Master And Commander beats LOTR

Oscar-favourite The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King was beaten by the Russell Crowe-starrer Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World to the best film title at the London Film Critics Circle awards.

Master And Commander also bagged the best British actor (Paul Bettany) and best screenwriters (John Collee and Peter Weir) awards.

The last of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy has 11 Oscar nominations besides winning four Golden Globe awards. Yet, the Critics Circle, with 100 British critics as its voters, overlooked Peter Jackson's epic.

Master And Commander has nine Oscar nominations.

Love Actually, the British romantic comedy, won best British actor (Bill Nighy) and actress (Emma Thompson), both in supporting roles.