Feature | Lights, Camera, Action! Special – The Golden Globes 2014

The awards themselves didn't go according to plan for some of the nominees either. 12 Years a Slave had been expected to sweep the board. In the end, it took one trophy - Best Picture (Drama). Not one to be sniffed at, it's true, but something of a let-down, given the film's six nominations. David O. Russell's American Hustle fared much better and, in terms of numbers alone, was the big film of the night, with three awards. Jennifer Lawrence was a winner for the second year running, this time taking the Best Supporting Actress trophy, while Amy Adams won Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) and the movie itself scooped Best Picture (Comedy/Musical).

The Best Actor (Drama) award was fiercely contested, with only slivers of daylight between the nominees. In the end, it was Matthew McConaughey who came out on top for his performance in AIDS drama, Dallas Buyers Club, with co-star Jared Leto taking Best Supporting Actor. However, both had been completely overlooked in the BAFTA nominations last week. The other surprise of the evening came in the Best Screenplay category, with Spike Jonze's Her, coming out ahead of the much-fancied Philomena.

Films like Nebraska, Captain Phillips and Philomena left empty-handed, films that in other years could have easily been triumphant. The standard of this year's films is extraordinarily high and this week's Oscar nominations, due on Thursday, will make that even more apparent. Gone will be the Golden Globes' separate categories for comedy/musical and drama, which will mean some very big names could miss out altogether.

The full list of Golden Globe winners can be found here.