Epic fantasy Lord Of The Rings swept the BAFTAS on Sunday night, taking five of the top prizes, including best film and best director for Peter Jackson. Among the stars to brave the torrential rain for the lavish London ceremony were Nicole Kidman, Kevin Spacey, Harvey Keitel, Dustin Hoffman, Colin Firth and Australian director Baz Luhrmann, whose film Moulin Rouge! was also a big winner with three awards.
Dame Judi Dench beat off the competition to win her eighth BAFTA for her memorable portrayal of Alzheimer-stricken writer Iris Murdoch in the poignant Iris. Collecting the award, a visibly emotional Dame Judi said: “I had the most wonderful time doing it – contrary to what you may see on screen. I had five of the most intensive weeks on it, five of the most enjoyable weeks of my life, and I thank you most sincerely for this.”
Russell Crowe won the best actor gong for playing mathematician and Nobel Laureate John Forbes Nash in Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind. Russell told the audience: “I love my job and I don’t think I do it that well – but keep on disagreeing with me.”
A Beautiful Mind did the double with Jennifer Connelly taking home the best supporting actress accolade. Close to tears, Jennifer said on receiving the award: “I am really shocked and very much honoured… I am kind of flabbergasted.”
Judi’s Iris co-star, Jim Broadbent, made up for his loss in the leading actor category by winning the best supporting actor gong for Moulin Rouge!, which also landed the best music and best sound awards.
Lord Of The Rings, which earned 13 Oscar nominations this year, also picked up the Orange audience award, which was voted by the public. The other success stories of the evening were Gosford Park, which won the Alexander Korda award for best British film and the best costume design prize, and French film Amelie, which won for best original screenplay and best production design. Mexican movie Amores Perros won best foreign film.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
