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Ben Affleck's Iran-hostage drama Argo and the musical Les Miserables were the big winners on Sunday at the Golden Globes, while Steven Spielberg's Lincoln went home with a disappointing single award.

Affleck won the awards for both best dramatic film and director for his movie about a CIA mission to rescue diplomats in Teheran in 1979, and Les Miserables won the awards for best film, actor and supporting actress in the musical/comedy category.

As expected, Daniel Day-Lewis won best drama actor for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln, but that was the only top award for Spielberg's film, which had topped the nominations tally with seven at the 70th annual Globe awards.

Jessica Chastain won best-drama actress for her portrayal of a relentless CIA agent tracking down Osama bin Laden in Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained won two important prizes.

But the night, to the surprise of some, belonged to Affleck, who took the top two prizes.

The actor-director, who played a CIA agent who rescued six US diplomats from the Canadian ambassador's residence in Teheran in 1979 during the Iran hostage crisis, paid tribute to real-life agents and diplomats, including the actual character he played.

The movie has been accused of taking liberties with history, notably by exaggerating the role of the CIA in getting the US diplomats out, at the expense of the Canadian envoy in Teheran at the time.

But it was a vindication of sorts for Affleck, who was snubbed in the Oscar nominations announced last week by failing to win a best-director nod.

Meanwhile, Les Miserables, a musical adapted from the Victor Hugo book, won best musical/comedy movie. Australian Hugh Jackman won best actor for his all-singing role, and his co-star Anne Hathaway won best supporting actress.

Hathaway won for her portrayal of the young mother and prostitute Fantine, beating fellow nominees Amy Adams in The Master, Sally Field in Lincoln, Helen Hunt in The Sessions and Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy.

Former US president Bill Clinton provided one of the biggest surprises of the night, taking the stage to pay tribute to Spielberg's movie and to Clinton's 19th-century predecessor.

British songstress Adele, making her first red carpet appearance since giving birth in October, won best song for the theme tune from the James Bond blockbuster Skyfall.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.