Ang Lee wins best director at Golden Globe

Ang Lee won the 2006 Golden Globe award for best director on Monday for helming the ground-breaking gay cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain".

Lee paid warm tribute to the other nominated directors and noted that the award carried more kudos than ever given what had been "an amazing year" for American cinema.

"So I want to give my first thanks to my fellow filmmakers for strengthening my faith in the power of movies to change the way we're thinking," Lee said.

Based on a short story by novelist Annie Proulx, "Brokeback Mountain" is the wrenching story of two macho cowboys who, despite themselves, begin a romance in 1963 and pursue it during stolen moments over the next two decades.

The film was also nominated for best dramatic motion picture.

The other nominees for best director were Woody Allen for "Match Point", George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck", Peter Jackson for "King Kong", Fernando Meirelles for "The Constant Gardener" and Steven Spielberg for "Munich".

(Agencies)