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BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - The searing cultural drama "Babel" and the uplifting musical "Dreamgirls" won the top Golden Globe awards on Monday, making them instant front-runners in Hollywood's Oscar race.

"Dreamgirls," which follows the rise of three women singers and closely resembles the ascendancy of all-girl groups like The Supremes, won three awards. The "Dreamgirls" bounty was more than any other film and it included the trophies for best musical or comedy, as well as best supporting actor and actress for Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson, respectively.

Hudson fought back tears in accepting her award. "Oh, my God. Thank you so much," she said. "Wow. I have always dreamed but never, ever this big. This goes far beyond anything I could ever have imagined."
"Babel," a story of cultural differences and communication failures across borders, earned only one award but it was a big one -- best film drama. It entered the Golden Globes as the most nominated movie with seven.

The movie's director, Mexico's Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, noted the long and trying journey he had made to get his movie made across across three continents -- Africa, North America and Asia -- and in five different languages. He said "Babel" transcended borders with its gut-wrenching performances.
"I think the power of cinema is universal and at the end, emotion doesn't need translation and that's the beauty of it," Inarritu said.

In other key awards, Martin Scorsese took home the prize for best director with his crime thriller "The Departed." The Scorsese film came into the show as the second most nominated movie with six and it will continue to be a factor in this year's Oscar race as it has been a darling of critics.

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