I don't remember much about the movies of 1998. It wasn't as good as 1997 or 1999. There were some highlights. Steven Spielberg scored big with his WW2 drama "Saving Private Ryan". One of the biggest comedies of the year was "There's Something About Mary" which was something of a mixed blessing. That movie started an avalanche of gross-out comedies, which did exactly that, gross us out but never made us laugh. "Godzilla" was remade, and was one of the highest grossing films of the year. At the time a trilogy was planned, but, perhaps because of bad word of mouth, that idea was abandon.Here is my list of the ten best films of the year!
1. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (Dir. Roberto Benigni; Italy) - The Oscar winner that year for best foreign film. Benigni even won an Oscar for his acting, making him the second international actor to win in the acting category. The film, like Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" takes a humours look at a very serious subject; WW2 and the holocaust. Benigni handles the subject very carefully, still some got upset. But the film was one of the most embracing, touching films I had seen that year.
2. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (Dir. Steven Spielberg; U.S.) - Mark a very special turning for me personally. It was the first time I saw a Spielberg film in the theatre. Back then I was strongly against Spielberg and had to be dragged to see this. Still, I always one to admit when I am wrong. And I was wrong about this film. A gritty, finely acted, well directed war film. The battle scenes have set the standard which we expect as realistic. Some thought this should have won the Oscar for best picture.
3. THE SPANISH PRISONER (Dir. David Mamet; U.S.) - This was the first Mamet film I saw not only in the theatre but ever. I was amazed by Mamet's gift for dialogue and his clever twist and turns. For me, Mamet has never done anything better. A great modern day noir film.
4. STEPMOM (Dir. Chris Columbus; U.S.) - This choice will leave some scratching their heads. But that's okay. I usually like to go outside the box of what is expected of me. I remember seeing this film in the theatre being surrounded by women crying their eyes out. It was like I walked into a funeral parlour. It was the tear jerker of the year. Luckily I like overly sentimental, sappy but well made melodramas. The cast is just great.
5. THE BUTCHER BOY (Dir. Neil Jordan; Ireland/U.S.) - Jordan's first film after his masterpiece "Michael Collins" was a film which many people didn't respond to kindly. But Jordan is one of the great filmmakers we have today. His work is endlessly amazing and transports us to places we've never been.
6. ELIZABETH (Dir. Shekhar Kapur; UK) - This vastly better original "Elizabeth" won Blanchett the Oscar for best actress. It was well deserved. Costume dramas aren't really my thing, but, when they are as well made as this, it makes it hard to resist.
7. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (Dir. John Madden; U.S./UK) - Boy you just couldn't get away from these period pieces huh? This Oscar winner is not a great film and should not have won the Oscar still the performances are very good. The film has a certain amount of charm to it which I found pleasing.
8. CENTRAL STATION (Dir. Walter Salles; Brazil) - An absolutely magical film about two lost souls; one looking forward to the future the other stuck in the past, who help find each other. The movie was nominated for "best foreign language" film and as far as I'm concern is Salles' best work.
9. CHARACTER (Dir. Mike van Diem; Netherlands) - Oscar winning foreign language film was the directorial debut of van Diem. Sadly he has yet to follow-up on this tale of revenge and bitter family secrets.
10. THE FACULTY (Dir. Robert Rodriguez; U.S.) - Another unexpected choice for me, but, there was a time I use to have a "sweet tooth" for these type of films. At the time, writer Kevin Williams was a hot property. Really a teen remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", "The Faculty" did for modern sci-fi what "Scream" did for horror films. This is really a guilty pleasure of mine.
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