LONDON (AFP) - Tributes poured in Wednesday for Anthony Minghella, the British filmmaker best known for the Oscar-winning 1996 film "The English Patient", who died at the age of 54.

The writer and director, whose other box office hits include "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain", was best known for beautifully shot, lyrical adaptations of literary novels starring big names such as Jude Law.

Actors and directors paid tribute to his storytelling ability and sense of fun, while Prime Minister Gordon Brown and ex-premier Tony Blair -- who he once directed together in an election broadcast -- expressed their sadness.

Minghella, described as a "champion of British film" by multiple British newspapers on Wednesday morning, died at 5:00 am (0500 GMT) of a haemorrhage at a London hospital after an operation for a growth on his neck last week, his agent told AFP.

The Guardian newspaper said Minghella's "ample figure and cheery countenance exuded a love of life" and added that he "seemed to be Harold Pinter, Orson Welles, David Lean and Richard Attenborough all rolled into one."

Of his adaption of "The English Patient", The Times wrote that he "did not rely on pretty locations to carry his film, and effectively interwove complex story strands and managed to translate the poignancy and fatalism of the original ... novel to the big screen."

Minghella was born to parents of Italian origin who had an ice-cream shop on the Isle of Wight in southern England.

After studying and teaching at Hull University in northern England, he wrote for television, including detective drama "Inspector Morse", before directing the work which made his name in Britain -- "Truly, Madly, Deeply" in 1991.

First shown on television, the tear-jerking drama starred Alan Rickman and follows a woman's relationship with the ghost of her dead boyfriend.

It drew attention from Hollywood and led to "The English Patient", a lush Second World War drama starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche and filmed in Tunisia and Italy, for which he was named best director at the 1997 Academy Awards, making him a major player stateside.

That was followed by "The Talented Mr. Ripley" starring Law and Matt Damon and "Cold Mountain" in 2003 with Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger, which received mixed reviews.

He returned to his British roots with 2006's "Breaking and Entering", starring Law as a London architect who has an affair with a Bosnian woman.

He also directed opera, was chairman of the British Film Institute and was made a CBE (commander of the British empire) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2001.

Brown led the tributes, saying: "He was one of Britain's greatest creative talents, one of our finest screenwriters and directors, a great champion of the British film industry, and an expert on literature and opera...

"He will be deeply missed, but his contribution to British culture will be remembered for many years to come."

Blair described him as "an artist of the highest calibre".

"Anthony Minghella was a wonderful human being, creative and brilliant, but still humble, gentle and a joy to be with," he said.

Law said he was "deeply shocked".

"He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that was a joy to speak and then put it on to the screen in a way that always looked effortless," he said.

Fiennes said Minghella had directed most of "The English Patient" with his ankle in plaster but had never lost his "gentle humour and precision."

"His films deal with extreme aloneness and the redemptive power of love, even at the moment of death," he said.

Michael Ondaatje, the author of "The English Patient", described Mingella as "one of my dearest friends ... He was always generous and inclusive with those who were close to him and with those who worked with him."

Minghella's last completed work was an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's book "The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency" which will be broadcast on the BBC on Sunday.

He was married to choreographer Carolyn Choa and also leaves two children.

Source: AP