Early Oscar favorite, Saving Private Ryan was knocked off its pedestal by the National Board of Review, not once, but twice, when it came in second best to Gods and Monsters in the Best Picture balloting and Steven Spielberg lost Best Director to Elizabeth’s Shekhar Kapur.

Several days later Spielberg could smile once more when the L.A. Film Critics named him and his World War II epic the best of the year.  The New York Film Critics then honored the film with its Best Picture award but gave their Best Director award to reclusive director Terrence Malick for his competing World War II epic, The Thin Red Line.

The National Society of Film Critics went in a totally different direction giving their top awards to the comic thriller, Out of Sight and its director, Steven Soderbergh.  The Broadcast Film Critics then put Spielberg and his film back in the winners’ circle.

The Golden Globes gave their Best Picture – Drama award to Saving Private Ryan over Gods and Monsters; Elizabeth; The Horse Whisperer and The Truman Show.  Shakespeare in Love was declared Best Picture – Musical or Comedy over Bulworth; The Mask of Zorro; There’s Something About Mary; the critically lambasted Patch Adams and a film no one seems to remember called Still Crazy.

Spielberg won the Globe for Best Director over Elizabeth’s Shekhar Kapur; Shakespeare in Love’s John Madden; The Horse Whisperer’s Robert Redford and The Truman Show’s Peter Weir.  Gods and Monsters’ Bill Condon was the only director of a Best Picture – Drama nominee not to make the cut.

The Directors Guild agreed with Spielberg, Madden and Weir as well as N.Y. Film Critics’ winner Malick, adding Life Is Beautiful’s Roberto Benigni to the mix.  Spielberg won.

Oscar agreed with the DGA down the line and named the films of four of them among the nominees for Best Picture: Saving Private Ryan; Shakespeare in Love; The Thin Red Line and Life Is Beautiful.  Elizabeth beat out The Truman Show for the fifth slot.

With three nominations and no wins, both The Truman Show and Pleasantville would have easily contended for the five remaining slots that would have been available has there been a ten Best Picture slate.  So, too, would have Gods and Monsters with three nominations and one win (for Condon’s screenplay).

Most likely filling the last two slots would have been Out of Sight and Primary Colors, both with two nominations and no wins.   Such critically acclaimed films as Waking Ned Devine; Rushmore and Bulworth seemed out of it.  While Bulworth managed one nomination, neither Ned nor Rushmore registered at all with the Academy.

After Saving Private Ryan won five Oscars including Best Director it seemed a foregone conclusion that it would win Best Picture.  The Academy must have thought so, too, as they picked longtime Spielberg collaborator Harrison Ford to open the envelope, but he was in for a shock.  Shakespeare in Love was declared the winner, taking home a haul of seven Oscars altogether.