52nd British Academy Film Awards

The 52nd British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, took place on 11 April 1999 at the Business Design Centre in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1998. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 1998.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Shakespeare in Love won the award for Best Film (and previously won the Academy Award for Best Picture) and three other awards. Elizabeth was voted Outstanding British Film. Both Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench won awards for their portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I, while Geoffrey Rush won the award for Best Supporting Actor. Italian actor Roberto Benigni won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in Life Is Beautiful; he previously won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Peter Weir, director of The Truman Show, won for his direction.

The nominations were announced on 1 March 1999 and the ceremony was hosted by Jonathan Ross.^[4] Elizabethan films received an overall total of twenty-eight nominations, winning nine.^[5]

Winners and nominees

Geoffrey Rush, Best Supporting Actor winner

BAFTA Fellowship

Elizabeth Taylor

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

Michael Kuhn

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Film Shakespeare in Love – David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick and Marc Norman Elizabeth – Alison Owen, Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan Saving Private Ryan – Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon and Gary Levinsohn The Truman Show – Scott Rudin, Andrew Niccol, Edward S. Feldman and Adam Schroeder	Best Direction Peter Weir – The Truman Show John Madden – Shakespeare in Love Shekhar Kapur – Elizabeth Steven Spielberg – Saving Private Ryan
Best Actor in a Leading Role *Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful* as Guido Orefice** Joseph Fiennes – Shakespeare in Love as William Shakespeare Michael Caine – Little Voice as Ray Say Tom Hanks – Saving Private Ryan as Captain John H. Miller	Best Actress in a Leading Role *Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth* as Queen Elizabeth I** Emily Watson – Hilary and Jackie as Jacqueline du Pré Gwyneth Paltrow – Shakespeare in Love as Viola de Lesseps Jane Horrocks – Little Voice as Laura Hoff
Best Actor in a Supporting Role *Geoffrey Rush – Shakespeare in Love* as Philip Henslowe** Ed Harris – The Truman Show as Christof Geoffrey Rush – Elizabeth as Francis Walsingham Tom Wilkinson – Shakespeare in Love as Hugh Fennyman	Best Actress in a Supporting Role *Judi Dench – Shakespeare in Love* as Queen Elizabeth I** Brenda Blethyn – Little Voice as Mari Hoff Kathy Bates – Primary Colors as Libby Holden Lynn Redgrave – Gods and Monsters as Hanna
Best Original Screenplay The Truman Show – Andrew Niccol Elizabeth – Michael Hirst Life Is Beautiful – Vincenzo Cerami and Roberto Benigni Shakespeare in Love – Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard	Best Adapted Screenplay Primary Colors – Elaine May Hilary and Jackie – Frank Cottrell-Boyce Little Voice – Mark Herman Wag the Dog – Hilary Henkin and David Mamet
Best Cinematography Elizabeth – Remi Adefarasin Saving Private Ryan – Janusz Kamiński Shakespeare in Love – Richard Greatrex The Truman Show – Peter Biziou	Best Costume Design Velvet Goldmine – Sandy Powell Elizabeth – Alexandra Byrne The Mask of Zorro – Graciela Mazon Shakespeare in Love – Sandy Powell
Best Editing Shakespeare in Love – David Gamble Elizabeth – Jill Bilcock Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – Niven Howie Saving Private Ryan – Michael Kahn	Best Makeup and Hair Elizabeth – Jenny Shircore Saving Private Ryan – Lois Burwell and Jeanette Freeman Shakespeare in Love – Lisa Westcott Velvet Goldmine – Peter King
Best Original Music Elizabeth – David Hirschfelder Hilary and Jackie – Barrington Pheloung Saving Private Ryan – John Williams Shakespeare in Love – Stephen Warbeck	Best Production Design The Truman Show – Dennis Gassner Elizabeth – John Myhre Saving Private Ryan – Thomas E. Sanders Shakespeare in Love – Martin Childs
Best Sound Saving Private Ryan – Gary Rydstrom, Ron Judkins, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Richard Hymns Hilary and Jackie – Nigel Heath, Julian Slater, David Crozier, Ray Merrin and Graham Daniel Little Voice – Peter Lindsay, Rodney Glenn, Ray Merrin and Graham Daniel Shakespeare in Love – Peter Glossop, John Downer, Robin O'Donoghue and Dominic Lester	Best Special Visual Effects Saving Private Ryan – Stefen Fangmeier, Roger Guyett and Neil Corbould Antz – Ken Bielenberg, Philippe Gluckman, John Bell and Kendal Cronkhite Babe: Pig in the City – Bill Westenhofer, Neal Scanlan, Chris Godfrey and Grahame Andrew The Truman Show – Michael J. McAlister, Brad Kuehn, Craig Barron and Peter Chesney
Outstanding British Film Elizabeth – Alison Owen, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan and Shekhar Kapur Hilary and Jackie – Andy Paterson, Nicolas Kent and Anand Tucker Little Voice – Elizabeth Karlsen and Mark Herman Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – Matthew Vaughn and Guy Ritchie My Name Is Joe – Rebecca O'Brien and Ken Loach Sliding Doors – Sydney Pollack, Philippa Braithwaite, William Horberg and Peter Howitt	Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer Love and Death on Long Island – Richard Kwietniowski (Writer/Director) The Governess – Sandra Goldbacher (Writer/Director) Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – Matthew Vaughn (Producer) Twenty Four Seven – Shane Meadows (Writer/Director)
Best Short Animation The Canterbury Tales – Aida Zyablikova, Renat Zinnurov, Ashley Potter, Dave Antrobus, Claire Jennings, Mic Graves, Joanna Quinn, Les Mills and Jonathan Myerson 1001 Nights – Yukio Sonoyama and Mike Smith Gogwana – Helen Nobarro, Deiniol Morris, Sion Jones, Michael Mart and Joe Turner Humdrum – Carla Shelley, Michael Rose and Peter Peake	Best Short Film Home – Hannah Lewis, Morag McKinnon and Colin McLaren Anthrakitts – Natasha Dack and Sara Sugarman Eight – Jon Finn, Stephen Daldry and Tim Clague In Memory of Dorothy Bennett – Catherine McArthur and Martin Radich
Best Film Not in the English Language Central Station – Arthur Cohn, Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre and Walter Salles Life Is Beautiful – Elda Ferri, Gianluigi Braschi and Roberto Benigni Live Flesh – Agustín Almodóvar and Pedro Almodóvar On Guard – Patrick Godeau and Philippe de Broca

Statistics

Films that received multiple nominations
Nominations	Film
15	Shakespeare in Love
12	Elizabeth
10	Saving Private Ryan
7	The Truman Show
6	Little Voice
5	Hilary and Jackie
3	Life Is Beautiful
3	Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
2	Primary Colors
2	Velvet Goldmine

Films that received multiple awards
Awards	Film
5	Elizabeth
4	Shakespeare in Love
3	The Truman Show
2	Saving Private Ryan

References

^ "Shakespeare and Elizabeth dominate Baftas". BBC News. 12 April 1999. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
^ "And the Bafta for saddest Oscar loser goes to..." The Guardian. 6 April 1999. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
^ Barnes, Anthony (11 April 1999). "Elizabeth beats Will at BAFTAs". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
^ Lister, David (2 March 1999). "And the Bafta nominations are..." The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
^ "Elizabethan dramas named for 28 Baftas". The Guardian. 1 March 1999. Retrieved 13 June 2022.