Best Movies of 1998

These are the 48 best-rated movies released in 1998, led by American History X, Three Below Zero and Perfect Blue. Ranked by audience score, with cast, trailers and legal places to watch on every page.

1. American History X (1998)

★ 8.3/10

Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader…
2. Three Below Zero (1998)

★ 8.3/10

People are trapped in the basement of a New York apartment building on the hottest day of the summer.
3. Perfect Blue (1998)

★ 8.3/10

Rising pop star Mima quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and…
4. The Legend of 1900 (1998)

★ 8.2/10

The story of a virtuoso piano player who lives his entire life aboard an ocean liner. Born and raised on the ship, 1900 learned about the outside world through interactions with passengers, never setting foot on land…
5. The Truman Show (1998)

★ 8.1/10

An insurance salesman begins to suspect that his whole life is actually some sort of reality TV show.
6. Central Station (1998)

★ 8.1/10

An emotional journey of a former school teacher, who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
7. Asunder (1998)

★ 8.1/10

When a freak accident destroys everything in a man's life, he invades the troubled marriage of his best friends.
8. The Making of 'Scarface' (1998)

★ 7.9/10

A 52-minute documentary on "Scarface," both the making of the film and its reception.
9. Mulan (1998)

★ 7.9/10

To save her father from certain death in the army, a young woman secretly enlists in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process.
10. The Big Lebowski (1998)

★ 7.8/10

Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange…
11. Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)

★ 7.7/10

After going their separate ways, Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Fred reunite to investigate the ghost of Moonscar the pirate on a haunted bayou island, but it turns out the swashbuckler's spirit isn't the only…
12. How to Cheat in the Leaving Certificate (1998)

★ 7.7/10

"How to cheat the Leaving Certificate?" : a question posed by thousands of students every year in Ireland. A group of pupils set up an elaborate master-plan to beat the system and top the points race.
13. We Are Going Home (1998)

★ 7.5/10

Solarized, tinted, and optically-printed, this is a surreal portrait of desire, ghosts and pursuit of the sensual. Rhythmic color shifts in the emulsion bring life to the rural landscape, which seems to embody the…
14. Meet Joe Black (1998)

★ 7.4/10

Bill Parrish has it all - success, wealth and power. Days before his 65th birthday, he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black, who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time, Bill agrees…
15. The Thin Red Line (1998)

★ 7.4/10

The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows…
16. Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)

★ 7.4/10

After a mysterious blackout, a son goes out to investigate and captures footage of actual aliens. When the aliens follow he and his brothers back to their home all hell breaks lose.
17. The Red Violin (1998)

★ 7.4/10

300 years of a remarkable musical instrument. Crafted by the Italian master Bussotti (Cecchi) in 1681, the red violin has traveled through Austria, England, China, and Canada, leaving both beauty and tragedy in its…
18. Run Lola Run (1998)

★ 7.3/10

Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. She has 20 minutes to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get…
19. Dark City (1998)

★ 7.3/10

A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.
20. Patch Adams (1998)

★ 7.3/10

The true story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who in the 1970s found that humor is the best medicine, and was willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh—even if it meant risking his own career.
21. The Prince of Egypt (1998)

★ 7.3/10

The strong bond between two brothers is challenged when their chosen responsibilities set them at odds, with extraordinary consequences.
22. A Simple Plan (1998)

★ 7.2/10

Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small…
23. Behind the Planet of the Apes (1998)

★ 7.2/10

Roddy McDowall takes you, film by film, from production meetings to make-up sessions, then right onto the movie set to see the actual filming of the science fiction masterpiece. The most comprehensive history of Planet…
24. Case Closed: The Fourteenth Target (1998)

★ 7.2/10

Ran’s secret past revealed! Ten years ago, something happened between her mom and dad. Now, plagued by nightmares, Ran is starting to remember… Meanwhile, a murderous card dealer breaks out of jail to seek revenge. His…
25. Elizabeth (1998)

★ 7.2/10

The story of the ascension to the throne and the early reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, the endless attempts by her council to marry her off, the Catholic hatred of her and her romance with Lord Robert Dudley.
26. Les Misérables (1998)

★ 7.2/10

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the…
27. What Dreams May Come (1998)

★ 7.2/10

Chris Nielsen dies to find himself in a heaven more amazing than he could have ever dreamed of. There is one thing missing: his wife. After he dies, his wife Annie killed herself and went to hell. Chris decides to risk…
28. Stepmom (1998)

★ 7.2/10

Jackie is a divorced mother of two. Isabel is the career minded girlfriend of Jackie’s ex-husband Luke, forced into the role of unwelcome stepmother to their children. But when Jackie discovers she is ill, both women…
29. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

★ 7.2/10

Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate…
30. The Negotiator (1998)

★ 7.1/10

The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs…
31. Who Am I? (1998)

★ 7.1/10

A group of covert CIA operatives trailing a potential new energy source are double-crossed by corrupt agent Morgan, who causes a helicopter crash in remote South Africa. The sole survivor, suffering severe amnesia, is…
32. Buffalo '66 (1998)

★ 7.1/10

Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.
33. Enemy of the State (1998)

★ 7.1/10

The life of labor lawyer and dedicated family man Robert 'Bobby' Dean is turned upside down after a chance meeting with a college buddy while holiday shopping. Unbeknownst to Dean, he's just been burdened with a…
34. Rush Hour (1998)

★ 7.1/10

When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case. Not content to…
35. Dangerous Beauty (1998)

★ 7.1/10

Veronica is brilliant, gifted and beautiful, but the handsome aristocrat she loves, Marco Venier, cannot marry her because she is penniless and of questionable family. So Veronica's mother, Paola, teaches her to become…
36. Pi (1998)

★ 7.1/10

A mathematical genius discovers a link between numbers and reality, and thus believes he can predict the future.
37. Gia (1998)

★ 7.1/10

Gia Carangi meteorically rises to modeling fame in the late 1970s but becomes overconsumed by persistent loneliness and drug addiction.
38. A Tale of Autumn (1998)

★ 7.1/10

Magali, forty-something, is a winemaker and a widow: she loves her work but feels lonely. Her friends Rosine and Isabelle both want secretly to find a husband for Magali.
39. A Bug's Life (1998)

★ 7.0/10

On behalf of "oppressed bugs everywhere," an inventive ant named Flik hires a troupe of warrior bugs to defend his bustling colony from a horde of freeloading grasshoppers led by the evil-minded Hopper.
40. Ronin (1998)

★ 7.0/10

A briefcase with undisclosed contents – sought by Irish terrorists and the Russian mob – makes its way into criminals' hands. An Irish liaison assembles a squad of mercenaries, or 'ronin', and gives them the thorny…
41. Rounders (1998)

★ 7.0/10

A young reformed gambler must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks.
42. Waking Ned (1998)

★ 7.0/10

When a lottery winner dies of shock, his fellow townsfolk attempt to claim the money.
43. The Quiet Family (1998)

★ 7.0/10

A family decides to buy a lodge in a remote hiking area. Their first customer commits suicide and the distraught family buries his body to avoid the bad publicity. But their luck gets worse, the bodies start piling up…
44. Contract Killer (1998)

★ 7.0/10

Financially troubled, a newbie hitman reluctantly takes the job of finding the plotted killer of a Japanese tycoon.
45. Sada (1998)

★ 7.0/10

On 17 May 1936–during a period of war, economic depression, public unease and growing militarism, a time of unrest and confusion when public opinion was, at best, unpredictable–Sada Abe killed and emasculated her…
46. Thursday (1998)

★ 6.9/10

A former Los Angeles drug dealer moves far away to Texas, making a new life for himself as a married architect in the suburbs. His old crime partner unexpectedly shows up with heroin and gangster business, attracting a…
47. Velvet Goldmine (1998)

★ 6.9/10

Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.
48. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)

★ 6.9/10

The circle of life continues for Simba, now fully grown and in his rightful place as the king of Pride Rock. Simba and Nala have given birth to a daughter, Kiara who's as rebellious as her father was. But Kiara drives…