The Golden Globes got underway Sunday with Steven Spielberg's presidential drama "Lincoln" the frontrunner for the major prizes, against rivals including Quentin Tarantino and Kathryn Bigelow.

Co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler opened the evening with a series of gags, before the first award went to Vienna-born Christoph Waltz, co-star of Tarantino's spaghetti Western tribute "Django Unchained."

Waltz, who plays a dentist turned bounty hunter, beat Alan Arkin in "Argo," Philip Seymour Hoffman in "The Master," Tommy Lee Jones in "Lincoln" and his "Django Unchained" co-star Leonardo DiCaprio for the first prize of the night.

But there was a long three-hour show ahead, with "Lincoln," "Django Unchained," Oscar-winning Bigelow's Osama bin Laden manhunt movie "Zero Dark Thirty" and Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" among those tipped for glory.

Comic co-host Poehler had the A-list Hollywood audience in stitches with an opening gag about the controversy surrounding the depiction of torture in Bigelow's latest movie.

"I haven't really been following 'Zero Dark Thirty' but when it comes to torture, I trust a woman who was married to James Cameron for three years," she quipped, to a shocked look from the movie's star Jessica Chastain.

Poehler was referring to Bigelow's director ex-husband, whom she famously beat at the Oscars two years ago, when her "Hurt Locker" beat his 3D blockbuster "Avatar" to win the top best picture prize.

The Globes telecast was preceded by a couple of hours of red carpet action as Hollywood's A-listers strutted their stuff.

They notably included Grammy-winning British songstress Adele, making her first red carpet appearance since giving birth to her first child. Adele is up for the best song Globe for the theme tune to Bond movie "Skyfall."

Spielberg's presidential biopic won a major boost just days before Sunday's show, when it topped the nominations announced Thursday for the all-important Academy Awards next month, shortlisted in 12 Oscar categories.

"Lincoln" star Daniel Day-Lewis is favorite for best actor in a drama at the Globes, against Denzel Washington for piloting "Flight" while drunk, Richard Gere for "Arbitrage," John Hawkes for "The Sessions" and Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master."

Best actress is slightly more open: Jessica Chastain is widely favored for her role as a CIA agent relentlessly tracking bin Laden in "Zero Dark Thirty," while France's Marion Cotillard has drawn praise for "Rust and Bone."

But Britain's Helen Mirren is also a strong contender as a cinema legend's wife in "Hitchcock." Also in the running are Naomi Watts for Indian Ocean tsunami drama "The Impossible" and Rachel Weisz for "The Deep Blue Sea."

Other drama films tipped include Tom Hooper's musical adaptation "Les Miserables," dark romantic comedy "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Zero Dark Thirty," which tied for third place with four Globes nods.

Bigelow, who was passed over for the Oscars best director shortlist -- possibly due to protests over her film's depiction of torture -- is running in the category at the Globes, as is Affleck for "Argo."

The awards are voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of fewer than 100 members seen as more celebrity-driven than the esteemed Academy of Motion and Picture Arts and Sciences, whose show is on February 24.

Reflecting the perhaps less high-brow taste of the HFPA, Ang Lee's "Life of Pi," which picked up 11 Oscar nominations, is running in only three Globes categories.

Unlike the Oscars, the Globes have separate categories for comedy and musical fare: best film nominees are Indian-themed "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Les Miserables," "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," starring Ewan McGregor.

Best comedy/music actor nods went to Jack Black for "Bernie," "Hangover" star Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings," Australian Hugh Jackman for "Les Mis," McGregor for "Salmon Fishing" and Bill Murray for "Hyde Park on Hudson."

Three British actresses are shortlisted for best comedy or musical turns: Emily Blunt for "Salmon Fishing," Judi Dench for "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and fellow veteran Maggie Smith for "Quartet."