1998 FILM BALLOT

the point of this exercise isn't merely to stand in contrast to industry awards shows but to shine light on other works/achievements/performances that might've not gotten enough consideration during their initial releases 

Another one of my old "Best in Film" ballots. 

Other year-end ballots posted at The Wandering Image:   1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991,1992,
 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Also, if you wish to view my favorite 30 films of 1998, go here.

Note: "Animated Short" and "Animated Feature" categories have been merged into one Animation category, regardless of runtime length. Also "Sound Editing" and "Sound Mixing" have been combined into one "Sound Design" category. Focusing on both overall mix and sound creation.

1998

*THE THIN RED LINE
FALLEN ANGELS

BABE: PIG IN THE CITY

RUSHMORE

MOTHER AND SON

FIREWORKS [HANA BI]

THE BIG LEBOWSKI

A BUG'S LIFE

BUFFALO '66

THE CELEBRATION [FESTEN]

THE TRUMAN SHOW
BELOVED
OUT OF SIGHT

INSOMNIA

TANGO

FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI

THE CRAZY STRANGER

THE HOLE

THE MIRROR

PRETTY VILLAGE, PRETTY FLAME

actual oscar nominees:
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
THE THIN RED LINE
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE  (won)
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
ELIZABETH

actual oscar nominees:
CENTRAL STARION
CHILDREN OF HEAVEN
THE GRANDFATHER
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL  (won)
TANGO

1998

*Terrence Malick 

           for THE THIN RED LINE
George Miller for BABE: BIG IN THE CITY

Wong Kar-wai for FALLEN ANGELS

Aleksandr Sokurov for MOTHER AND SON

Wes Anderson for RUSHMORE

actual oscar nominees:
Roberto Benigni for LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
Spielberg for SAVING PRIVATE RYAN  (won)
John Madden for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Terrence Malick for THE THIN RED LINE
Peter Weir for THE TRUMAN SHOW

1998

*Emily Watson 

                in HILARY & JACKIE
Alfre Woodard in DOWN IN THE DELTA
Katrin Cartlidge in CLAIRE DOLAN
Fernanda Montenegro in CENTRAL STATION
Thandie Newton in BELOVED

actual oscar nominees:
Cate Blanchett in ELIZABETH
Fernanda Montenegro in CENTRAL STATION
Gwyneth Paltrow in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (won)
Meryl Streep in ONE TRUE THING
Emily Watson in HILARY AND JACKIE

1998

*Jeff Bridges 

            in THE BIG LEBOWSKI
Edward Norton in AMERICAN HISTORY X
Brendan Gleeson in THE GENERAL
Ian McKellan in GODS & MONSTERS
Tom Hanks in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

actual oscar nominees:
Roberto Benigni in LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL  (won)
Tom Hanks in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Ian McKellen in GODS & MONSTERS
Nick Nolte in AFFLICTION
Edward Norton in AMERICAN HISTORY X

1998

*Kimberly Elise in BELOVED
Anjelica Huston in BUFFALO '66
Kathy Bates in PRIMARY COLORS
Magda Szubanski in BABE: PIG IN THE CITY
Judi Dench in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

actual oscar nominees:
Kathy Bates in PRIMARY COLORS
Brenda Blethyn in LITTLE VOICE
Judi Dench in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE  (won)
Rachel Griffiths in HILARY & JACKIE
Lynn Redgrave in GODS & MONSTERS

1998

*Billy Bob Thornton 

                  in A SIMPLE PLAN
Bill Murray in RUSHMORE
Benicio del Toro in FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
Edward James Olmos in THE WONDERFUL ICE CREAM SUIT
Matt Dillon in THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

actual oscar nominees:
James Coburn in AFFLICTION  (won)
Robert Duvall in A CIVIL ACTION
Ed Harris in THE TRUMAN SHOW
Geoffrey Rush in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Billy Bob Thornton in A SIMPLE PLAN

1998

*THE TRUMAN SHOW

                          - Andrew Niccol
THE BIG LEBOWSKI - Joel & Ethan Coen
RUSHMORE - Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE - Tom Stoppard, Marc Norman
BULWORTH - Warren Beatty

actual oscar nominees:
BULWORTH
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE  (won)
THE TRUMAN SHOW

1998

*OUT OF SIGHT - Scott Frank
A SIMPLE PLAN - Scott B. Smith
THE THIN RED LINE - Terrence Malick

BELOVED - Jonathan Demme
PRIMARY COLORS - Elaine May

FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS 

                                       - Alex Cox, Tod Davies, Terry Gilliam

actual oscar nominees:
GODS AND MONSTERS  (won)
OUT OF SIGHT
PRIMARY COLORS
A SIMPLE PLAN
THE THIN RED LINE

1998

*HISTOIRE(S) DU CINEMA:

            parts 1 through 4
LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY
MEGACITIES
THE CRUISE

LENNY BRUCE: SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH

SUNRISE OVER TIANANMEN SQUARE

42 UP

REGRET TO INFORM

actual oscar nominees:
DANCEMAKER
THE FARM: ANGOLA USA
THE LAST DAYS  (won)
LENNY BRUCE: SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH
REGRET TO INFORM

1998

*A BUG'S LIFE
MASSIVE ATTACK: TEARDROP
THE PRINCE OF EGYPT
MORE.
Adam Elliot's COUSIN
MULAN
BILLY'S BALLOON
PRIMUS: THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA

PEARL JAM: DO THE EVOLUTION

actual oscar nominees animated short:
BUNNY  (won)
CANTERBURY TALES
JOLLY ROGER
MORE
WHEN LIFE DEPARTS

1998

*THE THIN RED LINE 

                       - Hans Zimmer >
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN - John Williams >
PLEASANTVILLE - Randy Newman >
π  -  Clint Mansell >
SNAKE EYES - Ryuichi Sakamoto >

RUSHMORE - Mark Mothersbaugh >

actual oscar nominees dramatic score:
ELIZABETH
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL  (won)
PLEASANTVILLE
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
THE THIN RED LINE

actual oscar nominees comedy score:
A BUG'S LIFE
MULAN
PATCH ADAMS
THE PRINCE OF EGYPT
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (won)

1998

*GASMAN

LAURYN HILL: DOO WOP (THAT THING)

SUNRISE OVER TIANANMEN SQUARE
Nacho Cerdà's GENESIS

FOO FIGHTERS: EVERLONG

MADONNA: FROZEN

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS: ELEKTROBANK

THE AMATEURIST by Miranda July

FATBOY SLIM: PRAISE YOU

TORI AMOS: SPARK

PORTISHEAD: ONLY YOU

MADONNA: RAY OF LIGHT

FIONA APPLE: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

SQUAREPUSHER: COME ON MY SELECTOR

actual oscar nominees live action short:
CULTURE
ELECTION NIGHT  (won)
HOLIDAY ROMANCE
LA CARTE POSTALE
VICTOR

actual oscar nominees documentary short:
THE PERSONALS: IMPROVISATIONS ON ROMANCE IN THE GOLDEN AGE  (won)
A PLACE IN THE LAND
SUNRISE OVER TIANANMEN SQUARE

categories below this point are

↓for you technical craft lovers↓

1998

*THE THIN RED LINE 

                         - John Toll, ASC
FALLEN ANGELS - Christopher Doyle, HKSC

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN - Janusz Kaminski, PSC, ASC
PLEASANTVILLE - John Lindley, ASC
BELLY - Malik Sayeed, ASC
π   - Matthew Libatique, ASC

actual oscar nominees:
A CIVIL ACTION
ELIZABETH
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN  (won)
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
THE THIN RED LINE

1998

*THE THIN RED LINE 

         - Leslie Jones, Saar Klein, Billy Weber
FALLEN ANGELS - William Chang, Ming Lam Wong

OUT OF SIGHT - Anne V. Coates
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN - Michael Kahn
HISTOIRE(S) DU CINEMA - Jean-Luc Godard
BUFFALO '66 - Curtiss Clayton

actual oscar nominees:
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
OUT OF SIGHT
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN  (won)
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
THE THIN RED LINE

1998 - PRODUCTION DESIGN + SET DECOR

*DARK CITY

- George Liddle, Patrick Tatopoulos
PLEASANTVILLE - Jeannine Oppewall, Jay Hart
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN - Tom Sanders, Lisa Dean Kavanaugh
BABE: PIG IN THE CITY - Roger Ford, Kerrie Brown
ELIZABETH - Peter Howitt, John Mhyre

actual oscar nominees:
ELIZABETH
PLEASANTVILLE
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE  (won)
WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

1998

*ELIZABETH - Alexandra Byrne
VELVET GOLDMINE - Sandy Powell
DARK CITY - Liz Keogh
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE - Sandy Powell
BELOVED - Colleen Atwood

actual oscar nominees:
BELOVED
ELIZABETH
PLEASANTVILLE
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE  (won)
VELVET GOLDMINE

1998

*BLADE - Greg Cannom
ELIZABETH - Jenny Shircore
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE - Lisa Westcott, Veronica Brebner
DARK CITY - Kerry Lee Jury, Lesley Vanderwalt
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN - Lois Burwell, Conor O'Sullivan, Striepeke

actual oscar nominees:
ELIZABETH
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE  (won)

1998

*SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

THE MASK OF ZORRO

DARK CITY

THE THIN RED LINE

BLADE
RONIN

actual oscar nominees sound editing:
ARMAGEDDON
THE MASK OF ZORRO
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN  (won)

actual oscar nominees sound mixing:
ARMAGEDDON
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN  (won)
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
THE THIN RED LINE
THE MASK OF ZORRO

1998

*DARK CITY
ARMAGEDDON
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG

SPECIES II
WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

SMALL SOLDIERS

GODZILLA

LOST IN SPACE

BLADE

actual oscar nominees:
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG
ARMAGEDDON
WHAT DREAMS MY COME (won)

↓The following categories are inspired by The Muriel Awards

1998

*1) Fog & chaos.

 "Journey to the Line" sequence 

         - THE THIN RED LINE
2) Babe is chased by dogs, then chooses mercy 

------------------------------------------- BABE: PIG IN THE CITY
3) Pvt. Witt's memory of dying mother. "Immortality" 

monologue ---------------------------- THE THIN RED LINE
4) Dinner with Billy's parents - BUFFALO '66
5) Gutterballs. Busby Berkeley-esque dream 

------------------------------------ THE BIG LEBOWSKI
6) The Max Fischer Players present "Heaven & Hell" (Vietnam) 

----------------------------------------------- RUSHMORE
7) The beach at Normandy intro segment 

----------------------------------------- SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
8) The parting of the Red Sea - THE PRINCE OF EGYPT
9) Blood rave & first vampire slaughter. **Intro sequence**

--------------------------------------------------- BLADE
10) BMW vs Peugeot car chase sequence - RONIN
11) Maj. Chip Hazard gives a Patton inspired speech 

------------------------------------- SMALL SOLDIERS
12) Hitchcock/Saul Bass shower scene re-shot by Van Sant 

-------------------------------------- PSYCHO [remake]
13) "Chaiya chaiya" Train rooftop number - DIL SE...
14) LSD hotel sequence. Giant reptiles at the bar 

------------------------- FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
15) Mrs. Parker's bathtub orgasm - PLEASANTVILLE

also this:

1998

*BELOVED
HAPPINESS
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
THE THIN RED LINE
THE BIG LEBOWSKI

Other year-end ballots posted at The Wandering Image:   1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991,1992,
 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014