| | |  | DVDs | Home » » Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Widescreen Edition) | | | | | | | Description: | | Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev travels to America to make a documentary, ultimately exposing prejudices and hypocrisies in American culture.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 9-OCT-2007
Media Type: DVD | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell, Chester, Charlie | | Director:
| Larry Charles | | Format:
| AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | | Language:
| Armenian, English, Hebrew, Polish, Romanian | | Subtitle:
| English, Spanish | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| 20th Century Fox | | Run Time:
| 84 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| March 06, 2007 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 606 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 606 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
216 of 258 found the following review helpful:
 An Extremely Un-PC Political Comedy--"Borat" Turns Itself Into The Year's Most Controversial FilmNov 13, 2006
By K. Harris
"Film aficionado"
I guess I am shocked at how divisive this film seems to be--it's apparently another in the camp of "love it" or "hate it." I was familiar with Sasha Baron Cohen and the Borat character from HBO's "Da Ali G Show". While I was amused by this reprehensible, yet surprisingly innocent "Kazahstanian," I was skeptical about a full fledged big screen treatment. Turning a comedy skit into a feature movie is a "iffy" proposition, at best. Take a look at almost every Saturday Night Live adaptation for corroboration. I'd have to say, then, that I was pleasantly surprised--Borat is a winner.
Part scripted, partly hidden camera improv, partly "Jackass" tomfoolery--you're never quite sure what is to be believed in "Borat". Some may feel that this limits the film's effectiveness as commentary, but I feel this enhances it's comedic appeal. For there is such unbridled outrageousness to be had in "Borat," it's hard not to be caught up in the spirit. I probably laughed more consistently within the framework of this spare 83 minute film than I have all year. Some of it is dumb humor, to be sure--some of it was shock value or disbelief.
But a large part of the humor comes from real life. By playing the moronic, offensive imbecile--Cohen, and thus Borat, expose a cavalier prejudice, hypocrisy, and/or intolerance that exists within American culture. Whether it's buying a gun to kill Jews, viewing women as sex objects to be violated, or supporting the genocide of our enemies--Borat always finds willing subjects to engage, people who in one way or another identify with these barbaric ideas.
It's tempting to dismiss Borat as offensive nonsense, I know many have already stated that opinion. It might also be tempting for others to embrace "Borat" as one of the more unapologetic and politically relevant films in quite some time. But I don't think it is attempting anything quite so significant--and that, in truth, may be it's greatest success. It walks the line unlike any other film in recent memory. It has elicited much love from fans and major critics and much hatred from it's detractors. This power to provoke such passion, such debate--be it feelings, emotions, thoughts, ideas--that is the film's crowning achievement. This crazy little film is not only one of the year's funniest films, it has also become one of the year's most talked about. Who can argue with that? KGHarris, 11/06.
15 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Surplus material makes for most glorious DVDMar 06, 2007
By Flipper Campbell
The "Borat" party continues on DVD, with cool-stupid menus and lots of howlers in the "Surplus Material" section (that's extra features to most of us). A 20-minute video about the Borat character's U.S. promo tour -- "Global Vistings and Television Shows for Purposes of Propaganda of Documentary" -- takes us to Cannes, with the infamous florescent thong incident that freaked out photo editors worldwide. From the Riviera, it's on to the talk-show circuit with appearances on Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno. Borat to Conan: "Your pubis, is it red? May I harvest it?" On Leno, Borat is ready for love as he mistakes Martha Stewart's bed-making demonstration for an invitation to sex. Stewart plays along, sort of.
There's also a mock late-night TV music ad, with Borat singing to kids about their miseries and then covering "Born to Be Wild" from the stupid van. In the "Censored Footages" section of 8 clips, check out Borat's visit to an incredulous doctor -- "That means you had sex with your sister? ... No high 5" -- and a "Baywatch" spoof, "Sexy Drown Watch," with plenty of flab on display -- and another thong.
It all adds up to a bonus half-hour with Borat, most of it as good as anything in the movie.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
"We go to California..they have Texas there, and Pearl Harbor"Mar 07, 2007
By Kenneth Shed
"Quarterback"
Finally got to see one of the most talked about movies of the year. The widescreen edition is great and the special features are okay. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Borat, a native of Kazakstan and also a reporter from that country who comes to America in the hopes of learning something constructive to take back and apply to his own culture. What the film really does is show a hilarious, if often times disturbing and yet comical view of American culture through Borat's eyes. From his purchase of an "auto car" to falling in love with Pamela Anderson after watching an episode of Baywatch, it was fun to follow him through his journey from New York to California. Cohen is great because he makes the character he plays very believable. Whether it was the Rodeo, the Bear they bought for protection or the etiquette lessons, the film was highly entertaining. This kind of humor is not for everyone but I know people who would have found some of it to be a turn off still ended up laughing a lot. Borat holds nothing back and in the meantime explores everything from run down neighborhoods to evangelical church meetings. At times I laughed so hard my sides were about to burst!
27 of 34 found the following review helpful:
 DVD packaging.... INGENIOUSMar 07, 2007
By Danna L. Gutman
Ok, I haven't even played this DVD yet. I saw the film twice in the theaters, and I think enough has been said about it on here...
***May contain spoilers***
But let me say that when I got my Borat DVD in the mail today (how I love Amazon deliveries the day DVDs are available - and with super saver shipping no less) I was a little confused. I opened the package, and found a DVD covered by your usual sleeve promoting its highlights like any other you might buy in the US. Then, I eagerly slipped the plastic-covered DVD out of the sleeve, turned it over to read the back, started reading and wait... what? or rather, CHTO? because the entire DVD cover is in Russian.
Now, I read Russian. And I have purchased pirated DVDs for $2 at Moscow metro stations because that is pretty much what you do when you're in Russia. So the fact that I examined this DVD case for a good 5 minutes, opened it to find what looks like a DVD-R disc with "Borat" labeled in permanent marker and seriously considered the possibility that somehow a pirated DVD had been sent by Amazon... finally, of course, I realized that the whole thing was a joke. Possibly even funnier to me than any single joke in the film. The giveaway was the single slip of paper inside promoting more films you can buy from the US and A that are legal in kazakhstan...
Anyway. Now all I have to do is go to Russia and purchase an ACTUAL pirated version to compare!
The DVD should be purchased for the uncanny packaging alone, but I guess I have ruined the surprise...
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Don't worry, it's not a bootleg...high fiveMar 11, 2007
By Juliana M. Willis
"Cynical Humorist"
My husband wants to buy the dvd after we just watched it twice this weekend from netflix, but when he took it out of the sleeve, to his shock the disk looks like a bootleg dvd with the name "BORAT" written in a sharpie--this was the intention of the distributers for added shock value/humor. It is a legitimate dvd.
The film is quite funny and sometimes embarrassing to watch...sometimes utterly excrutiating, but I was screaming with laughter througout the whole film. Sacha Baron Cohen is so great as Borat, and never loses his energy when faced with sometimes dangerous Americans and the ballsy extremes he goes for a laugh. Most of the people he encounterd were good sports, and the ones who weren't--you just can't help but feel a little perturbed by. I can go through life not seeing this movie again, but my husband really loved it...we're probably going to end up buying it.
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