| Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Larry Charles |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by |
|
| Based on | Borat Sagdiyev by Sacha Baron Cohen |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography |
|
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Erran Baron Cohen |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 84 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
|
| Language | English[a] |
| Budget | $18 million[3] |
| Box office | $262.6 million[3] |
Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, or simplyBorat, is a 2006mockumentaryblack comedy film directed byLarry Charles and starringSacha Baron Cohen. Baron Cohen plays the leading role ofBorat Sagdiyev, a fictionalKazakh journalist who travels through theUnited States to make a documentary which features real-life interactions withAmericans. Much of the film features unscripted vignettes of Borat interviewing and interacting with real-life Americans who believe he is a foreigner with little or no understanding of USA customs.[4] It is the second of four films built around Baron Cohen's characters fromDa Ali G Show (2000–2004): the first,Ali G Indahouse, was released in 2002, and featured acameo by Borat; the third,Brüno, was released in 2009; and the sequel toBorat,Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, was released in 2020.
Borat was released on 2 November 2006, in both the United Kingdom and United States, by20th Century Fox. The film received critical acclaim, and earned $262 million worldwide. Baron Cohen won theGolden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, while the film was nominated forBest Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.Borat was also nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and forWGA Award in the same category. Controversy surrounded the film prior to its release, and after the film's release, some participants spoke against, and even sued, its creators. It was denounced by the Kazakh government and was banned in almost all Arab countries except for Lebanon.
In September 2020, the sequelBorat Subsequent Moviefilm was officially confirmed to have been secretly filmed, completed, and screened, a few weeks after Baron Cohen was spotted driving a pick-up truck in character as Borat aroundLos Angeles. The sequel was released on 23 October 2020, byAmazon Studios.
At the behest of theKazakh Ministry of Information, reporter Borat Sagdiyev leavesKazakhstan for the "US and A," the "Greatest Country in the World," to make a documentary about American society and culture. He leaves behind his wife, Oksana; his companions are his producer, Azamat Bagatov, and a pet chicken.
InNew York City, Borat sees an episode ofBaywatch on TV and immediately falls in love withPamela Anderson's character,C. J. Parker. While interviewing and mocking a panel of feminists, he learns of the actress's name and her residence inCalifornia. Borat is then informed by telegram that a bear has killed Oksana. Delighted, he resolves to travel to California and make Anderson his new wife. Azamat insists that they drive because of his fear of flying, which stems from theSeptember 11 attacks, which he believes was "the work of the Jews". Borat takes driving lessons and buys a dilapidated ice cream truck for the journey.
During the trip, Borat acquires aBaywatch booklet and continues gathering footage for his documentary. He meetsgay pride parade participants, politiciansAlan Keyes andBob Barr, andAfrican-American youths. Borat is also interviewed on a local television station and disrupts the weather report. Visiting a rodeo inVirginia, Borat excites the crowd withjingoistic remarks but then sings a fictionalKazakhstani national anthem to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner," receiving a strong negative reaction.
In Atlanta, Borat finds a hotel but is kicked out when he offends the front desk worker by talking and dressing like the African-American youths he met earlier. Staying at abed-and-breakfast, Borat and Azamat are stunned to learn their hosts are Jewish. The two escape after throwing money at two woodlice, believing they are their hosts transformed. Borat attempts to buy a handgun to defend himself but is turned away because he is not an American citizen, so he buys a bear instead.
An etiquette coach suggests Borat attend a private dinner at an eating club in theSouth. During the dinner, he offends the other guests when he lets Luenell, an African-American prostitute, into the house, and as a result, they are both kicked out. Borat befriends Luenell, who invites him into a relationship with her but tells her he is in love with someone else. Borat then visits an antique shop, where he clumsily breaks variousConfederate heritage items.
At a hotel, Borat sees Azamat masturbating over a picture of Pamela Anderson and inadvertently reveals his real motive for traveling to California. Azamat becomes livid at Borat's deception, and the situation escalates into a nude brawl, which spills out into the hallway, a crowded elevator, and then into a packed convention ballroom.
Azamat abandons Borat, taking his passport, their money, and the bear. Borat's truck runs out of fuel, and he begins to hitchhike to California. He is soon picked up by drunkenfraternity brothers from theUniversity of South Carolina. On learning the reason for his trip, they show him thePam and Tommysex tape, which reveals that she is not a virgin. Despondent, Borat burns theBaywatch booklet and, by mistake, his return ticket to Kazakhstan.
Borat attends aUnited Pentecostal camp meeting, at whichRepublicanU.S. RepresentativeChip Pickering andMississippi Supreme Court Chief JusticeJames W. Smith Jr. are present. He undergoes areligious conversion to Christianity and forgives Pamela. He accompanies church members on a bus to Los Angeles and soon finds Azamat dressed asOliver Hardy. The two reconcile, and Azamat tells Borat where to find Pamela Anderson. Borat finally comes face-to-face with Anderson at a book signing at aVirgin Megastore. After showing Anderson his "traditional marriage sack", Borat pursues her throughout the store in an attempt to abduct her, until security guards intervene.
Borat visits Luenell, and they return to Kazakhstan together. They bring several American customs and traditions back to his village, including the apparent conversion of the people to Christianity (the Kazakh version of which includescrucifixion and torturing of Jews) and the introduction of computer-based technology, such asiPods, laptop computers, and high-definition television.
Except for Borat, Azamat, Luenell, and Pamela Anderson, none of the characters are portrayed by actors.[4][5][13] Most scenes in the film were unscripted.[4] In most cases, the film's participants were given no warning on what they would be taking part in except for being asked to sign release forms agreeing not to take legal action against the film's producers.[14]
Principal photography was underway in January 2005, withTodd Phillips as the director. Baron Cohen caused a near riot in what ultimately was the rodeo scene in the final cut of the film.[15] Phillips left the production after filming of the rodeo scene due to creative differences with Baron Cohen,[16][17] andLarry Charles stepped in to direct.[18] In Charles' version of the film, the character of Azamat was added.[18] An interview with Baron Cohen byRolling Stone indicated that more than 400 hours of footage had been shot for the film.[19]
The Kazakhstan depicted in the film has little or no relationship with the actual country, and the producers explicitly deny attempting to "convey the actual beliefs, practices or behaviour of anyone associated with Kazakhstan" in the"all persons fictitious" disclaimer. The scenes showing Borat's home village were filmed in the Romanian village ofGlod, which is primarily Roma.[20] The name of Borat's neighbour, Nursultan Tulyakbay, is a cross between the names of then Kazakh PresidentNursultan Nazarbayev and opposition politicianZharmakhan Tuyakbay.
NoKazakh language dialogue is heard in the film. Borat's neighbours in Kazakhstan were portrayed byRomani people, who were unaware of the film's subject until after it premiered.Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) commonly speaksHebrew (due to his mother being Israeli and being fluent in the language) throughout the film, mixing with phrases of Polish. Romanian was spoken at the beginning of the film in the Romani town. TheCyrillic alphabet used in the film is theRussian form, not theKazakh one, but most of the words written in it (especially the geographical names) are either misspelled or make no sense at all. The English words are typed on an English keyboard with a Russian language setting. The lettering on theLockheed L-188 Electra in the beginning of the film is merely the result of Roman characters on a reversed image, and promotional materials spell "BORДT" with aCyrillicletter for D substituted for the "A" inFaux Cyrillic style typically used to give a "Russian" appearance. While Baron Cohen speaks Hebrew in the film,Ken Davitian (Azamat) speaksArmenian.[21]
The DVD included several deleted scenes from the film, including Borat being questioned by police at a traffic stop, visiting an animal shelter to adopt a dog that could protect him from Jews, getting a massage at a hotel, and visiting an American doctor. There is also a montage of scenes cut from the film, including Borat taking a job atKrystal and taking part in anAmerican Civil Warreenactment. The menu of deleted scenes also includes an intentionally tedious supermarket sequence with an unusually patient supermarket owner (Borat repeatedly asks about each product in the cheese section of the store and the owner responds the same way: "That's cheese"), an actual local TV news report about Borat's rodeo singing, and a final "happy ending" scene about Borat appearing in a Kazakh show titledSexydrownwatch, aBaywatch clone that also starred Azamat, Luenell andAlexandra Paul. A scene in which Borat "started pretending he was being arrested" was filmed, but was removed under the threat of legal action by prison officials when they learned that the "documentary" was a satire.[22] In an interview, one of the film's writers,Dan Mazer, confirmed that there was a scene filmed but cut in which Borat observed the shooting of actual pornography with actress Brooke Banner. Mazer stated that the scene was deleted so as not to compete with the naked hotel fight, but hinted it might be included in future DVD releases.[23] In a 2016 interview onConan, Cohen elaborated on the deleted scene in which he was featured in the pornographic film.[24]
Borat was previewed at the 2006Comic-Con International inSan Diego, California, on 21 July 2006.[25] Its first screening to a paying audience was during the 2006Traverse City Film Festival,[26] where it won the Excellence in Filmmaking Award.[27]
The film's official debut was inToronto on 7 September 2006, at theRyerson Theatre during theToronto International Film Festival. Baron Cohen arrived in character as Borat in a cart pulled by women dressed as peasants. Twenty minutes into the showing, however, the projector broke. Baron Cohen performed an impromptu act to keep the audience amused, but ultimately all attempts to fix the equipment failed.[28][29] The film was successfully screened the following night, withDustin Hoffman in attendance.[30]
InIsrael, a proposed poster depicting Borat in asling bikini was rejected by the film's advertising firm in favour of one showing him in his usual suit.[31] The film helped popularize the term "mankini".[citation needed]
The film opened at No. 1 in the box office, maintaining first place for two weeks straight. The film earned more in the second week ($28,269,900) than in the first ($26,455,463), due to an expansion onto 2,566 screens.[32]
Borat had its public release on 1 November 2006 in Belgium. By 3 November 2006, it had opened in the United States and Canada, as well as in 14 European countries. Upon its release, it was a massive hit, taking in US$26.4 million in its opening weekend, the highest ever in the United States and Canada for a film released in fewer than 1,000 cinemas[33] untilHannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in 2008.[34] However, its opening day (approximately $9.2 million)[35] was larger than that of theHannah Montana concert (approximately $8.6 million),[36] leavingBorat with the record of the highest opening day gross for a film released in fewer than 1,000 cinemas. On its second weekend,Borat surpassed its opening with a total of US$29 million.[37]
Borat received widespread critical acclaim. OnRotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 91% based on reviews from 222 critics, with an average rating of 8.02/10. The website's consensus for the film reads, "Part satire, part shockumentary,Borat gets high-fives almost all-around for being offensive in the funniest possible way. Jagshemash!"[38] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 89 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[39] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F.[40]
Ty Burr spoke positively about the film in his review forThe Boston Globe, calling it "silliness at its most trenchant" and declaring it the funniest film of the year.[41]Michael Medved gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "simultaneously hilarious and cringe-inducing, full of ingenious bits that you'll want to describe to your friends and then laugh all over again when you do."[42]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone wrote: "You won't know what outrageous fun is until you see Borat. High-five!"[43] In an article about the changing face of comedy,The Atlantic said that it "may be the funniest film in a decade".[44]
The Guardian included the film in its list of ten 'Best Films of the Noughties' (2000–09).[45]
Titanic andAvatar directorJames Cameron is reportedly a fan of the film.[46]
One negative review came from American criticJoe Queenan, who called Baron Cohen an "odious twit".[47] In an article forSlate, writerChristopher Hitchens offered a counter-argument to suggestions of anti-Americanism in the film. Hitchens suggested instead that the film demonstrated amazing tolerance by the film's unknowing subjects, especially citing the reactions of the guests in the Southern dinner scene to Borat's behaviour.[48]
By posting scenes from the film onYouTube,Borat was also exposed by viral communication. This triggered discussions on different national identities (Kazakh, American, Polish, Romanian, Jewish, British) that Baron Cohen had used in creating the Borat character.[49]
In December 2024 during thefall of the Assad regime inSyria, a copy of Borat was found byHay'at Tahrir al-Sham militants while raiding the personal residence ofBashar al-Assad.
American audiences embraced the film, which played to sold-out crowds at many showings on its opening, despite having been shown on only 837 screens.Borat debuted at No. 1 on its opening weekend, with a total gross of $26.4 million,[33] beating its competitorsFlushed Away andThe Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. The cinema average for the film's opening weekend was an estimated $31,511, toppingStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, yet behindPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest andSpider-Man.[50] It retained the top spot in its second weekend after expanding to 2,566 theatres, extending the box office total to $67.8 million.[37]
In the United Kingdom,Borat opened at No. 1, with an opening weekend gross of £6,242,344 ($11,935,986),[51] the 43rd best opening week earnings in the UK as of March 2007.[52] Since its release,Borat has grossed over $260 million worldwide.[53]
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[54] | Best Adapted Screenplay | Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines,Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer andTodd Phillips | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards[55] | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |
| Best Actor – Musical or Comedy | Sacha Baron Cohen | Won | |
| Writers Guild of America Award[56] | Best Adapted Screenplay | Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips | Nominated |
| Critics Choice Association[57] | Best Comedy | Won | |
| San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle[58] | Best Actor | Sacha Baron Cohen | Won |
| Toronto Film Critics Association[59] | Best Actor | Won | |
| Online Film Critics Society[60] | Best Actor | Nominated | |
| Best Breakthrough Performance | Won | ||
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association[61] | Best Actor | Won[b] | |
| London Film Critics' Circle[62] | British Actor of the Year | Nominated |
After the film's release, Dharma Arthur, a news producer forABC affiliateWAPT inJackson, Mississippi, wrote a letter toNewsweek saying that Borat's appearance on the station had led to her losing her job: "Because of him, my boss lost faith in my abilities and second-guessed everything I did thereafter. How upsetting that a man who leaves so much harm in his path is applauded as a comedic genius." Although Arthur has said she was fired from the newscast, she told theAssociated Press that she resigned from the station.[63] She said that she checked a public relations website that Borat's producers gave her before booking him.[64]
In news coverage that aired in January 2005 of the filming of the rodeo scene, Bobby Rowe, producer of theSalem, Virginia rodeo depicted in the film, stated that he felt he had been the victim of a hoax. He said that "months" prior to the appearance, he had been approached by someone from "One America, a California-based film company that was reportedly doing a documentary on a Russian immigrant"; he agreed to permit the "immigrant" to sing the U.S. national anthem after listening to a tape.[15] After the film's release, Rowe said, "Some people come up and say, 'Hey, you made the big time'; I've made the big time, but not in the way I want it."[65]
Cindy Streit, Borat's etiquette consultant, subsequently hired high-profile attorneyGloria Allred, who demanded that theCalifornia Attorney General investigate fraud allegedly committed by Baron Cohen and the film's producers.[66]
TheSalon Arts & Entertainment site quotes the Behars (a Jewish couple at whose guest house Borat and Azamat stay) as calling the film "outstanding", referring to Baron Cohen as "very lovely and very polite" and a "genius".[4]The Boston Globe also interviewed the couple, saying they considered the film more anti-Muslim than anti-Semitic and had feared that Baron Cohen and his ensemble might be filming pornography in the house.[67]
The feminists fromVeteran Feminists of America (VFA) felt that they had been duped, having "sensed something odd was going on" before and during the interview with Borat.The Guardian later reported at least one of the women felt that the film was worth going to see at the cinema.[68]
TheNew York Post had reported in November 2006 thatPamela Anderson filed for divorce from her husbandKid Rock after he reacted unfavourably to the film during a screening.The Post's article specifically claimed he had said of her role in the film, "You're nothing but a whore! You're a slut! How could you do that movie?"[69] In an interview onThe Howard Stern Show, Anderson confirmed that Rock was upset by her appearance in the film, but did not confirm that this was the cause of the separation.[70]
The villagers ofGlod, Romania, took legal action against the producers ofBorat, complaining that they were lied to about the nature of the filming and they were portrayed asincestuous and ignorant. Some said they were paid only threelei (about $1.28 in 2004) each, while others stated they were paid between $70 and $100 each, which did not cover their expenses.[20] The residents asked for $38 million in damages.[71] One lawsuit was thrown out by U.S. District JudgeLoretta Preska in a hearing in early December 2006 on the ground that the allegations in the complaint were too vague. Despite this, the litigants planned to refile.[72] In April 2008, the case was dismissed again, citing insufficient evidence.[73] In his defence, 20th Century Fox revealed Baron Cohen had donated $5,000 to the town, as well as paying a location fee, and bought computers, school and business supplies for the residents.[74]
Two of theUniversity of South Carolinafraternity brothers who appeared in the film, Justin Seay and Christopher Rotunda, sued the producers, claimingdefamation.[75][76][77] The suit by Seay and Rotunda was dismissed in February 2007.[76] The students had also sought an injunction to prevent the DVD release of the film, which was denied.[75][76][77][78]
Another lawsuit was filed by a South Carolina resident who said he was accosted by Baron Cohen (as Borat) in the bathroom at a restaurant in downtownColumbia, with the actor allegedly making comments regarding the individual's genitals, without signing any legal waiver. The lawsuit also sought to have the footage excluded from any DVD releases and removed from Internet video sites.[79]
TheMacedonianRomani singerEsma Redžepova sued the film's producers, seeking €800,000 because the film used her song "Chaje Šukarije" without her permission.[80][81] Since Redžepova's production house had failed to inform her that they had granted permission to use the song, she instead received a €26,000 compensation from it.[82]
Felix Cedeno, a 31-year-old American, sued20th Century Fox for $2.25 million, after he was filmed as part of a scene where a live chicken fell out of Borat's suitcase on the subway. Cedeno later dropped the suit and received nothing.[83][84]
Baltimore resident Michael Psenicska sought more than $100,000 in damages from Baron Cohen, 20th Century Fox, and other parties. Psenicska—a high school mathematics teacher who also owns a driving school—was reportedly paid $500 in cash to give Baron Cohen's bogus Kazakh journalist a driving lesson. In his action—filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan—the driving instructor said that he had been told the film was a "documentary about the integration of foreign people into the American way of life", and that if he had known the film's true nature, he would have never participated. Psenicska said he was entitled to damages because the defendants used images of him to advertise the film.[85] The case was dismissed on 9 September 2008.[86]
Jeffrey Lemerond, who was shown running and yelling, "Get away" as Borat attempted to hug strangers on a New York street, filed a legal case claiming his image was used in the film illegally, and that he suffered "public ridicule, degradation and humiliation" as a result. The case was dismissed.[87]
Baron Cohen reacted to these suits by commenting: "Some of the letters I get are quite unusual, like the one where the lawyer informed me I'm about to be sued for $100,000 and at the end says, 'P.S. Loved the movie. Can you sign a poster for my son Jeremy?'"[71]
The government of Kazakhstan at first denouncedBorat. In 2005, following Borat's appearance at theMTV Movie Awards, the country's Foreign Ministry threatened to sue Sacha Baron Cohen, and Borat'sKazakh-based website, www.borat.kz, was taken down.[88][89] Kazakhstan also launched a multi-million dollar "Heart of Eurasia" campaign to counter the Borat effect; Baron Cohen replied by denouncing the campaign at an in-character press conference in front of theWhite House as the propaganda of the "evil nitwits" ofUzbekistan.[90][91] Uzbekistan is, throughout the film, referred to by Borat as his nation's second leading problem, with the first being the Jews. In November 2006, Kazakh TV personality Jantemir Baimukhamedov travelled to London with the stated aim of presenting Baron Cohen with horse meat and horse urine, which were claimed by Borat to be the national food and drink of Kazakhstan, although he was unable to organise a meeting with him.[92]
In 2006, Gemini Films, theCentral Asian distributor of 20th Century Fox, complied with a Kazakh government request to not release the film.[93] That year, Kazakh ambassador to the United KingdomErlan Idrissov, after viewing the film, called parts of the film funny and wrote that the film had "placed Kazakhstan on the map".[94] By 2012, Kazakh Foreign MinisterYerzhan Kazykhanov attributed a great rise in tourism to his country—with visas issued rising ten times—to the film, saying "I am grateful to 'Borat' for helping attract tourists to Kazakhstan."[95]
According to Yerlan Askarbekov, a Kazakh public relations professional who worked with both theBritish Council and the Kazakh government who wrote a piece for theBBC website in 2016, ten years after the film's release, many of his colleagues in the Kazakh media saw the character of Borat as a valuable PR opportunity. According to him some of the Kazakhs who were most upset by the film were students studying in the US and the UK, who understood the film's satirical intent but felt that their non-Kazakh peers were taking the film at face value as an accurate portrayal of the country. He suggested that interest in the character inside the country faded once Kazakhs grasped that the film was designed to "get an outsider's view of the US and reveal the prejudices of the Americans who Borat interacts with... functioning as a sort of 21st CenturyAlexis de Tocqueville".[92]
The Kazakh tabloidKaravan declaredBorat to be the best film of the year, having had a reviewer see the film at a screening inVienna. The paper said that it was "certainly not an anti-Kazakh, anti-Romanian or anti-Semitic" film, but rather "cruelly anti-American ... amazingly funny and sad at the same time."[96] Another favorable word came from Kazakh novelist Sapabek Asip-uly, who suggested Baron Cohen be nominated for the annual award bestowed by the Kazakh Club of Art Patrons. In a letter published by the newspaperVremya, Asip-uly wrote, "[Borat] has managed to spark an immense interest of the whole world in Kazakhstan—something our authorities could not do during the years of independence. If state officials completely lack a sense of humor, their country becomes a laughing stock."[97]Amazon UK has also reported significant numbers of orders ofBorat on DVD from Kazakhstan.[98]
In 2020 Kazakhstan haschanged their travel slogan to "Very Nice" as a result of the interest in the country.
In 2012, the parody national anthem from thefilm's soundtrack, which acclaims Kazakhstan for its high-quality potassium exports and having the second-cleanest prostitutes in the region, was mistakenly played at the medal ceremony ofMariya Dmitriyenko at the Emir of Kuwait International Shooting Grand Prix. The incident apparently resulted from the wrong song being downloaded from the Internet.[99][100]
TheEuropean Center for Antiziganism Research, which works against negative attitudes towardRomani people, filed a complaint[101] withGerman prosecutors on 18 October 2006, based on Borat's references to 'gypsies' in his film. The complaint accuses him of defamation and inciting violence against an ethnic group.[102] As a consequence, 20th Century Fox declared that it would remove all parts referring to gypsies from trailers shown on German television as well as on the film's website.[103]
Before the release of the film, theAnti-Defamation League (ADL) released a statement expressing concern over Borat's characteristicanti-Semitism.[104] Both Baron Cohen (who is Jewish) and the ADL have stated that the film uses Borat to expose prejudices felt or tolerated by others,[105] but the ADL expressed concern that some audiences might remain oblivious to this aspect of the film's humor, while "some may even find it reinforcing their bigotry".[106]
The film was banned in the entire Arab world except forLebanon and theUnited Arab Emirates (which released the film heavily censored).[107][108] Yousuf Abdul Hamid, a film censor forDubai in the United Arab Emirates, called the film "vile, gross and extremely ridiculous". The censor said that he and his colleagues had walked out on their screening before it had finished, and that only half an hour of the film would be left once all the offensive scenes were removed.[108]
The soundtrack forBorat was released on theiTunes Store on 24 October 2006, and in shops on 31 October 2006. The album included music from the film, five tracks entitled "Dialoguing excerpt from moviefilm", as well as the controversial anti-Semitic song "In My Country There Is Problem" fromDa Ali G Show.[109]
Thefolk music included in the soundtrack has no connection to the authenticmusic of Kazakhstan. The album features songs byRomani and Balkan artists (mostlyEmir Kusturica andGoran Bregović) and includes music byErran Baron Cohen, founding member of ZOHAR Sound System and brother ofBorat star Sacha Baron Cohen, as well as songs sung by Sacha Baron Cohen himself in character as Borat.
TheRegion 2 DVD was released 5 March 2007, with theRegion 1 release the following day.[110][111] Special features includedeleted scenes, faux advertisements for the soundtrack album, and a completeRussian language translation audio track using a professional dubbing cast, along with the English,French, andSpanish language tracks common on Region 1. There is also a choice ofHebrew, but this is merely a joke; choosing the Hebrew language option results in a warning screen reading "You have been trapped, Jew!" which warns the viewer not to change his shape and to keep his claws where they can be seen, again playing on the anti-Semitism supposedly prevalent in Borat's version of Kazakhstan. It also includes footage of Borat's publicity tour for the film, with Baron Cohen in character as Borat onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno,Late Night with Conan O'Brien, theToronto International Film Festival, andSaturday Night Live. The bonus features conclude with a news segment froma Virginia TV station about Borat's night at the rodeo, complete with an interview with rodeo owner Bobby Rowe.
As a play on thecopyright infringement common in the formerSoviet Union, the packaging of the Region 1 (United States/Canada), 2 (Europe/Japan/South Africa/Middle East), and 4 (Latin America/Oceania) editions mimics a foreignbootleg DVD. The slipcover is in English but the case itself has all-Cyrillic text (a majority of which is in legitimate Russian, not faux Cyrillic) and is made to look poorly photocopied. The disc itself is made to look like a "Demorez"DVD-R with the slogan "Is life? No. Demorez.", a parody on "Is it live, or is itMemorex?" ad campaign, and the word "BOЯAT" appearing to be crudely written in marker with the "R"written backwards.[112] TheUMD version is similar to the DVD, even being labelled a "UMD-R" (which do not exist). Even theFox in-cover advertising is written in broken English that appears poorly printed, indicating that there are "More movie discs available from US&A" and "Also legal to own in Kazakhstan".
There are further jokes within the DVD itself. The menus are styled as a worn, static-laden film on an erratically functioning projector, with more Cyrillic writing accompanied by translations in broken English. The DVD is described as a "prerecorded moviedisc for purpose domestic viewing of moviefilm", and the viewer is warned that "selling piratings of this moviedisc will result in punishment bycrushing". The DVD's collection oftrailers promises that the depicted films are "coming Kazakhstan in 2028". By April 2007, the DVD had sold over 3.5 million copies, totaling more than $55 million in sales.[113]Borat was released onBlu-ray outside the United States and Canada on 9 November 2009 as a region-free disc.[114]
In 2009, the filmBrüno was released. Co-written, co-produced by, and starring Baron Cohen, the film was based on another of his characters:Brüno, a gayAustrian fashion reporter.Universal Studios is reported to have produced the film with a budget of $42 million.[115]
Rupert Murdoch announced in early February 2007 that Baron Cohen had signed on to do anotherBorat film with Fox.[116] However, this was contradicted by an interview in which Baron Cohen himself stated that Borat was to be discontinued, as he was now too recognizable to prevent detection as he did in the original film and onDa Ali G Show.[117] A spokesman for Fox later said that it was too early to begin planning such a film, although they were open to the idea.[118]
Baron Cohen subsequently announced that he was "killing off" the characters of Borat and Ali G because they were now so famous he could no longer trick people. Even though he decided to retire the characters, on 26 February 2014, he brought them back for theFXX seriesAli G: Rezurection, a collection of the sketches from all 18 episodes ofDa Ali G Show, including new footage of Baron Cohen in-character as Ali G, who is portrayed as the presenter of the show.[71]
Baron Cohen revived the character of Borat in December 2015 on the late night talk showJimmy Kimmel Live! to premiere the new trailer for his movieGrimsby.[119]
In September 2020, a direct sequel, titledBorat Subsequent Moviefilm, was officially confirmed to have been secretly filmed, completed and screened during theCOVID-19 pandemic a few weeks after Baron Cohen was spotted driving a pick-up truck in character as Borat aroundLos Angeles.[120][121] That same month,Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film and released it on 23 October 2020.[122]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
