POLANSKI'S 'PIANIST' WALTZES AWAY WITH BEST PIC AT BAFTAS

It was honours' evens at the BAFTAs last night as many of the Oscar noms shared the awards at the starworthy ceremony held at the Odeon Cinema, Leicester Square.

Roman Polanski's 'The Pianist' won the best film and director trophies at the British Film Academy Awards in London. Adrien Brody, who lost the best actor award to Daniel Day-Lewis, accepted the award on Polanski's behalf.

And in a sidebar, we can report that Russell Crowe did not start a fight with anyone this year.

Loads of Hollywood royalty attended a pleasant February evening to fully justify moving the awards a month forward to precede the Oscars. Amongst the mucho glitterati were Halle Berry, Lord and Lady Douglas, Rene Zellweger, Meryl Streep, Martin Scorcese, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Nicole Kidman, Selma Hayek and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Day-Lewis won the BAFTA for 'Gangs Of New York', the sole award of the evening for the Martin Scorsese-directed film. Meanwhile Oscar favourites 'Chicago' and 'The Hours' won two BAFTAs apiece. Chicago won best supporting actress for Catherine Zeta Jones and best sound, while 'The Hours' won best actress for Nicole Kidman and best music for Philip Glass.

Kidman dedicated the award to her two co-stars Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. "It's so lovely to share this award with two very special women," she said. "I'll divide this between the three of us."

The critically acclaimed "Adaptation" - which was screened for Bafta members but has yet to open commercially in Britain - beat "The Hours" to take best adapted screenplay for brothers Charlie and Donald Kaufman. Since Donald Kaufman is an invention of the writer and does not exist, and Charlie Kaufman was unable to attend, the prize was accepted by the film's co-star, Meryl Streep.

Other multiple winners included Pedro Almodovar who took best foreign language film and best original screenplay for 'Talk To Her', 'Road To Perdition' which won production design and cinematography awards, the latter for the late Conrad Hall, and 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers', which won three BAFTAs in total - for costume design, visual effects and the public award for film of the year.

Asif Kapadia's 'The Warrior' beat 'Bend It Like Beckham' and 'The Hours' among others to be named Best British Film as well as winning the Carl Foreman Award for best first feature.

Other winners included Christopher Walken for best supporting actor for 'Catch Me If You Can', 'Frida' for best make-up and hair and 'City Of God' for best editing.

The BAFTA wins for 'The Pianist' vault the Holocaust drama into the forefront of Oscar contenders, having previously been considered a relative outsider against the collective Miramax-backed might of 'Chicago', 'Gangs Of New York' and 'The Hours'. 'The Pianist' began its awards run last May when it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and it has been gaining critical momentum on its current US release through Focus Features, culminating in six Oscar nominations including best picture, director and actor.
BAFTA Film Awards winner list

Best film 'The Pianist' (Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa & Alain Sarde, producers)

Best British film 'The Warrior' (Bertrand Faivre & Asif Kapadia, producers)

Best foreign language film 'Talk To Her' (Agustin Almodovar & Pedro Almodovar, producers)

David Lean Award for achievement in direction Roman Polanski 'The Pianist'

Best actor Daniel Day-Lewis 'Gangs Of New York'

Best actress Nicole Kidman 'The Hours'

Best supporting actor Christopher Walken 'Catch Me If You Can'

Best supporting actress Catherine Zeta Jones 'Chicago'

Best original screenplay Pedro Almodovar 'Talk To Her'

Best adapted screenplay Charlie Kaufman & Donald Kaufman 'Adaptation'

Best cinematography Conrad L Hall 'Road To Perdition'

Best production design Dennis Gassner 'Road To Perdition'

Anthony Asquith Award for achievement in film music Philip Glass 'The Hours'

Best editing Daniel Rezende 'City Of God'

Best sound Michael Minkle, Dominick Tavella, David Lee & Maurice Schell 'Chicago'

Best costume design Ngila Dickson & Richard Taylor 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers'

Best visual effects Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook & Alex Funke 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers'

Best makeup & hair Judy Chin, Beatrice De Alba, John Jackson & Regina Reyes 'Frida'

Carl Foreman Award for special achievement in first feature film Asif Kapadia 'The Warrior'

Best short film 'My Wrongs 8245-8249 And 117' (Mark Herbert & Chris Morris)

Best short animation 'Fish Never Sleep' (Gaelle Denis)

Film of the year (public vote) 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers'