The British big-screen adaptation of Ian McEwan's atonement has walked away with the top award at the BAFTAs.
But despite being nominated in 14 categories - including best actor and actress, it only picked up one more gong, for its production design.
In fact, there was an award of some sort for virtually all of the bookies' favourites, although no one film dominated.
Daniel Day-Lewis - hotly tipped to add an Oscar to his award collection later this month - was declared Best Actor for his role as an oil tycoon in There Will Be Blood. Marion Cotillard, meanwhile, was a surprise winner of the Best Actress award, for her portayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, fighting off fierce opposition from Keira Knightley (Atonement) and veteran Actress Julie Christie (Away From Her).
The supporting actor gongs went to Javier Bardem for his role as a psychopathic killer in No Country For Old Men and Tilda Swinton for her portrayal of a fragile corporate lawyer in Michael Clayton.
This Is England pipped Control, Atonement and Eastern Promises to be named Best British Film, although writer Matt Greenhalgh won the Carl Foreman Award for special achievement in a first film for his screenplay to Anton Corbijn's Joy Division biopic.
This Is England director Shane Meadows dedicated his award to the young star of his film Thomas Turgoose.
He said: "I was quite a naughty boy at his age and my life turned around over 20 years, a very steady progression. I took him from a worse place than I had ever been in and he turned his life around in six weeks."
The full winners and nominees list is:
Best film
Winner: Atonement
American Gangster
The Lives of Others [Das Leben der Anderen]
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Best British film
Winner: This Is England
Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Control
Eastern Promises
Leading actor
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis -
There Will Be Blood
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
James McAvoy - Atonement
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Ulrich Muehe - The Lives of Others [Das Leben der Anderen]
Leading actress
Winner: Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Keira Knightley - Atonement
Ellen Page -
Juno
Supporting actor
Winner: Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men
Paul Dano -
There Will Be Blood
Tommy Lee Jones - No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton
Supporting actress
Winner: Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
Kelly Macdonald - No Country For Old Men
Samantha Morton - Control
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Director
Winner: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men
Joe Wright - Atonement
Paul Greengrass - Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - The Lives of Others [Das Leben der Anderen]
Paul Thomas Anderson -
There Will Be Blood
Original screenplay
Winner: Diablo Cody -
Juno
Steven Zaillian - American Gangster
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - The Lives of Others [Das Leben der Anderen]
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Shane Meadows - This Is England
Adapted screenplay
Winner: Ronald Harwood -
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Christopher Hampton - Atonement
David Benioff - The Kite Runner
Joel Coen/Ethan Coen - No Country For Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson -
There Will Be Blood
Film not in the English language
Winner: The Lives of Others [Das Leben der Anderen]
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
The Kite Runner
Lust, Caution
La Vie En Rose
Animated film
Winner: Ratatouille
Shrek The Third
The Simpsons Movie
Carl Foreman award for special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature film
Winner: Matt Greenhalgh (writer) - Control
Chris Atkins (director/writer) - Taking Liberties
Mia Bays (producer) - Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
Sarah Gavron (director) - Brick Lane
Andrew Piddington (director/writer) - The Killing of John Lennon
Music
Winner: Christopher Gunning - La Vie En Rose
Marc Streitenfeld - American Gangster
Dario Marianelli - Atonement
Alberto Iglesias - The Kite Runner
Jonny Greenwood -
There Will Be Blood
Cinematography
Winner: Roger Deakins - No Country For Old Men
Harris Savides - American Gangster
Seamus McGarvey - Atonement
Oliver Wood - Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Robert Elswit -
There Will Be Blood
Editing
Winner: Christopher Rouse - Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Pietro Scalia - American Gangster
Paul Tothill - Atonement
John Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Roderick Jaynes - No Country For Old Men
Production design
Winner: Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer - Atonement
Guy Hendrix Dyas, Richard Roberts - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Stuart Craig, Stepheanie McMillan - Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
Jack Fisk, Jim Erickson -
There Will Be Blood
Olivier Raoux - La Vie En Rose
Costume design
Winner: Marit Allen - La Vie En Rose
Jacqueline Durran - Atonement
Alexandra Byrne - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Pan Lai - Lust, Caution
Colleen Atwood - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sound
Winner: Kirk Francis, Scott Millan, Dave Parker, Karen Baker Landers, Per Hallberg - Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Danny Hambrook, Paul Hamblin, Catherine Hodgson, Becki Ponting - Atonement
Peter Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff - No Country For Old Men
Christopher Scarabosio, Matthew Wood, John Pritchett, Michael Semanick, Tom Johnson -
There Will Be Blood
Laurent Zeilig, Pascal Villard, Jean-Paul Hurier, Marc Doisne - La Vie En Rose
Special visual effects
Winner: Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, Trevor Wood - The Golden Compass
Peter Chiang, Charlie Noble, Mattias Lindahl, Joss Williams - Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Tim Burke, John Richardson, Emma Norton, Chris Shaw - Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
John Knoll, Charles Gibson, Hal Hickel, John Frazier - Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Scott Stokdyk, Peter Nofz, John Frazier, Spencer Cook - Spider-Man 3
Make-up and hair
Winner: Jan Archibald, Didier Lavergne - La Vie En Rose
Ivana Primorac - Atonement
Jenny Shircore - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Judi Cooper Sealy, Jordan Samuel - Hairspray
Ivana Primorac, Peter Owen - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Short animation
Winner: The Pearce Sisters - Jo Allen, Luis Cook
Head Over Heels - Osbert Parker, Fiona Pitkin, Ian Gouldstone
The Crumblegiant - Pearse Moore, John McCloskey
Short film
Winner: Dog Altogether - Diarmid Scrimshaw, Paddy Considine
Hesitation - Julien Berlan, Michelle Eastwood, Virginia Gilbert
The One And Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island - Charlie Henderson, James Griffiths, Tim Key, Tom Basden
Soft - Jane Hooks, Simon Ellis
The Stronger - Dan McCulloch, Lia Williams, Frank McGuinness
The Orange Rising Star award (voted for by the public)
Winner: Shia LaBeouf
Sienna Miller
Ellen Page
Sam Riley
Tang Wei
Academy Fellowship
Sir Anthony Hopkins
Outstanding British contribution to cinema
Barry Wilkinson
