Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar
France/Germany/Italy 1999
Reviewed by Geoffrey Macnab
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
Ancient Gaul (France), 2000 years ago. A small village is holding out against Julius Caesar's mighty army. Its secret weapon is the magic potion brewed by Getafix, the village druid, which gives the villagers super-human strength. A rogue fortune teller talks the Gauls into seizing a consignment of Roman gold, even though Asterix predicts it will bring bad luck. The fortune teller slips magic mushrooms into Asterix's omelette, causing him to attack the villagers, in order to make off with the gold. Roman leader Detritus kidnaps Getafix. Asterix and his huge sidekick Obelix set out to rescue the druid. Pretending he's a Roman soldier who's just captured Asterix, Obelix turns him over to the enemy. After finding Getafix in their dungeon, Asterix learns Detritus wants the potion to usurp Caesar. Using Getafix's potion, Detritus assumes super-human strength and arrests Caesar.
Too dim-witted to notice what is going on, Obelix becomes Detritus' bodyguard. He sits and watches as Asterix is forced to fight various animals. Eventually, realising the danger his friend is in, he frees Asterix and Getafix and rescues Caesar. They return to the village. The Romans assault the village, but the Gauls use the druid's great-grandfather's super-magic potion which creates a small army of extra-strong Asterix and Obelix clones. The Gauls defeat the Romans and restore Caesar to power.
Review
One of the most expensive and high-profile productions in recent French film history, Claude Zidi's FF274 million epic arrives in the UK a mere shadow of its original self, dubbed into English under the supervision of ex-Monty Python member Terry Jones. The French comic books by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo on which the film was based owed much of their popularity in the UK to the deadpan, witty way in which they were translated into English. Jones, though, is dealing with real actors, not animated figures. By depriving them of their voices, their performances suffer. Gérard Depardieu's Obelix is a case in point. Instead of the French actor's bellow, Jones' interpretation makes Obelix sound more like a goofy mechanic, a sort of Gallic variation on Shakespeare's Bottom. It doesn't help that the British distributors have sanitised the film, excising any swear words.
There is something inherently perverse about making popular cartoons into live-action movies. Zidi's Asterix suffers from the same schizophrenia as Brian Levant's film of The Flintstones. On the one hand, Zidi tries to give his protagonists a depth and humanity that one-dimensional cartoon figures don't have. (Pining away after the voluptuous Panacea, Depardieu's Obelix sometimes seems as lovelorn as Cyrano de Bergerac.) At the same time, Zidi wants them to be comic archetypes. He relies so heavily on special effects that, by the time Obelix has smashed a fresh troop of Roman infantrymen to kingdom come, it seems as if we're watching a cartoon anyway.
Like most movies with which producer Claude Berri is associated, Asterix is lavish and handsomely detailed. When the little warrior hero is thrown into the gladiatorial pit to take on elephants, tigers, spiders and snakes, the film assumes the grandeur of such old sword-and-sandal epics as The Robe. The casting is intriguing, if bizarre: Julius Caesar is played by old Fassbinder regular Gottfried John; Marianne Sägebrecht (Percy Adlon's muse) pops up as one of the Gallic wenches; Roberto Benigni (fresh from Life Is Beautiful) is in hyperactive groove as the dastardly Detritus. A few good visual gags - for instance, Detritus torturing Asterix's dog on a rack, or the druid hauling in his great-grandfather by a seemingly neverending beard - enliven proceedings now and then, but overall, this is dispiritingly stolid fare. Zidi is so busy parading his army of extras (all 1500 of them) and showing off the extravagant, theme-park-sized production design he forgets he has a story to tell.
In France, where it attracted more than 9 million spectators, outperforming The Phantom Menace in the process, Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar appealed to just about everyone except critics. In Britain, the film is being targeted at kids. Whether they'll like it any more than curmudgeonly adult film reviewers is a moot point.
Credits
- Director
- Claude Zidi
- Screenplay
- Claude Zidi
- Based on characters created by
- Albert Uderzo
- René Goscinny
- Dialogue
- Gérard Lauzier
- English Adaptation
- Terry Jones
- Director of Photography
- Tony Pierce-Roberts
- Editors
- Nicole Saunier
- Hervé de Luze
- Production Designer
- Jean Rabasse
- ©Katharina/Renn Productions/TF1 Films Production/Bavaria Film/
Bavaria Entertainment/
Melampo Cinematografica- Production Companies
- Claude Berri presents a co-production of Katharina/Renn Productions/TF1 Films Production/Bavaria Film/
Bavaria Entertainment/
Melampo Cinematografica with the participation of Canal+/Centre National de la Cinématographie - Supported by FFF FilmFernsehFonds Bayern/FFA Filmförderungsanstalt Berlin and Eurimages
- Executive Producer
- Pierre Grunstein
- Co-producers
- Bavaria Film:
- Dieter Frank
- Bavaria Entertainment:
- Reinhard Klooss
- Munich Line Producer
- Peter Sterr
- Associate Producer
- Thomas Langmann
- Italian Production
- Elda Ferri
- Gianluigi Braschi
- Production Managers
- Paris:
- Patrick Bordier
- Munich:
- Leonhard Gmür
- Unit Production Manager
- Munich:
- Hans-Jörg Sturm
- Unit Managers
- Francis Barrois
- Nicolas Borowsky
- Thierry Cretagne
- Catherine Deschamps
- Laurent Chiomento
- Eric Moreau
- Sacha Redon
- Jean-Franc Gandossi
- Christian Baudoin
- Nathalie Louichon
- Frédérique Saj
- Emily Zinth de Kentzingen
- Stéphanie Deschamps
- Munich Studio Managers
- Marco Haaf
- Dirka Pfab
- Location Managers
- Jacques Aucomte
- Yannick Luce
- David Largeaud
- Post-production
- Jackline Tolianker
- Assistant Directors
- Denis Seurat
- Julien Zidi
- Pascal Roy
- Thomas Parnet
- Fabrice Sanchez
- Céline Martin
- Munich:
- Nicole Front
- Beatrice Hoffmann
- Regina Schott
- Script Supervisors
- Lili Gion
- Isabelle Querrioux
- Munich:
- Patricia Leray
- Casting Directors
- Gérard Moulévrier
- Munich:
- Karin Gmür
- Camera Operator
- Yves Agostini
- Steadicam Operators
- Patrick de Ranter
- Jean-Baptiste Thibaud
- Kareem La Vaullee
- Munich:
- Klemens Becker
- Sascha Mieke
- Digital Special Effects Director
- Pitof
- Digital Visual Effects
- Duboi
- Executive Producer:
- Antoine Simkine
- Technical Director:
- Alain Carsoux
- Production Manager:
- Edouard Valton
- 3D Director:
- Nicolas Rey
- Digital Transfer Manager:
- Karine Marchandou
- R & D Director:
- Rip O'Neil
- Production:
- Céline Sene
- Delphine Le Roch
- Pascal Giroux
- Nicolas Bouvet
- Raphaella Riboud
- Shooting Supervisor:
- Delphine Domer
- Matte Paintings:
- Jean-Marie Vives
- Stephanie Dargent
- 3D Operators:
- Manu Campin
- Yannick Giaume
- Marie Honold
- Bruno Le Provost
- Guisi Marone
- François-Xavier Nallet
- Christophe Petit
- Olivier Revillon
- Jean-Paul Rovela
- Morgan Sagel
- Jean-Paul Tetu
- Dutruc Operators:
- André Brizard
- Xavier Fourmont
- Chia-Chi Hu
- Alex Kolasinski
- Laure Lacroix
- Emmanuel Lecourbe
- Jeremie Leroux
- Patricia Medjahed
- Marc-Antoine Paccosi
- Olivier Poujaud
- Ramdam
- Visual Effects Editors:
- Saïd Hajjioui
- Murielle Freoa
- Yves Lescoeur
- Florence Lespar
- Digital Transfers:
- Christophe Belena
- Coralie Boulay
- Tina Lin
- Sandra Ricard
- Research/Development:
- Laurent Clavier
- Stéphane Deverly
- Honoré N'Guessan
- Oliver Tubach
- Animatronics:
- Jean-Christophe Spadaccini
- Denis Gastou
- Pascal Molina
- Stage Special Effects
- Jean-Baptiste Bonetto
- Yves Domenjoud
- Olivier Gleyze
- Special Effects
- Munich:
- Heinz Ludwig
- Harald Rüdiger
- Ludwig Kurz
- Lars Pilar von Pilchau
- Claude Garnier
- Set Decorator
- Véronique Kirk-Melery
- Storyboard
- Fabien Lacaf
- Costumes
- Sylvie Gautrelet
- Christine Guegan
- Jean-Daniel Vuillermoz
- Gil Noir
- Germaine Ribel
- Annick Redon
- Sophie Lebret
- Eric Perron
- Anne Micolod
- Véronique Pouzou
- Frédérique Santerre
- Gilles Bodu
- Virginie Le Metayer
- Munich:
- Monika Hinz
- Brigitte Bumann
- Katrin Kenk
- Petra Polosek
- Sonja Mantel
- Ines Kohler
- Anja Richter
- Tina Meister
- Kristin Pektor
- Kurt Schönwälder
- Caroline Sattle
- Regine Trautmann
- Birgit Hölzenbein
- Make-up/Hairstyling/
Special Effects - Giannetto De Rossi
- Key Make-up
- Christian Clavier:
- Muriel Baurens
- Make-up
- Lorella De Rossi
- Stphanie Orillard
- Giuseppe De Siato
- Jean-Christophe Roger
- Françoise Malet
- Elodie Trocelliet
- Sabrina Bernard
- Munich:
- Heiner Niehues
- Ruth Phillipp
- Iva Sauermann
- Ulrike Maas
- Renate Bauer
- Sybille Danzer
- Pia Frank
- Gerhard Nemetz
- Gabriela Pingel
- Mechthild Schmitt
- Regina Kranzusch
- Key Special Effects
Make-up - Christian Clavier:
- Dominique Colladant
- Hairdressers
- Sidonie Constantien
- Christine Vizier
- Michel Perrot
- Alessio Pompei
- Titles
- Cinécool
- Jacqueline Fouchet
- Music Performed by
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Musicians
- Violon Solo:
- Didier Lockwood
- Chalmie:
- Beatrice Delpierre
- Cromorne:
- Michel Sanvoisin
- Tin Whistle:
- Andy Sindon
- Music Director
- David Snell
- Orchestrations/
Arrangements - Hubert Bougis
- Music Co-ordinators
- Nat Peck
- Sue Mallet
- Recording/Mixer
- John Timperley
- Soundtrack
- "Les Blues du Business Man" by Luc Plamondon, Michel Berger
- Choreography
- Veronique Defranoux
- Karim Zeriahen
- Sound
- Henri Morelle
- Frédéric Dubois
- Vincent Arnardi
- Thierry Lebon
- Post-synchronisation
- Michel Filippi
- Isabelle Filippi
- Jean-Philippe Angelini
- Stéphane de Rocquigny
- Studio Sound Engineers
- Jacques Thomas-Gérard
- Joël Rangon
- Dialogue Editor
- Fanchon Brulé
- Sound Effects
- Jérôme Levy
- Pascal Mazière
- English Version
- Meta Sound
- Direction:
- Olaf Wynants
- Production:
- Jaap Rijff
- Casting:
- Panache Casting
- Bert van Kruyssen
- Gil Wilmot
- Translation:
- Anthea Bell
- Martin Waddington
- Lee Ross
- Loraine Miller
- Re-recording Mixer:
- Vincent van Rooyen
- ADR:
- Vincent van Rooyen
- Roger van Straaten
- Military Consultants
- Michel Le Poix
- Didier Chantre
- Thierry Goblet
- Pascal Moureaux
- Equestrian Adviser
- Mario Luraschi
- Stunt Co-ordinators
- Philippe Guégan
- Gilles Conseil
- Bruno Castelli
- Armourers
- Gisèle Bertolino
- Arnaud Peltier
- Frédéric Chastagner
- Vladimir Houbart
- Robert Berbegal
- Kamesh Sinthurajah
- Hakim Ouazad
- Pierre Ruff
- José Gomez Rebolo
- Munich:
- Guido Frank
- Animal Trainers
- Dog 'Idéfix':
- Frédéric Chauvineau
- Snakes/Spiders:
- Guy Demazure
- Tiger/Panther:
- Gerhard Harsch
- Crocodiles:
- Anton Kocka
- Elephants:
- Frank Meise
- Jürgen Lill
- Lions:
- Thierry Leportier
- Animal Management
- François Hardy
- Cast
- Gérard Depardieu
- Obélix
- Christian Clavier
- Astérix
- Roberto Benigni
- Detritus
- Michel Galabru
- Abraracourcix (English version: Vitalstatistix)
- Claude Piéplu
- Getafix
- Daniel Prévost
- Prolix
- Pierre Palmade
- Assurancetourix (English version: Cacofonix)
- Laetitia Casta
- Falbala (English version: Panacea)
- Arielle Dombasle
- Arielle (English version: Mrs Jerry Atrix)
- Sim
- Agecanonix (English version: Mr Jerry Atrix)
- Marianne Sägebrecht
- Bonemine (English version: Benamenture)
- Gottfried John
- César
- Jean-Pierre Castaldi
- Crismus Bonus
- Jean-Roger Milo
- Cetautomatix (English version: Fulliautomatix)
- Jean-Jacques Devaux
- Ordralfabétix (English version: Unhygenix)
- Hardy Krüger Jr
- Tragicomix
- Michel Muller
- Malasinus (English version: Clogginsinus)
- Olivier Achard
- Anorexix
- Jacques Delaporte
- Alambix (English version: Alcoholix)
- Philippe Lehembre
- Jerôme Chappatte
- André Chaumeau
- Paul Rieger
- druids in forest
- Pierre Lafont
- old druid
- Gaëtan Blum
- Plaintecontrix (English version: Giltiverdix)
- Jean-Yves Thual
- Methusalix
- Martial Courcier
- Gaulish sentinel
- Jean-Marc Bellu
- legionary in the bushes
- Pascal Librizzi
- Philippe Beautier
- Lionel Robert
- villagers in fish fight
- Patrick Massieu
- Olibrius (English version: Anonymus)
- Herbert Fux
- Tiquetdebus (English version: Minibus)
- Beppe Clerici
- Trolleybus (English version: Sitibus)
- Didier Cauchy
- Brutus
- Jean-Marie Paris
- stupid man
- Jean-Paul Farré
- Hypothénus
- Laurent Spielvogel
- scribe
- Mario Luraschi
- Malasinus' horseman
- Fedele Papalia
- legionary in ditch
- Guillaume de Jouvencel
- Xavier Offant
- tortoise soldiers
- Franck-Olivier Bonnet
- doorkeeper
- Patrick Bordier
- Roman cook
- Daniel Del Ponte
- prison guard
- Frank Vockroth
- herald
- Vincent Martin
- centurion at Detritus' tower
- Arnaud Lesimple
- Patrick Le Cornec
- criers
- Tino Perez
- Roman
- David Nathanson
- centurion
- Pascualito
- Pierre Dumur
- Martin Zimmermann
- Roman legionaries
- Hans Osner
- torturer
- Udo Jolly
- torturer's assistant
- Hardy Hoosmann
- Dietmar Mössmer
- prison guards
- Tony Gaultier
- Laurent Larcher
- Nicky Marbot
- Stephan Sacquin
- throne bearers
- Marc Amyot
- Loic Baylacq
- Fabien Coulon
- Jean-François Drea
- Fernand Gegout
- Pascal Herbert
- Sebastien Julhe
- Hervé Mahieux
- Bernard Maître
- Pascualito
- Patrick Pierron
- David Senioris
- Guillaume van't Hof
- Jean-Pierre Venet
- Anne de Rocquigny du Favel
- Marie-Pascale Grenier
- Nathalie Massa
- Carole Rouland
- Valerie Veril
- Gaulish villagers
- Sébastien Brun
- Emmanuel Daries
- Julien Fournier
- Bonaventure Gacon
- Dimitri Jourde
- Valérie Cadot
- Hatem Laamouri
- tumblers
- Bénédicte Bos
- Alexandra Naudet
- Lydie Nury
- Julie Salgues
- dancers
- French version voices
- Andréa Ferréol
- voice of Bonemine
- Michel Elias
- voice of César
- English Version Voices
- Olaf Wynants
- Asterix
- Terry Jones
- Obelix
- John Duval
- Detritus
- Douglas Blackwell
- Vitalstatistix
- John Baddeley
- Getafix
- Harry Barrowclough
- Prolix
- Denise Rivera
- Panacea
- Peter Marinker
- Caesar
- Rodney Beddall
- Crismus Bonus
- Certificate
- PG
- Distributor
- Pathé Distribution
- 9,926 feet
- 110 minutes 18 seconds
- Dolby digital/Digital DTS sound
- In Colour
- Super 35 [2.35:1]
- [dubbed into English]