11th CFCA Awards
March 1, 1999
Best Film:
Saving Private Ryan
The 11th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, given on 1 March 1999, honored the finest achievements in 1998 filmmaking.
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Invasion of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war and for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which includes a depiction of the Omaha Beach assault during the Normandy landings. The film follows United States Army Rangers Captain John H. Miller and his squad as they search for a paratrooper, Private First Class James Francis Ryan, the last surviving brother of three servicemen killed in action. The film was a co-production between DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, and Mutual Film Company, with DreamWorks distributing the film in North America while Paramount released the film internationally.
Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 American romantic period comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck and Judi Dench.
The Thin Red Line is a 1998 American epic war film written and directed by Terrence Malick. It is the second screen adaptation of the 1962 novel of the same name by James Jones, following the 1964 film; however, this film is not considered a remake. Telling a fictionalized version of the Battle of Mount Austen, which was part of the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Pacific Theater of World War II, it portrays soldiers of C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, played by Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas and Ben Chaplin. The novel's title alludes to a line from Rudyard Kipling's poem "Tommy", from Barrack-Room Ballads, in which he calls British foot soldiers "the thin red line of heroes", referring to the stand of the 93rd Regiment in the Battle of Balaclava of the Crimean War.
The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 1998 in film and took place on March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the third time. She first hosted the 66th ceremony held in 1994 and had last hosted the 68th ceremony in 1996. Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on February 27, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Anne Heche.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, adapted from Terry McMillan's best-selling novel of the same title. The film stars Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Whoopi Goldberg, and Regina King. The original music score was composed by Michel Colombier.
The Evening Standard British Film Awards were established in 1973 by London's Evening Standard newspaper. The Standard Awards is the only ceremony "dedicated to British and Irish talent," judged by a panel of "top UK critics." Each ceremony honours films from the previous year.
The 4th Critics' Choice Awards were presented on January 19, 1999, honoring the finest achievements of 1998 filmmaking.
The 3rd Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, given on 12 January 1999, honored the best in film for 1998.
The 17th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, presented in 2005, honored the best in film for 2004.
The 16th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 2003, were presented in 2004. The awards were originally going to be cancelled because the 2003 screener ban but when a judge ruled against it and the studios started to send out screeners again the awards were held after all.
The 64th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 1998, were announced on 16 December 1998 and given on 10 January 1999.
The 24th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 1998, were voted on in December 1998. The awards were presented Jan. 20 1999 at the Bel Age Hotel.
The 70th National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 1998, were announced on 8 December 1998 and given on 8 February 1999.
The 10th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, given on 1 March 1998, honored the finest achievements in 1997 filmmaking.
The 12th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, given on 13 March 2000, honored the finest achievements in 1999 filmmaking.
The 14th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, given on 25 February 2002, honored the finest achievements in 2001 filmmaking.
The 3rd Golden Satellite Awards, given by the International Press Academy, honored the best in film and television for 1998.
The 13th American Society of Cinematographers Awards were held on February 21, 1999, honoring the best cinematographers of film and television in 1998.
The 33rd National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 3 January 1999, honored the best filmmaking of 1998.
The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with Aimée & Jaguar by Max Färberböck. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film The Thin Red Line directed by Terrence Malick.