I'm back albeit part time!! Almost settled in completely, so finally able to come back to write and ...
I'm back albeit part time!! Almost settled in completely, so finally able to come back to write and read - and have loads to read!!! Thanks for the r/r/c's much appreciated and will be returned!!!!
Member since:02.10.2005
Reviews:124
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This DVD was bought following so many rave reviews in the media about how great this film is and how many awards it had won. We have Cohen's other famous film "Ali G In Da House" and thought that we may as well have both films.
We bought this DVD yesterday and watched it last night. We paid about £17.23 for it (the NAAFI prices here in Germany are pretty extortionate!). I believe you can buy it in UK for about £13.49 in some places so my advice if you really want to see this film is rent it out. If you must buy it, shop around and get the cheapest one you can.
The DVD itself is in the standard box with a card slipcover. On this slipcover are the following quotes:
"So funny it'll burst half the blood vessels in your face" (Empire)
"A mind-blowing comedy classic" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone)
According to the slipcover the film has made to the top 10 films for 2006 according to the American Film Institute and Cohen received the award for Best Comedy Actor from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Cohen also won a Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy or musical motion picture and the Broadcast Film Critics Association crown this the best comedy movie of 2006.
Sacha Baron Cohen - creator of Ali G - has returned to the big screen with his newest character - Borat Sagdiyev, roving reporter from Kazakhstan.
***The DVD***
Run Time - 80 minutes (yes
you are reading it right!)
Certificate - 15 (strong language and sex references)
***The Main Movie***
At the start of the movie, you are introduced to Borat, his family and friends and his village.
Borat and his producer then travel to the "US and A" to make a cultural documentary about America to benefit the people of Kazakhstan (how I do not know but that's the general idea of the plot in one sentence).
What ensues is a "documentary" style film which shows Borat interacting with the unsuspecting public of America. And that is basically it - what Borat did in America - that is the film. The funniest part has to be him falling in love with Pamela Anderson - and how protective he is of a Baywatch magazine.
To be fair, there are some really funny parts to this film, but be warned - it is completely politically incorrect! Cohen does come exceptionally close to "crossing the line" between comedy and vulgarity, and in places this is superbly funny. However, there are a lot of scenes where the comedy is just downright terrible.
Imagine if you will, 2 naked men (one quite skinny but normal, one extremely hairy and very overweight) wrestling each other in a cramped hotel room and this wrestling match spilling out into the corridors of a large and rather expensive looking hotel. To be honest that scene actually made me feel ill to watch. It's one and only redeeming point was when they gate-crashed a mortgage brokers convention - the looks on peoples' faces were priceless! Funny enough, this spectacle of a fight broke out over the Pamela Anderson magazine.
I will not go into the film in any great detail, but I can fully understand why a lot of people were outraged by this film. It certainly does paint some Americans in a different light to that of our trans-atlantic brothers. Especially the road trip Borat takes with some drunken students in a camper van. We all know how the truth comes out after a few drinks, but with these guys, their inhibitions went out the exhaust pipe and their true feelings and somewhat bigotted opinions were revealed.
But in the most part, the majority of these poor unsuspecting Americans were shown for what they were trying to do - help a foreigner understand their ways and in the most part trying to help Borat become a civilised member of society.
***DVD Extras***
The extras on this DVD are:
+ Global P R Tour + Sexy Drown Watch + Deleted Scenes + Rodeo News Report + Music Infomercial
To be honest with you all - I have not watched these extras. I was not that impressed with the film itself and could not even bring myself to watch the extras - even in the name of research! For that reason this is really a film only review.
***My Opinion***
My opinion? I laughed at parts and I cringed at parts. I have to say that although the film is very funny for the majority of the time, the more vulgar parts really let it down. And I am not easily disgusted! I can fully understand why a lot of Americans were outraged at this film and I really cannot understand how it got best comedy awards - surely there are funnier films out there?
Cohen is exceptionally gifted in the way in which he was not Sacha Baron Cohen acting in a film - he really was Borat making a documentary for the people of Kazakhstan. He slipped effortlessly into this role, just as he did with Ali G and for this, I really cannot fault his performance. Although I did not fully agree with all of the stunts he pulled whilst making the film (although trying to kidnap Pamela Anderson was quite funny!).
To be brutally honest the film did not impress me as much as I had anticipated. I think a lot of the hype associated with this film had given me the impression that it was going to be something wonderfully funny throughout the whole 80 minutes (yes the film is only 80 minutes long!).
The price - well - I think that the average High Street price of around £13.99 is a bit of a rip-off and so will recommend that you rent this DVD rather than buy it straight away. If you find that it is your cup of tea, then by all means go ahead and buy it, but if you are not so keen on it then you have only wasted the rental price and not the full purchase price.
I have thought long and hard about whether I should recommend this DVD and have finally decided. Whilst I will certainly not be watching it again in a hurry (maybe just to watch the extras in the name of research!), I am sure that some of you out there will love this film and so I have decided to recommend it. But I am only prepared to go as far as giving it 3 stars because I really felt quite let down by the film. I expected hilarously funny on a par with Ali G, and was presented with moderately funny and sometime vulgar mediocrity.
Thank you all for reading. Di xx
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
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I totally agree your review about this movie. Great job
wbafcben 21.04.2007 16:33
On the whole, I probably agree with you. I do think, however, that this is really quite unique and I found the sheer shock factor of some of Borat's comments to be hilariously funny. For these reasons, I would rate it at least 4 stars, possibly pushing towards 5 stars! A very helpful and agreeable review nontheless. Ben.
WhatDidISayRoy 31.03.2007 19:32
Interesting to hear peoples 'take' on Borat - I think this sort of film is always bound to attract opposing views - it probably falls into the "love it or hate it" category - personally I do find the Borat character funny (although I haven't seen this film yet), but am not sure I could sustain a whole feature film of what is essentially one joke. Thanks for the good review.
Sacha Baron Cohen, the star and creator of Channel 4's wildly popular Da Ali G Show, ... more
brings his truly original Kazakh character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time. With a camera crew in tow and armed with a jar of gypsy tears for prote...
Jagshemash! I like very much you buy my new movie dvd Borat: Cultural Learnings of ... more
America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. It very nice. I like! The movie film is a government assigned project to broaden and enlight people and glory o...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Quite amusing in parts, an interesting concept, a short and somewhat snappy movie Disadvantages: Will offend some, a bit too over the top & can make for uncomfortable viewing in parts
![Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan [2006]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78183263.jpg "Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan [2006]")
Mar 9th, 2007
very helpful by (96%):
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