The Last Samurai went straight to the top of the US box office on release

Among the 15 contenders are British films Calendar Girls and Love Actually and blockbusters Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Kill Bill.

Cruise, whose movie did not make it to the Golden Globes best film shortlist either, is however in the running for a best actor Bafta.

Last year's Bafta best picture winner was holocaust film The Pianist.

Among this year's hopefuls are a mix of drama, comedy and even animation as Finding Nemo finds its way on to the longlist.

Bafta best picture longlist 21 Grams Big Fish Calendar Girls Cold Mountain Finding Nemo Girl With a Pearl Earring Kill Bill Volume I Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lost in Translation Love Actually Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Mystic River Pirates of the Caribbean Seabiscuit The Station Agent

The surprise inclusion is the oddball comedy The Station Agent, about a man born with dwarfism, which has yet to get a UK release.

The longlist also includes all the film that were shortlisted for the Golden Globes including Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Seabiscuit, Cold Mountain and Mystic River.

Young star

Bafta has released longlists of contenders in all 17 categories, with Civil War epic Cold Mountain garnering the most mentions.

Its 18 inclusions include Jude Law and Nicole Kidman vying for best actor and actress, and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Renee Zellweger recognised for their supporting roles.

Cold Mountain stars Renee Zellweger and Nicole Kidman

US actress Scarlett Johansson, 19, is featured twice on the best actress longlist - for Lost in Translation and Girl With a Pearl Earring.

But the youngest actress by far on the best actress list is Keisha Castle-Hughes, who at 13 received critical acclaim for her performance in Whale Rider.