Memories Were Made From These

Sometimes, one great moment is all it takes to make a movie memorable.

While everyone is making their picks for best movie of 1998, we asked actors, executives, directors and producers to choose the best movie moment of the year.

Here are some of their favorite movie moments from this year’s films:

* Mike Myers, actor-writer (“Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” and the upcoming “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”):

“The opening invasion sequence in ‘Saving Private Ryan.’ It might sound corny, but that sequence showed graphically, and what I imagine to be accurately, the sacrifice that my father’s generation made to defeat fascism. My mother and father fought in World War II and always complained about the sanitization of war movies. This sequence proves that war is hell.”

* Mark Canton, producer (“Jack Frost”):

“When Roberto Benigni’s character in ‘Life Is Beautiful’ volunteers to translate concentration camp regulations from German to Italian for his fellow newcomers. With inimitable humor and tenderness he transforms the barbaric rules into instructions for a childlike game. Juxtaposing comedy and poignancy, it is a striking example of film’s power to touch us on many different levels simultaneously.”

* Cindy Cowan, producer (“Very Bad Things”):

“There’s a moment in ‘Return to Paradise’ when Joaquin Phoenix is about to be executed. Vince Vaughn is in a cell overlooking the prison yard and is frantically screaming for Joaquin to look at him, and not break eye contact until the end. This scene really moved me. In an age where we can be standing in a crowded room and still feel very isolated, or can be speaking to someone in an in-depth conversation and not be certain that they are listening, it is very important to realize that whether you are with a friend, family or a loved one, friendship and love are very important.”

* Peter Chelsom, director (“Hear My Song,” “The Mighty” and the upcoming “Town and Country”):

“Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci dropping the luggage in the corridor of a cruise ship while playing porters in ‘The Impostors.’ The fun of that scene is knowing that it’s going to happen and seeing it done so well.”

* Seth Green, actor (“Can’t Hardly Wait,” “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” and “Enemy of the State”):

“The scene in ‘Happiness’ where Philip Seymour Hoffman calls the shy sister, making an obscene phone call, and she thinks it’s her blind date. It’s so true to life.”

* Jon Landau, producer (“Titanic”):

“The scene that has stayed with me the longest is from ‘Life Is Beautiful.’ Perhaps it is because I am a father of two young boys, but my most memorable moment is when Roberto Benigni, being led away by a Nazi guard, sees his son still hiding in the steel box and despite his personal despair breaks into a comical march helping to give his son the inspiration he needs to survive through the night.”

* David Zippel, lyricist (“Hercules” and “Mulan”):

“I had two favorite movie moments this year. I loved Christina Ricci’s hilarious opening monologue in ‘The Opposite of Sex,’ where her character reveals what a depraved little girl she is. I thought Don Roos’ writing was terrific throughout the picture.

“I also loved the scene in ‘Primary Colors’ where Kathy Bates goes berserk holding a gun into the lap of a private detective threatening him to come clean about fabricating audiotapes which made the candidate she represented look bad. Bates’ remarkable performance struck me as one of the best of the year.”

* Mark Urman, executive (co-president, Lions Gate Releasing):

“There is a thrilling chase in ‘Babe: Pig in the City,’ in which Babe is pursued by a vicious pit bull. It culminates with Babe narrowly escaping, but the dog winds up dangling above the canal with his head submerged. A crowd of animals watches all of this with indifference, cynically prepared to let the pit bull drown, when all of a sudden, we hear the unmistakable pitter-pat of little hoofbeats and a tiny splash, and we just know that Babe is going to single-handedly save his would-be assailant. Which he does.

“It’s a moment of pure bravery and heroism and, in a year when even our best films seem to dwell on dysfunction, damage and victimization, it stands apart--and above--the pack. Thank the pig!”

* Morgan J. Freeman, director (“Hurricane Streets”):

“Favorite scene of 1998 was from ‘Happiness’ when Vlad [Jared Harris] serenades Joy [Jane Adams] with his acoustic rendition of ‘You Light Up My Life.’ Why? Because it was absolutely hilarious and because it worked! He got her in the sack with ‘You Light Up My Life.’ ”

* Jay Roach, director (“Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” and the upcoming “Mystery, Alaska” and “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”):

“The scene in Steve Soderbergh’s ‘Out of Sight’ in which Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney ‘take a time out.’ The chemistry is amazing and the editing is fantastic. The falling snow and music are very effective backdrops to this dialogue section. It is great to see such a smart scene be so sensual.”

* Michael Pressman, director (“To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday”):

“The scene in ‘Life Is Beautiful’ when Roberto Benigni’s character playfully entertains his young son while marching to his own death at a Nazi concentration camp. It is the singularly most heartbreaking and heroic moment I have ever seen on film, a father protecting his son from the horrors of the world.”

* Michael Cristofer, director (HBO’s “Gia,” upcoming “Jello Shots”):

“My favorite scenes of any picture this year would have to be Truman’s attempted escape in ‘The Truman Show.’ This smart marriage of story, character and visual inventiveness culminating in the sad and heartbreakingly funny moment when his boat crashes into the cardboard sky is for me what the movies are all about.”

* Myles Berkowitz, writer-director (the upcoming “20 Dates”):

“Every time I go to the bathroom now I think about that scene from ‘There’s Something About Mary’ when Ben Stiller has that painful accident in the bathroom when he goes to pick up his prom date. It makes me very sad. At least he had a date to the prom.”

* Robert Ellis Miller, director (“The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,” “Reuben, Reuben”):

“This past year, I was haunted by a scene--an incredible moment of tension during a fearful fight between an American GI and a Nazi soldier in ‘Saving Private Ryan.’ It looked to be a fight to the finish. Then we became aware of a young and frightened soldier hovering nearby but incapable of moving forward. We sat there frightened but feeling sure the youngster just outside the room would find his feet, find his courage and move in time. When we cut back to the fight, the GI is overpowered and we see a knife slowly and forcefully inching downward into his heart. It shouldn’t have happened--but we saw it happen, and it’s devastating.”

* Stanley Tong, director (“Mr. Magoo,” “Rumble in the Bronx”):

“The opening scene in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ was as real and vivid a depiction of war as has ever been done in film. Although at times the cruelty made the watching unbearable, it vividly brought home the idea that war is an unthinkable alternative to solving the world’s problems.”

* Ming-Na Wen, actress (voice of “Mulan,” “One Night Stand”):

“The first time I saw ‘Mulan’ was at a private screening with just me and my mother in the theater. Because my father had recently passed away, the scene when Mulan witnesses her ailing father fall to the ground while wielding his sword to prepare for battle made both my mom and me cry. Then when Mulan returns in victory and is reunited with her father, we cried even more. After the film, my mother turned to me and said, “I don’t believe I cry. It’s cartoon, but I cry.” That made us both laugh with tears still in our eyes.”