nominees.

  • This was the longest Oscar ceremony ever, clocking in at 4 hours and 2 minutes. Did you watch until the end? I did!

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