Four Weddings and a Funeral has beaten Life of Brian in a poll to find Britain's best film.

The Virgin Media Shorts survey found Richard Curtis' 1994 blockbuster Four Weddings and a Funeral was more popular than Monty Python's classic by one per cent.

The top five is completed with Danny Boyle's cult classic Trainspotting (15 per cent), the latest James Bond Casino Royale (ten per cent) and gangster flick Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (eight per cent).

James Kydd, managing director of brand and marketing at Virgin Media said: "The debate around the best British film of all time is always a great talking point and our top ten is no exception.

"Seeing so many fantastic films in the list is testament to British film talent and that’s exactly why Virgin Media has set up the Shorts competition to champion undiscovered British film makers."

With almost one third of the votes, the poll revealed that Dame Judi Dench is the best British actress of all time followed by fellow Dame, Helen Mirren (14 per cent) and Julie Walters (14 per cent).

The best British actor was a closely fought contest with former Bond Sir Sean Connery and Hannibal hell-raiser Sir Anthony Hopkins receiving 22 per cent of votes each.

Hugh Grant, who became a household name after starring in Four Weddings and a Funeral, was in fourth place with 11 per cent of nominations behind Get Carter star Sir Michael Caine (12 per cent).

Virgin Media Shorts is the first short film competition to run across four screens (TV, cinema, mobile and the internet) and has already seen over 1,000 entries for the £30,000 prize since its launch on May 1st.

The judging panel includes, among others, Kevin Spacey, Richard Branson, Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha and Green Wing actor Stephen Mangan.
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