Mafia movie The Godfather has been voted the greatest movie of all time by film fans.

Francis Ford Coppola's movie was voted best in a survey of 16,000 people, conducted by the Internet Movie Database website.

The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, was the second favourite, followed by The Godfather Part II.

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring came in at number four while the sequel, The Two Towers, was 10th favourite, just weeks after its release.

---

Bluegrass legend dies

Bluegrass musician James McReynolds, who was one half of the Jim and Jesse duo, has died at the age of 75.

He sang and played guitar with his brother Jesse, who played the mandolin, for more than 40 years, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame's Walkway of Stars.

Backed by their band, the Virginia Boys, they scored hits with The Flame of Love, Gosh I Miss You All the Time and Cotton Mill Man.

Reynolds died of cancer just two weeks after his wife, Areta, died of a heart attack.

---

Fire kills US actor Applegate

Character actor Royce Applegate, who appeared in films including Splash and The Rookie, has been killed in a fire that swept through his Los Angeles home.

The 63-year-old is believed to have suffered severe smoke inhalation from the fire, which also injured two firefighters tackling the blaze.

Applegate lived alone in his Hollywood Hills home and the cause of the fire is being investigated.

He also appeared in a number of television series during his career, including Dallas, CHiPs and Twin Peaks.

---

Pioneering Polish director dies

Polish director Kazimierz Dejmek, whose 1968 play The Forefathers unleashed a student revolution in Poland, has died.

His production of the play - originally from the 19th Century - was full of anti-Russian sentiment and prompted an anti-government demonstration form students.

It in turn led to a crackdown on intellectuals and Jews from the Communist government.

After being in exile for years, Dejmek returned to Poland was culture minister between 1993 and 1996.

---

Fans celebrate Tolkien's 111th birthday

Fans of JRR Tolkien celebrated the author's 111th birthday on Wednesday - the age his famous hobbit creation Bilbo Baggins was at the start of The Lord of the Rings fantasy.

Tolkien described the "eleventy-first" birthday party - which is when Bilbo leaves The Shire and the ring - as "a rather curious number and a very respectable age for a hobbit".

Fans everywhere from Mexico to Hong Kong and London's Leicester Square made the event.

The recent success of the films has doubled the membership of Britain's Tolkien Society, organisers say.

---