VIOLENCE may have been golden, but Daniel Day-Lewis won the top individual gong at yesterday's 80th annual Oscars in Hollywood.

Violent thriller No Country for Old Men won the best picture Oscar as European stars scored a clean sweep in the acting honours in an historic Hollywood night.

No Country for Old Men emerged as the biggest winner of the evening, scooping four Oscars including best director for brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor for Javier Bardem.

emerged as the biggest winner of the evening, scooping four Oscars including best director for brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor for Javier Bardem.

The film, a bleak and bloody drama about a drug deal that goes wrong and its murderous aftermath, was the overwhelming pre-Oscars favourite.

Day-Lewis' second best actor Oscar came for his portrayal of a ruthless oil prospector in There Will Be Blood.

The British-born actor, whose first Oscar came for his performance in the 1989 film My Left Foot, had been the overwhelming favourite to claim the Oscar after sweeping top honours at several award shows this year.

Day-Lewis knelt as he received his award from British actress Helen Mirren, last year’s winner for her role in The Queen quipping: "That's the closest I'll ever come to getting a knighthood."

"My deepest thanks to the members of the academy for whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town".

The 50-year-old star, who is renowned for the selectiveness and intense research with which he approaches each of his roles, has been nominated for an Oscar on two other occasions.

In There Will Be Blood, Day-Lewis plays a scheming entrepreneur who sets out to build a fortune in the early days of the oil industry in turn of the century California.

Other nominees for the award on Sunday were George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah) and Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises).

Australia had to settle for only one award, best documentary, to Melbourne’s Eva Orner for Taxi to the Dark Side, a film critical of the US war on terrorism.

European talent dominated the evening’s acting awards.

France's Marion Cotillard, edged out Cate Blanchett for best actress for La Vie En Rose.

Blanchett also missed out on the best supporting actress Oscar in a shock result at the Academy Awards.

Blanchett was nominated for her portrayal of Bob Dylan in the biopic, I’m Not There, but the Oscar went to Tilda Swinton, for her role in Michael Clayton.

See our Oscars picture gallery at www.cairns.com.au