For Hollywood, the first half of 1998 may have been submerged with a sinking ship — but what a spectacular sinking ship it was, rising only to sweep the Academy Awards in March before sailing on through summer to earn more than $1 billion at the box office.

No other film in 1998 came close to achieving those records, though it was a good year, nonetheless, marked once again by the continued, important presence of the independent film.

1998 found us questioning our happiness, grappling with the unwanted truth, dealing frankly with sexuality, and finding hilarity within aesthetic pretension. It saw England divided by religion, a father protecting his son from the horrors of the Holocaust, computerized bugs buzzing to a terrific tune, and audiences looking back to the haunting throes of war, where the search for a certain private surfaced as a tribute to all who fought in World War II.

1998 didn’t always shine, though. It had its share of psychotic remakes, spicy annihilations, bloodless sequels and not-so-beloved adaptations. It also featured a cliched bit of sentimental hogwash about stepparenting, two summer blockbusters that threatened Earth with cultural devastation, and a disappointing film about a legendary beast that proved size only matters if the film’s director knows how to swing an epic tail.

As for the future, nothing in 1998 sparked more interest than the release of a hot, two-minute trailer for “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” to be released this summer and which promises to be 1999’s king of the cinematic world.

How did the following films make this year’s list? Well, because …

1) In “Saving Private Ryan,” Steven Spielberg did what literature cannot do — fill our senses to capacity and push hard toward overload. The film is an emotionally demanding masterpiece every bit as magnificent, devastating and important as “Schindler’s List.” The action and the carnage are unrelenting because war is unrelenting.

Tom Hanks’ performance was Oscar-worthy. The film humbles, doesn’t glamorize. It paints the bigger picture in human scale. It can be wrenching. But when the last gun is shot, the last cannon fired, the last bomb dropped, a silence is left that is sheer cinematic triumph.

2) “Happiness” was the year’s most controversial film. It features a pedophile psychiatrist, a compulsive masturbator, and a female literati sex addict who wished she’d been raped at 11 so she could have been a better writer.

The film takes risks. It is beautifully, ironically titled. Audiences don’t know whether to laugh or cry. It is a powerful piece of work that can be hilarious in the face of its characters’ despair. Its director, Todd Solonz, is often misunderstood and might be a genius. What appears to be a freak show to some is essentially the human landscape — with all of its pockmarks and pitfalls — as seen through the eyes of the most daring director working today.

3) “Elizabeth.” Cate Blanchett’s performance as Queen Elizabeth is remarkable. The film has an unforgettable opening. The costumes, the sets, the lighting are all unparalleled. The film champions the Virgin Mary as the ultimate role model. That’s some role model to live up to when you’re no virgin.

There’s an unexpected presence of a drag queen in 1558. The film captivates with unrestrained verve. The film was billed as a historical thriller. Why? Because the mood is danger. Because the mood turns ugly. Because schemers are afoot. Because the answer is death by beheading. The film is good, very good, and is worth seeing twice.

4) “The Opposite of Sex” looks hard at sexuality through the hard eyes of Dedee Truitt, a hard-nosed, hard-hearted, booze-swilling tramp from Louisiana who wears her makeup like a bruise and her clothes like a welcome mat. As Dedee, Christina Ricci is devastating, tossing away her knickers in favor of six-inch stiletto heels. With this performance, Ricci surfaced as a major actress worth looking for in the future. So did Lisa Kudrow. The film pushes envelopes no one else is pushing. It offends with unabashed bravado, and sometimes we need to be offended to start a dialogue. In all its political incorrectness, it amounts to postmodern comic art.

5) “Wilde” is an excellent interpretation of Richard Ellmann’s groundbreaking biography. It is that rare biographical film undistorted by controversy. Stephen Frye’s performance is moving in the title role. Because the film deserves attention. Because it may have been overlooked. It captures Oscar Wilde as a serious man of great wit, sensitivity and intelligence who was destroyed by one surprising flaw — his naivete.

The film also champions Wilde’s courage. It conveys that love — and the artist — have never paid attention to the rules.

6) “The Celebration.” Dogma 95, the Danish filmmakers’ collective, achieves cinematic purity from bare-bones production. The film was shot directly on video, giving it a vital, slightly grainy look that complements the occasional horror of what’s unfolding on-screen.

The film follows Dogma 95’s so-called “Vow of Chastity.” Everything seen and heard in the film is natural — the sound, the sets, the lighting. The film compels even as its hand-held camera implicates. Because it is farce hinging on the unwanted, embarrassing truth. By trying not to be an artist, director Thomas Vinterberg has created something very close to art.

7) “Mrs. Dalloway” is a solid, faithful adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s great novel. Vanessa Redgrave is terrific in the title role. The film moves seamlessly between past and present, mediocrity and success, death and life, hope and despair. It melds memory, allusion and observation into an electrically charged stream-of-consciousness.

8) “Life is Beautiful” dares to laugh in the face of the unthinkable. It is essentially a romantic comedy about the Holocaust. Its star, director and co-writer Roberto Benigni is never disrespectful, never once trivializes his material. He understands the power of humor and knows that humor can be a formidable weapon. The film is reminiscent of Chaplin. It is unsentimental, unpolitical — and unafraid to be both.

9) “A Bug’s Life” is Pixar-Disney’s first collaboration since 1995’s “Toy Story.” It is everything Dreamwork’s “Antz” could have been had it only produced a decent script. The story matters as much as its richly drawn landscapes. It will remind some of the great French documentary “Microcosmos” — it is that good.

The film is hilarious and charming, smartly aglow with the Disney touch, alive with the six-legged, and aloft with an imagination that dazzles even as it inspires.

10) “Pecker” had the year’s most provocative title. It finds John Waters back in top form. Because films like this should be encouraged. It brazenly features rats having sex in trash cans, the private parts of butch lesbian strippers, a talking statue of the Virgin Mary, and even the unforgettable, sugar-addicted Little Chrissy, who’s so strung out on candy, she easily could be the poster child for Ritalin.

The film is campy, a true comic delight. Waters skewers aesthetic pretension right where aesthetic pretension should be skewered. The film finds Waters exactly where he belongs — deep inside the toilet bowl of Baltimore. What he plunges out of Baltimore is not to be believed. The director takes risks that push it far and away from the mainstream. It’s high time we push far and away from the mainstream. For Waters, “Pecker” is divine.

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear each Monday in the NEWS. Each Thursday on WLBZ’s “News Center 5:30 Today,” he reviews what’s new and worth renting in video stores.