Two star-led tales of frontier survival triumphed at the 73rd annual Golden Globes, where Alejandro González Iñárritu's bloody 1820s thriller "The Revenant" swept three of the top honors, and Ridley Scott's stranded astronaut tale "The Martian" answered with a pair of its own.
At a bleep-filled, irreverent Beverly Hills, California, ceremony on Sunday, Ricky Gervais presided over a Globes that seemed to risk unraveling before the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's show coalesced its support for "The Revenant" and "The Martian."
In an upset, "The Revenant" won best film, drama, as well as best director for González Iñárritu and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. Though Iñárritu had a similar run at the Academy Awards last year with the best-picture winning "Birdman," he won only a share of best screenplay at last year's Globes.
Referring to the film's arduous shoot in the Canadian Rockies, Innaritu said: "Pain is temporary. A film is forever."
This award season has lacked definition and two of the top critical picks - the journalism procedural "Spotlight" and Todd Haynes' lesbian romance "Carol" - went home empty-handed. Instead, it was "The Revenant" - made with the same seamless cinematography of "Birman" that emerged triumphant - on the same weekend it nearly toppled the box-office juggernaut "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" with a $37 million opening.
DiCaprio, who appears headed for his first Oscar, dedicated his award to Native Americans.
"I want to share this award with all the First Nations people represented in this film and all the indigenous peoples around the world," said DiCaprio. "It is time that we recognize your history and that we protect your indigenous lands from corporate interests and people out there to exploit them."
Questionably nominated in the comedy categories (a theoretically easier route to statuettes), "The Martian" took best film comedy and best actor in a comedy for Matt Damon, who also suffered withering jabs from Gervais. Taking the podium, Scott wondered "Comedy?" and answered with a skeptical wave of his hand.
In his fourth time hosting, Gervais' act dominated the evening, often drawing loud laughs from the Beverly Hilton hotel audience, but also the expected criticism. In a particularly awkward encounter, he and Mel Gibson stood arm-in-arm after exchanging insults.
"I love seeing Ricky once every three years because it reminds me to get a colonoscopy," said Gibson.