Poster of Alexander Payne's comedy-drama "The Descendants" which stars George Clooney [Photo: IMPAwards.com]

"The Descendants" and "The Artist" turned out to be the big winners of the 69th Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California Monday (Beijing Time).

Directed by Alexander Payne and starring George Clooney and Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants," the family comedy set in Hawaii, grabbed the Best Motion Picture and the Best Actor awards in the drama category.

Clooney won the award by beating powerful rivals Leonardo Dicaprio and Brad Pitt, while golden globe doyenne Meryl Streep grabbed the best actress award again for her dexterous portrayal of the outstanding British politician Margaret Thatcher in "Iron Lady." It was Streep's eighth win at the Globes.

"The Artist," a black-and-white silent romantic tale of a failing actor who finds love at a time when movies were changing from silents to talkies, picked up three awards including best musical or comedy, best original score, and best actor in a musical or comedy for its star, French actor Jean Dujardin.

Michelle Williams won best actress in a musical or comedy for "My Week with Marilyn," 52 years after Monroe's win for the same prize at the Globes. The film chronicles Monroe's contentious time shooting the 1957 romance "The Prince and the Showgirl" alongside exasperated director and co-star Laurence Olivier.

Veteran American filmmaker Martin Scorsese proved his directorial skill again in the 3D adventure drama film "Hugo" by trumping the other four rivals, including the competitive Payne and Woody Allen, in winning the best director award.

The award was the third Globe award in the last 10 years for Scorsese, who previously won for "Gangs of New York" and "The Departed."

Chinese director Zhang Yimou's war epic "The Flowers of War" was defeated by Iran's first Golden Bear Winner "Separation" when competing for the Best Foreign Language Film. The critically-acclaimed Iranian film, illustrating the social paradoxes via an indigenous middle-class couple, is commented tightly structured and emotionally astute by New York Times movie review.

Pop diva Madonna, Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry won the Globe for best song for "Masterpiece" from the King Edward-Wallis Simpson drama "W.E.," which Madonna also directed.

Meryl Streep wins Best Actress for "The Iron Lady" at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, in Los Angeles. [Photo/Sina]

The other winners include the romantic comedy "Midnight in Paris" for the best screenplay, classic comic strip adaptation "The Adventures of Tintin" for best animation. It's the first animation award for Steven Spielberg and the first Globes loss to Disney unit Pixar Animation.

The Showtime's counterterrorist thriller "Homeland" won best TV series while ABC's "Modern Family" won best television series in comedy or musical. Claire Danes of "Homeland" took home best actress.

There was a standing ovation for Morgan Freeman, the giant of cinema who was honored during the three-hour ceremony. Freeman won the Cecil B. De Mille Award for his work in film. Legendary actor Sidney Poitier presented the honor to Freeman, which Freeman said was honor enough in and of itself.

Held annually for the excellence of film and television since January 1944, the Golden Globe Award is regarded one of the most important film awards apart from the Oscars. Winners are selected by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of 89 entertainment reporters for overseas outlets.