Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

Director:

Larry Charles

Writers (WGA):

Sacha Baron Cohen (screenplay) &
Anthony Hines (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 November 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Come to Kazakhstan, It's Nice!

Plot:

Kazakh TV talking head Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the greatest country in the world. With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson.

Plot Keywords:

Kazakhstan | New York City | Elevator | Road Trip | Cross Country

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 12 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Sacha Baron Cohen	...	Borat
Ken Davitian	...	Azamat
Luenell	...	Luenell
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pamela Anderson	...	Herself (uncredited)
Bob Barr	...	Himself (uncredited)
Mitchell Falk	...	Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (uncredited)
Alan Keyes	...	Himself (uncredited)
Jean-Pierre Parent	...	Kazakh Swimmer (uncredited)

Directed by
Larry Charles

Writing credits (WGA)
Sacha Baron Cohen		(screenplay) &
Anthony Hines		(screenplay) &
Peter Baynham		(screenplay) &
Dan Mazer		(screenplay)
Sacha Baron Cohen		(story) &
Peter Baynham		(story) &
Anthony Hines		(story) &
Todd Phillips		(story)

Produced by
Sacha Baron Cohen	....	producer
Peter Baynham	....	co-producer
Monica Levinson	....	executive producer
Dan Mazer	....	executive producer
Jay Roach	....	producer

Original Music by
Erran Baron Cohen

Cinematography by
Luke Geissbuhler		(director of photography)
Anthony Hardwick		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Craig Alpert
Peter Teschner
James Thomas

Casting by
Allison Jones

Costume Design by
Jason Alper

Makeup Department
Thomas Kolarek	....	hair stylist
Thomas Kolarek	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jamie D. Boscardin	....	additional production supervisor (as Jamie Boscardin Martin)
Shirley Davis	....	production supervisor: additional photography
Susan Ehrhart	....	production supervisor: additional photography
Patrick Esposito	....	post-production supervisor
Brad Goodman	....	post-production supervisor (as Bradley M. Goodman)
Brad Goodman	....	post-production supervisor (as Bradley N. Goodman)
Ines Matei	....	unit production manager
David Siegel	....	unit production manager (as David A. Siegel)
Dale Stern	....	unit production manager
David M. Bernstein	....	unit production manager: pre-production (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cristina Iliescu	....	first assistant director
John Isabeau	....	second assistant director
David Siegel	....	first assistant director (as David A. Siegel)
Dale Stern	....	first assistant director
David M. Bernstein	....	first assistant director: pre-production (uncredited)

Art Department
Jason Alper	....	designer: items from Kazakhstan
Scott M. Davids	....	anthem designer (as Scott Davids)
Scott Goldman	....	anthem designer
Kevin Hughes	....	props consultant
David Maturana	....	art director: additional photography (as David Saenz de Maturana)
Alexandria Andross	....	buyer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Mary Andrews	....	dialogue editor
Jeremy Brill	....	boom operator
Kerry Ann Carmean	....	sound effects editor (as Kerry Carmean-Williams)
Matt Colleran	....	sound re-recordist (as Matt Colloran)
Patrick Cusack	....	assistant sound editor
Andrew DeCristofaro	....	supervising sound editor
David Esparza	....	sound effects editor
Jeff Glueck	....	assistant sound editor
Scott Harber	....	production sound mixer
Bill Henderson	....	sound re-recording engineer
Michael Hertlein	....	dialogue editor
Lora Hirschberg	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jake Jackson	....	stage engineer
Alan Kerr	....	foley artist
Jon Klein	....	boom operator
Ryan Maguire	....	foley mixer
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Nancy Nugent	....	supervising dialogue & adr editor (as Nancy Kyong Nugent)
Michael Payne	....	sound effects editor
Brandon Proctor	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chad Robertson	....	sound mixer
Sean Rowe	....	foley artist
Christopher Sidor	....	sound re-recordist (as Chris Sidor)
John C. Stuver	....	dialogue editor
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
James Wright	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as Jim Wright)

Visual Effects by
Julia Croon	....	visual effects coordinator
Scott M. Davids	....	visual effects supervisor
Jalal Jemison	....	digital effects artist
Kathy Thomson	....	digital intermediate colorist

Stunts
Michael Li	....	action team
Attila Nemes	....	stunt performer
Pee Wee Piemonte	....	safety (as Peewee Piemonte)
Nicole Randall	....	action team
Shaun Vickers	....	stunt safety
Harry Wowchuk	....	action team

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Alba	....	assistant camera
Sherman Johnson	....	camera operator
Bret Lanius	....	camera operator
Mark Schwartzbard	....	first assistant camera
Owen A. Smith	....	camera operator
Mark Walpole	....	first assistant camera
John Johns	....	video utility (uncredited)

Casting Department
Tracy Dixon	....	extras casting
Wendy Hoffman	....	voice casting (as Wendy Hoffmann)
Adam St. Clair	....	location casting (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Frederick W. Chandler Jr.	....	post-production assistant
Marisa Clayton	....	digital intermediate producer: Modern VideoFilm
Chad Cole	....	on-line editor
Scott M. Davids	....	first assistant editor
Andrew Dickler	....	additional editor
Jeff Mee	....	assistant editor
Harry Muller	....	color timer
Colin Patton	....	apprentice editor
Robb Porter	....	post-production coordinator: Modern VideoFilm
Adam Rosenblatt	....	editor: main title
Todd Schulman	....	editorial assistant: Mr Baron Cohen
Sarah Thiessen	....	assistant editor (as Sarah K. Thiessen)
Kathy Thomson	....	digital intermediate color timer

Music Department
Geoff Alexander	....	orchestrator
Jonathan Allen	....	score recordist
Jonathan Allen	....	scoring mixer
Shira Arad	....	music researcher
Thomas Bowes	....	orchestra leader
Isobel Griffiths	....	orchestra contractor
Richard Henderson	....	music editor
Richard Henderson	....	music supervisor
Igor Outkine	....	musician: accordion
Sharon Smith	....	additional music editor
Desislava Stefanova	....	musician: singer

Transportation Department
Dale Combs	....	driver: maxi-van
Jeff Lira	....	driver
Monty Lira	....	driver
Jim Petti	....	driver
Jonathan A. Rosenfeld	....	transportation coordinator
Jeff Verdick	....	driver

Other crew
Jason Alper	....	Mr. Baron Cohen's feces provided by
Wayne Arnold	....	additional first assistant
Kieran Baker	....	researcher (as Kieran R.M. Baker)
Chelsea Barnard	....	field coordinator
Fred Baron	....	production executive
Christine Bergren	....	production counsel
Jack Blessing	....	adr loop group
Joe Borden	....	research assistant
Ranjani Brow	....	adr loop group
Unjoo Lee Byars	....	main title producer
Sophie Charles	....	researcher
Julie Chouinard	....	field coordinator
Scott Clackum	....	location scout: South Carolina
Sarah Connolly	....	production secretary
Conor Copeland	....	assistant: Mr Baron Cohen, New York
David Cowgill	....	adr loop group
Caitlin Cutt	....	adr loop group
Alex Daniels	....	fight coordinator: naked fight
Lisa Davidson	....	production coordinator: additional photography
Scott M. Davids	....	graphic supervisor (as Scott Davids)
Dana Dubé	....	head animal trainer
Graeme Dunlap	....	production assistant
Laurie Epstein	....	assistant: Larry Charles
Laurie Epstein	....	assistant: Mr. Charles
David Louis Feinberg	....	field coordinator: additional photography (as David Feinberg)
Ruben Fleischer	....	behind-the-scenes (as Ruben Fleisher)
Christopher Godfrey	....	assistant: Jay Roach
Scott Goldman	....	title designer
Marissa Goodman	....	adr loop group
Arturo Guzman	....	production assistant
Charles Heaphy	....	production financing
Bridget Hoffman	....	adr loop group
Wendy Hoffman	....	adr loop group (as Wendy Hoffmann)
Russ Honican	....	main title art
Jenny Hunter	....	field supervisor
Bryan Iler	....	key location manager
Mark Ivanir	....	adr loop group
Susannah Julien	....	production coordinator
Sherri Kecskes	....	assistant accountant
Noelle Kim	....	assistant: Jim Vickers
Ashley Kravitz	....	research consultant
Ruth LaBarge	....	animal trainer
Alexandra Lambrinidis	....	key set production assistant
Joanna Lara	....	production secretary: wrap
Matthew Ryan Lepore	....	production secretary
Andrew Lin	....	web consultant
Alexa Song Lindenthaler	....	first assistant accountant: additional photography (as Alexa Song-Lindenthaler)
Jacqueline Lofstrom	....	field coordinator: additional photography
Anna Mathias	....	adr loop group
Blair Miller	....	production assistant
Andrew Newman	....	consultant
Ari Novak	....	production consultant
Tanya Oskanian	....	assistant: Larry Charles
Belit Paulissian	....	researcher
Phil Proctor	....	adr loop group (as Philip Proctor)
Leslie E.A. Rider	....	assistant production coordinator
Adam Rosenblatt	....	title designer
Clint Rowe	....	animal trainer
Tim Schildberger	....	field supervisor
Todd Schulman	....	field supervisor
Julie Shapiro	....	travel
Andrew Simpson	....	animal trainer
Russell Smith	....	production counsel
Charline St. Charles	....	assistant production coordinator: additional photography
Robert W. Sterrett III	....	assistant location manager
Shane Sweet	....	adr loop group
Bernadette Tanchauco	....	production accountant (as Berni Tanchauco)
Hans Tester	....	adr loop group
Erik Tily	....	field coordinator
Omar Veytia	....	location manager: mexico
Jim Vickers	....	consultant: kidnapping (as James P. Vickers)
J. Christian Walsh	....	assistant: Mr Baron Cohen
Jeff Wickline	....	first assistant accountant: additional photography
Ines Wurth	....	adr loop group
Bruce Allen	....	credit sequence artist (uncredited)
Jason Kessler	....	assistant to writer (uncredited)
Eric Leiderman	....	field coordinator (uncredited)
Adam Paroo	....	location scout: South Carolina (uncredited)
Rodrigo Rojas	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Howard R. Schuster	....	financing (uncredited)

Thanks
Jason Alper	....	acknowledgment: Borat's image created by
Alec Berg	....	special thanks
James L. Brooks	....	special thanks
Isla Fisher	....	special thanks
Tom Gammill	....	special thanks
David Mandel	....	special thanks (as Dave Mandell)
Trey Parker	....	special thanks
Jennifer Perini	....	special thanks
Max Pross	....	special thanks
Jeff Schaffer	....	special thanks
Matt Stone	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Four by Two
• Everyman Pictures
• Dune Entertainment (in association with)
• Major Studio Partners (in association with)
• One America

Distributors

• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2006) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2006) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Company (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (DVD)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• USA Network (2007) (USA) (TV)

Special Effects

• Yard VFX (visual effects) (as Yard FX)

Other Companies

• Abel Cine Tech  lenses and cameras (as Abel CineTech)
• Animal Insight  bears
• Atlantic Records  soundtrack
• Castel Film Studio  Romanian production services provided by (as Castel Film Studios)
• Channel 4 Television Corporation  special thanks
• Christine Bergren Music Consulting  production counsel
• Corbis  photographs courtesy of (as Corbis Images)
• DeLuxe Laboratories  prints (as DeLuxe)
• Downtown Records  soundtrack
• Filmtools  expendables
• Fremantle Media  film footage
• Getty Images  footage provided by
• Hanno Egipt  footage provided by
• Home Box Office (HBO)  footage provided courtesy of (as HBO)
• ITV Archive  film footage
• Image Bank Films by Getty Images  footage provided by (as Imagebank Film)
• Modern VideoFilm  digital intermediate
• Russian Stock Footage Library  footage provided by
• SDD Global Solutions  legal services
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• SmithDehn  production counsel
• Sony Pictures Television  footage provided courtesy of
• Soundelux  sound editorial
• Star Waggons  cast trailers
• TVDATA.ru  film footage
• TalkBack Productions  special thanks
• Thought Equity  footage provided by
• Todd-AO Studios  post-production sound re-recording (as Todd-AO Hollywood)
• Travel Corps  travel (as Travelcorps)
• Twentieth Century Fox Television  footage provided courtesy of (as Twentieth Television)
• Widget Post Production  ADR recording facility
• Widget Post Production  sound post-production
• Wilshire Stages, The  adr stage
• Yard VFX  graphics (as Yard FX)
• Yard VFX  titles (as Yard FX)
• mOcean  anthem sequence (as Mocean)
• mOcean  main titles

Also Known As:

Borat (UK) (USA) (working title)
Borat! (USA) (poster title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language.

Runtime:

84 min | Canada:82 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Romanian | Hebrew | Polish | Armenian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:16 | UK:15 | Singapore:R21 | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-15 | Norway:11 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:Btl | Germany:12 | USA:R (certificate #42670) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:MA | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Brazil:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/12 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:13 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | France:U | Italy:VM14 | Poland:15 | Malta:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Spain:18 | Japan:R-15 | Denmark:11 | Iceland:12 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Ukraine:(Banned) | South Africa:18LNPS

Filming Locations:

Adolphus Hotel - 1321 Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Four by Two

Trivia:

Seth Rogen and Patton Oswalt made uncredited writing contributions.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Borat and Azamat are having their nude hotel room fight, Azamat clearly smashes the lamp against the TV instead of against Borat's head.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Borat: Jak sie masz? My name-a Borat. I like you. I like sex. Is nice!
["How are you?" in Polish]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Spike's Guys Choice (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Kalasnjikov

Totally imperfect, but packing one of the best character performances ever

For months, I could not go anywhere, see or read anything without hearing something about Borat: Cultural Learnings of American for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. It was being hailed as groundbreaking, and hilarious beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Everyone I knew wanted to see it, and I just stood back and could not understand what the big fuss was about. Yeah, it looked fairly amusing, but nothing more than that. Sacha Baron Cohen's Da Ali G Show never impressed me when I watched random episodes, so I was not in belief that this film would.

But with all of the hype, it made me want to see it opening weekend. Unfortunately, I never managed to. I caught it a few weeks later without the benefit of a huge audience watching it with me. And for the most part, I think my original assumption was correct.

Basically for the two people who have zero clue what the movie is about (despite it now being on DVD), Borat Sagdiyev (Cohen) is a Kazak journalist sent to the United States to observe the American way of life. He brings his TV crew with him every step of the way, and begins to explore the country. But because of his origin, he is outrageously obnoxious in his behaviour. But for some reason, it only becomes more tolerated as he continues on, allowing for many surprising responses from the people he comes across.

The satirical idea for the film is simply brilliant. The character of Borat is racist, misogynist, raunchy, and just downright vile in the way he acts. And the Americans he talks to either do not realize what is going on, or actually agree with him. The tour he takes across the United States involves a plethora of random, everyday citizens being duped in this fashion. The fact that the film was marketed so well in the US, and then further made millions, attests to the idea that this may just be the greatest practical joke every played.

But unfortunately, it is a one-note joke. The film loses steam after thirty minutes, and can barely pick up afterwards. It strikes a pretty solid barrier, and just cannot recover no matter how hard it tries. Yes, the proceeding minutes had their share of laughs and shocks, but nowhere near as much as the first little bit. It just sets itself up far too well, and fails to live up to its original design. Its nifty idea and execution really should have told people from the start that it would not work for a ninety minute long film, but I guess they had more faith in the picture than I did.

Another upsetting thing about the film was the grand amount of preplanning. It was continually being sold to the audience as being spur-of-the-moment, and very uncoordinated. But as the film progresses, you can tell that some moments are actually being filmed this way, and that some reek of being rehearsed. It takes away from the satire the film had built up for itself, and really brings down the genuine enjoyment for the film. I know it had barely anywhere to go from the start, but making it almost so that it was written unnaturally before hand, just takes away from the genuine impact that the film has. The fact that the writing was nominated at the Oscars also does an effective amount of damage to the final moments of the film, which otherwise would have been drop dead funny instead of just amusing.

The film-making techniques on the other hand, are just magical. You really get a sense of the gritty and grungy documentary look the filmmakers wanted from the minute the film starts, right up until its finale. The hand-held camera works beautifully in every sequence, and the very personal diary feel that the film gains during the second act works very well. Just trying to keep up with Cohen in certain scenes seemed to have been a test of endurance on its own. The film is very low budget, and it shows in how unique the film looks. If it had not been so heavily publicized, I think I actually would have had trouble deferring whether or not it was an actual documentary if I saw it while flipping through TV channels.

There are no proper words to describe Cohen and his schtick. It really is a sight to marvel all on its own. His dedication and perfection in this role is nearly unheralded in my mind. He goes beyond transcending himself into the character. Every moral fibre of this character is ingrained in Cohen's performance. You do not see Cohen, and you do not see an actor. You see a rude and ignorant Kazak journalist. He never lets up for a second, and is always acting in character. This fictional character is brought to life with so much energy, that he actually forms into a real life person. The line between reality and fiction is just so thin here, that it really begs the question of how far an actor will go for his character. And he is absolutely hysterical to watch.

Ken Davitian, who plays Borat's producer and sidekick Azamat, is also very good in his performance. He is almost always watching, and is so subtle. He never breaks a smile, and he is just so serious that he complements how perfect Cohen's character is. He is obviously not as strong an actor (and is barely understandable), but his valiant efforts do go rewarded.

Even with its flaws, Borat is an experience everyone should take. Some may find it funnier than others, and some may not find it funny at all. There is a bit of a middle ground, but not much. And in the process of watching, everyone will be able to marvel at one of the greatest character performances ever committed to celluloid.

7.5/10.