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

User Rating:

7.6/10   

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:

Long Title | Thick Accent | Ice Cream Truck Bear Attack | Stupidity | Spin Off

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 11 wins & 12 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Oct. 20

12:35 PM

MAX

Cast

Sacha Baron Cohen	...	Borat Sagdiyev
Ken Davitian	...	Azamat Bagatov
Luenell	...	Luenell
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pamela Anderson	...	Herself (uncredited)
Bob Barr	...	Himself (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 adr editor (as Nancy Kyong Nugent)
Nancy Nugent	....	supervising dialogue 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
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
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
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)

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 Home Entertainment (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2006) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Company (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• 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  color
• Modern VideoFilm  digital intermediate
• Russian Stock Footage Library  footage provided by
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Smith Dorman & Dehn  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:

Romanian | Polish | English | Hebrew | Armenian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

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 Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | 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) | South Africa:18LNPS

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Four by Two

Trivia:

Borat's greeting in the film's trailer - "Jak sie masz!" - is a common Polish greeting, roughly translated to "How are you?" Other phrases in Polish used by Borat are Dzien Dobry (Good Morning) and Dziekuje (Thank you).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Borat is in the antique shop wrecking havoc, he steps on a toy dump truck. The truck causes him to trip thereby destroying many antiques. At this point the truck is kicked out of view, when Borat gets back up the truck is mysteriously underfoot again causing another trip and more comic destruction.

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:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Matthew Fox/Tenacious D (#32.7)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Kalasnjikov

Not the funniest film of all time, but still better than about anything else that passes for comedy these days

This is one of those films that was swamped with pre-release hype, proclaiming it to be the funniest film comedy in years. I had admittedly bought into the hype a bit, being a major fan of "Da Ali G Show" from HBO. Upon viewing, I was a bit disappointed, expecting a nonstop laugh riot. This isn't the most hilarious film ever made and isn't nearly as consistently funny as "Da Ali G Show" (Cohen's characters work much better in short unconnected segments as opposed to the throwaway storyline in this film).

While the film isn't nonstop hilarity, it certainly has its moments which more than make up for the dead spaces, just as "This Is Spinal Tap" (still the greatest mockumentory) did. Cohen has an amazing ability for comedic improvising (just how he manages to keep a straight face during some of these interviews is beyond me) and always manages to make his subjects look like complete fools. "Borat" isn't the funniest thing in years, but its still pretty hilarious and recommended. The film's pre-release notoriety probably stemmed from the fact that Cohen crosses the line every chance he gets. I won't go into detail, but if you don't have a taste for occasionally sophomoric humor, this is not recommended. I'm rather shocked that there didn't seem to be too much issues with the MPAA. (7/10)