Sacha Baron Cohen's "The Dictator"

**Ehres** · May 3, 2012, 05:34 PM

Yes, it's-a-me, Borat Sagdiyev!

Borat, Brüno and Ali G actor SACHA BARON COHEN is set to release his new movie, "The Dictator", in theatres mid-May.

The Dictator is an upcoming 2012 American comedy film written by and starring Sacha Baron Cohen. Baron Cohen's fourth film will "tell the story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed", according to distributor Paramount Pictures.

Larry Charles, who previously directed Baron Cohen's mockumentaries Borat and Brüno, will also direct the film. Baron Cohen will star alongside Ben Kingsley and Anna Faris.

Baron Cohen will play the role of Admiral General Aladeen, a dictator from the fictional Middle Eastern country of the Republic of Wadiya. The film is reported to be a departure from Baron Cohen's previous mockumentary films, as The Dictator features a supporting cast of known actors, proper film production camerawork and is not focused entirely on Baron Cohen's character, unlike his films Borat and Brüno, which featured minimal supporting cast, firsthand camerawork, and usually only featured one other known actor besides Baron Cohen.
The film is said to be inspired by the novel Zabibah and the King by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

This genre of film has also been done before in Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, a polemic parody of Hitler. The trailer alludes to the fact that the film is also inspired by the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, due to the character's visit to the United States and his all-female security force. Furthermore, the archive news footages of U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron in the beginning of the trailer are all excerpts of speeches condemning Gaddafi's actions in the 2011 Libyan civil war.

Footage also shows U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad. And a parody also includes Anwar al-Awlaki. Throughout the trailer, the song "Mundian To Bach Ke" by DJ/producer Panjabi MC featuring Jay-Z played a central role as the film's main theme song. A special version of the trailer was later made for a Super Bowl XLVI commercial advert spot.

Official site

**quiteMAD** · May 3, 2012, 06:03 PM

I'm looking forward to this. Bruno relied too much on shock value over genuine comedy. This looks to be a bit more in line with a scripted comedy, which is good.

Also I love the character's name. Aladeen. I.e. Alladin.

**king_mickey rule** · May 3, 2012, 06:08 PM

This is gonna be good, the trailer cracked me up.

**mangartist** · May 3, 2012, 06:18 PM

That soon? Holy shit, not prepared for it yet.

**Ehres** · May 5, 2012, 01:31 AM

I heard the release date was May 18 but thankfully that was changed (if it was the 18th at all) to May 16 which means it lands on an Orange Wednesday. Orange Wednesday is basically a code from the mobile network Orange which you give to the tiller and you get a free ticket in addition to the one you purchase. It's great because you split the cost of one ticket with a friend and if you have a student card like me and you go to a cheap cinema, tickets can cost as little as £2.50 which is a vast improvement on the £7.50 usual charge if you go in the evening. Hopefully we'll catch the midnight release since myself and my two housemates want to see it on release date (with the added bonus of it being Orange Wednesday). One of said housemates has a car so, yeah, might happen if she doesn't have work in the morning.

**soraking10** · May 5, 2012, 01:36 AM

I am gonna admit, I was not a big fan of Borat or Bruno. They were too similar in the form of comedy. The Dictator really seems to be, like quiteMAD said, more of a scripted-comedy kind of thing. Also, it looks to be pretty funny, as well.

**Ehres** · May 5, 2012, 01:41 AM

Originally Posted by King Sora X

I am gonna admit, I was not a big fan of Borat or Bruno. They were too similar in the form of comedy. The Dictator really seems to be, like quiteMAD said, more of a scripted-comedy kind of thing. Also, it looks to be pretty funny, as well.

Borat and Bruno were unscripted comedy so much of the laughs I felt was the absolute audacity of it all. I definitely didn't like Bruno as much as Borat as I feel after his period and Ali G and Borat he was just riding the dying waves of his comedy accolades. I have every faith in Baron Cohen, however, since his work as Ali G (which was unscripted as a TV show but he also did a scripted movie called Ali G In Da House) was brilliant for its time. So, yes, I think he will absolutely be able to pull off The Dictator as scripted comedy since he's a very funny guy. He also has this ability to adapt to the times so his work is always relevant.

**Ovafaze** · May 5, 2012, 02:04 AM

Man, I thought Borat and Bruno were pretty good,so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one too.

**Ehres** · May 5, 2012, 02:58 AM

^ If you liked Borat and Bruno, check out Ali G. IIRC it's Baron Cohen's first character... I remember seeing him on TV over here when I was younger as Ali G, but not sure if he's played any other characters before him.

**Ovafaze** · May 5, 2012, 03:18 AM

lol I know who that character is, never saw the movie but I intend to soon.

**mangartist** · May 5, 2012, 02:12 PM

I didn't think the Ali G movie was as good as Borat and Bruno though. Not all bad, but I just felt it lacked something. So, yeah, I'm definetely watching this when it comes out. I just didn't expect it to come out this month (money not really an issue anyway)

**Hillboy** · May 6, 2012, 01:59 AM

Gonna go see this with my friend since Borat was basically the movie we both circle jerked over

**Ehres** · May 17, 2012, 12:46 AM

So it's funny in some parts, has some excellent puns and "Jew-dar" but overall a disappointment. Direction was sloppy; he's not very good at unaudacious comedy.

**Ovafaze** · May 17, 2012, 01:01 AM

oh wow, forgot it came out, Hmm, might just wait for it to come out on dvd and rent it for $1.

**Hillboy** · May 17, 2012, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by Ehres

So it's funny in some parts, has some excellent puns and "Jew-dar" but overall a disappointment. Direction was sloppy; he's not very good at unaudacious comedy.

I just want something like Borat again, I'll probably check it out soon

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