If the Golden Globes are a Hollywood harbinger, it looks like the road to Oscar will run smack through Brokeback Mountain.

	Reed Saxon, Associated Press Ang Lee shows off the Golden Globe Award he won for Best Director for "Brokeback Mountain." Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Ladies in red range from ravishing to ridiculous at Golden Globes Golden Globe winners: 1/16/06

Ang Lee's cowboy love story, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as ranch hands who meet in 1963 and forge a surprising, secretive bond, was named best drama last night at the 63rd annual Golden Globes in Beverly Hills.

Set against the sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas, "Brokeback" is based on a short story by Annie Proulx. It has spawned late-night jokes on TV, long lines outside theaters and a reexamination of what a Hollywood romance can look like.

Top acting honors went to Felicity Huffman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.

Nominated for seven Globes, "Brokeback Mountain" also won for director Lee; screenplay by Larry McMurtry (who thanked his trusty typewriter) and Diana Ossana; and song, "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" by Gustavo Santaolalla and Bernie Taupin.

After accepting his directing Globe from Clint Eastwood, Lee thanked his parents, wife, sons, everyone in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China and paid tribute to his fellow directors. "I want to give my first thanks to my fellow filmmakers for strengthening my faith in movies, and in the power of movies to change the way we're thinking," the Taiwan-born Lee said.

Huffman won best actress in a drama for "Transamerica." One of ABC's "Desperate Housewives," Huffman plays Bree, a man on the verge of surgery that will complete his transformation to a woman.

"I know as actors our job is usually to shed our skins but I think as people, our job is to become who we really are, and so I would like to salute the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation and a life lived on the margins to become who they really are," the actress said, to roaring approval.

	Reed Saxon, Associated Press Reese Witherspoon shows off her award for "Walk the Line." Click photo for larger image.

Hoffman won best actor in a drama for "Capote" and wished for a podium so the audience wouldn't see his knees shaking.

He transformed himself into Truman Capote, the charismatic raconteur and author who became obsessed with the 1959 murder of a farm family in Kansas. The project reunited three old pals -- Hoffman, director Bennett Miller and writer Dan Futterman, who met at a summer theater program when they were 16.

He called Miller and Futterman two of the smartest men he knows. "Bennett, basically, was never satisfied, and I thank him for that, and I just was given the best part of my life, basically, and I know that."

"Walk the Line" was named best musical or comedy film, and its stars, Phoenix and Witherspoon, took top acting honors for playing Johnny and June Carter Cash.

"Walk the Line" producer James Keach said, "I don't know how you can win a best-anything without that guy," of director James Mangold, who was not nominated. "I know that John and June are up in heaven with my mom and dad, smiling down on us right now and wishing us all to have a good night and June would say, 'Hunker down and press on.' "

Phoenix, who tamed his wavy hair and darkened his blue eyes to portray the country legend, thanked "John and June Carter Cash for sharing your life."

Phoenix learned to hold the guitar in Cash fashion and, more importantly, to play and sing like the Man in Black. Witherspoon, married to actor Ryan Phillippe ("Crash"), had to master singing and playing the auto harp for her role as sassy, supportive June Carter Cash.

"It's about where I grew up, it's about the music I grew up listening to, so it's very meaningful," Witherspoon said. In her thank-yous, she singled out her husband, who "busted his butt to get here today," from Toronto where he is making a movie. "Nothing is worth having in life if I can't have you to share it with."

Anthony Hopkins, called the Laurence Olivier of his generation by "Proof" costar Gwyneth Paltrow, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award. A collection of clips celebrated his longevity, his incredible range and, of course, his line from "The Silence of the Lambs" about a census taker, a liver, fava beans and a nice chianti.

The 68-year-old Welshman said he had had the great fortune to work with many great actors and directors, but didn't want to forget the "anonymous people who work harder than anyone," lugging cables, fussing over hair and makeup and tending to other behind-the-scenes details. Saying it had been a great life, he raised his statue and lifted a line from "Sunset Boulevard": "Ready when you are, Mr. DeMille."

The first big award of the night, for supporting actor in a movie, went to George Clooney for "Syriana" who immediately joked, "This is early. I haven't had a drink yet."

He saluted "Syriana" director-writer Stephen Gaghan, thanked Warner Bros. for having the courage to make the political thriller and corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- "just because." For "Syriana," in which he plays a veteran CIA operative, he packed on the pounds and was injured during a torture scene.

Another serious film, "The Constant Gardener," earned Rachel Weisz the Globe for supporting actress. Pregnant and resplendent in a Donna Karan gown, she shared her honor with co-star Ralph Fiennes, saying she couldn't have asked for a more magical, committed actor.

Other big winners of the night included "Paradise Now," about a fictional Palestinian suicide bomber, for foreign language film, and John Williams, score for "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Best TV musical or comedy went to "Desperate Housewives," now in its sophomore year, while the Globe for drama went to "Lost."

Also on the TV side, the top players in dramas were Hugh Laurie for "House" (who cleverly drew names of people to thank from his pocket) and Geena Davis for "Commander in Chief." Davis said she was delighted for a "little fledgling show like ours," which inspired a little girl to tug on her dress and aspire to the presidency. Or not.

Steve Carell from "The Office" was best actor for a TV musical/comedy and he read a very funny thank-you, written by his wife. Mary-Louise Parker from "Weeds" was honored as top actress for TV musical/comedy.

For miniseries/TV movies, the statues went to Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers for "Elvis" and S. Epatha Merkerson, HBO's "Lackawanna Blues." The 53-year-old actress, starring in her first leading film role, said, "I feel like I'm 16, but if I wasn't in the middle of a hot flash, I'd believe that."

In the supporting roles, "Grey's Anatomy" doc Sandra Oh and an absent Paul Newman from "Empire Falls" were honored.

The Globes are as much about fashion, hair, jewels and dates as the awards, and while black was back, red was red-hot, too.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, international journalists based in Southern California, present the Globes. Numbering about 90, they could fit into the smallest auditorium at many theaters but their power and reach seems to expand each year.