Asterix and Obelix against Caesar
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Asterix and Obelix against Caesar |
| Original title | Astérix et Obélix against César |
| Country of production | France , Germany , Italy |
| original language | French , German |
| Publishing year | 1999 |
| length | 104 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Claude Zidi |
| script | Claude Zidi |
| production |
Claude Berri Pierre Grunstein |
| music |
Jean-Jacques Goldman Roland Romanelli |
| camera | Tony Pierce-Roberts |
| cut |
Nicole Saunier Hervé de Luze |
| occupation | |
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| synchronization | |
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| chronology | |
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Asterix and Obelix versus Caesar is the first real film in the Asterix comic series from 1999, which does not have a specific Asterix volume as a template, but which contains many elements from different volumes. The film was dedicated to the Asterix inventors Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny .
action
50 BC The Roman emperor Caesar wants to conquer Britain, believing that his army has occupied all of Gaul . However, he learns from the tax collector Incorruptus that a small Gallic village is still resisting the Roman Empire. Furious, he asks his Prefect Destructivus to quickly come up with a plan.
Meanwhile, Rome's tax collector arrives at the Roman fort at the gates of the Gallic village, his escort protecting the chest with the proceeds. Unfortunately, a piece of gold falls out of the chest and is snatched by the good-for-nothing Liar. He suspects the whole chest is full of coins and comes up with a clever plan to get at the rest of the coins. He pretends to be a seer to the Gauls and foresees that a great treasure will come to the village. Asterix distrusts him, but when the tax collector, as planned by Lügnix, appears in the village and, chased away by the villagers, leaves behind the gold, Asterix's doubts about Lügnix's credibility are no longer heard. Liar realizes that he has to get rid of Asterix somehow in order to get the gold. Therefore, he enchants him with a poisoned mushroom omelette. Now he sees in Obelix none other than the great Emperor Caesar and tries to finish him off. The whole village is in an uproar when Asterix just refuses to let go of Obelix. In the whole mess, Lügnix takes his luck in hand and runs away with the tax revenue. After the mushrooms have worn off, the villagers must soberly realize that Lügnix has taken advantage of them.
After a few unsuccessful attacks on the Gaulish village, Caesar is now increasingly pressing for a quick solution to the problem; Prefect Destructivus comes up with the brilliant idea: without druids no magic potion, without magic potion no resistance - Caesar gives the order to kidnap Miraculix. He is currently preparing for his march to the druid meeting in the holy forest, where Asterix and Obelix will accompany him. Since only druids are allowed to enter the holy forest, Obelix's dog Idefix Miraculix inconspicuously follows into the druid forest and witnesses how the Romans, disguised as druids, kidnap Miraculix. He quickly brings the two Gauls to the crime scene, but they find no trace of Miraculix.
At the same time, the Romans rush to the village in the hope that the magic potion will run out soon without the druid. Time is running out; Asterix has to come up with something. Together with Obelix he forges a plan in which Obelix plays a legionnaire and is supposed to bring Asterix as a captured Gallic spy to Caesar, who is secretly imprisoned by Destructivus. He should then - also kidnapped - secure the victory in exchange with Miraculix. They make up a code that tells Obelix to behave again as soon as he hears it. This part of the plan fails, however, as Asterix is dragged away and Obelix no longer hears him calling the agreed spell. To make matters worse, Obelix is currently in love with Falbala and a little off the track.
Asterix is brought into the torture chamber instead of Caesar's, where Destructivus tries to find out the secret of the magic potion from Miraculix. When Asterix and even Idefix are tortured in front of his eyes, the druid finally gives in and brews the magic potion for the Romans with his supposed assistant Asterix. When this is done, Destructivus takes control of the camp by temporarily "making Caesar sick". To celebrate the day, games are to take place in which Asterix has to prevail against snakes, lions, crocodiles, tarantulas, an elephant and a wild person. Obelix looks on, thinking he still has to play the role of the Roman. When things get very precarious for Asterix, Destructivus unexpectedly comes to their aid, who reads Asterix's lips and translates for Obelix. Since Asterix is still calling the code, Obelix immediately returns to his role as a Gaul and frees Asterix, Miraculix, Idefix and a prisoner.
However, the village is now facing a predominance of Romans and only has a tiny amount of magic potion available as a countermeasure. As a last resort, Miraculix, together with Obelix and Asterix, visits his great-grandfather Patriarchix, who is in possession of the valuable milk of the two-headed unicorn. The old man's three two riddles have to solve under great tension to get the milk. The milk is quickly added to the last sip of the magic drink, and Asterix and Obelix divide the drink between them. Because of its magical effects, Asterix and Obelix double with each sip, gradually forming a single army of Asterixes and Obelixes. This is how the Romans are defeated. The prisoner, who has since turned out to be the Emperor Caesar personally, punishes Destructivus (who tries unsuccessfully to wriggle out by calling Brutus a "traitor") and assures the Gauls of their special status in the Roman Empire as a reward for his liberation.
Obelix, who previously created two falbala with a few sips of the doubling potion, receives a birthday cake from Romans with candles on his head.
Film and comic
- Incorruptus appeared in the comic Asterix with the Swiss , where Asterix and Obelix try to find the edelweiss in order to save a Roman taken in their village and cared for by Miraculix from poisoning.
- Money from a tax collector was stolen in Asterix and the copper kettle was stolen there by Asterix himself, as he had to fulfill an honorary debt to the village.
- Tullius Destructivus is the main enemy in the comic battle over Asterix , in which he sows discord everywhere. In terms of content, however, the two have nothing in common.
- Destructivus learns information about the Gauls and the magic potion from Centurion Gaius Bonus. Fittingly, Gaius Bonus is the first centurion to ever learn of the miracle cure in both the comic book and the movie Asterix the Gauls .
- The seer is in the comic The seer and the animated film Asterix - Operation Hinkelstein Lügfix. In both versions, Asterix is the only one in the village who distrusts him.
- The holy Karnutenwald is a scene in the comic Asterix and the Goths . Miraculix's druid colleague Florix can also be seen there. Obelix as legionnaire Obelus is also represented there.
- Here the magic potion only works for a few minutes, in the comic it lasts for a few hours.
- In the film it happens that Obelix falls in love with Falbala, which also happened in the animated film Victory over Caesar and in the comic Asterix as a legionnaire , which Victory over Caesar partly served as a model.
- At the end of the film, Obelix receives a “cake” made up of Romans as a birthday present. This is based on the beginning of the comics Obelix GmbH & Co. KG , in which he receives an entire legion as a "gift".
Reviews
The film received average press reviews, but almost every criticism criticizes the comic's lack of humor. "Die-hard fans of the drawn version will be more likely to be disappointed," wrote moviemaster.de, as the subtle humor of the comic did not come into effect in the real-life version. "That does not work. The imagination of the comic is lost ”, judged the Liberation . The film would contain too many Hollywood effects and too few subtle elements that make up the wit of the Asterix volumes.
BR-online wrote: “Christian Clavier and Gerard Depardieu are doing their best, the set designers have done an extremely good job, the trick specialists are completely exhausted, but the fact remains: The film has no chance at all against the lightning-smart, unmatched funny comics . The unique irony of the Asterix fathers Goscinny and Uderzo rarely flashes through, mostly in the scenes with the wonderful Roberto Benigni and the deliciously funny Gottfried John - the rest is boredom. "According to the lexicon of international films, the film" suffers from his Gigantomania and addiction to exhibition, which lacks the intelligent charm of the templates and flattens the ingenious comic characters. "
Awards
The film received the Golden Screen and the Silver Bogey Award in 1999 . A year later, Gottfried John received the Bavarian Film Prize for best supporting actor.
At the César 2000 award ceremony , the film was nominated for Best Production Design ( Jean Rabasse ).
The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating "valuable".
Film music
The music for the film was composed by the French Jean-Jacques Goldman and Roland Romanelli . The song Elle ne me voit pas was recorded by various artists in their mother tongue. Goldman sings the original, Riccardo Cocciante the Italian version Lei non vede me and Marcel Kapteijn the Dutch Ze Ziet Me Niet Staan . The German She does not see me , text by Moses Pelham and interpreted by Xavier Naidoo , reached number 2 in the charts and was awarded platinum .
The title list of the version of the soundtrack released in Germany (the original titles in brackets):
- She doesn't see me - 4:26 (Xavier Naidoo)
- Asterix and Obelix versus Caesar (Asterix et Obelix contre César) - 2:20
- The Ambush (L'embuscade) - 2:07
- Love (L'amour) - 3:52
- The circus again (Le cirque encore) - 5:15
- The golden sickle (La serpe d'or) - 4:07
- Falbala - 1:48
- The machinations of Tullius Destructivus (La machination de Détritus) - 1:58
- The Orderly Battle (La bataille rangée) - 2:40
- The fortune teller (Le devin) - 2:43
- The circus (Le cirque) - 4:04
- Eternal love (L'amour toujours) - 3:45
- The Hallucinations of Asterix (Les hallucinations d'Astérix) - 2:56
- The magic potion (La potion magique) - 3:14
- The two-headed unicorn (La licorne a 2 têtes) - 5:50
- Belenos - 7:18
- Belenos (Remix) - 4:04
- Obelix - 3:44
- Elle ne me voit pas - 4:26 (Jean-Jacques Goldman)
- Lei non vede me - 4:26 (Riccardo Cocciante)
literature
- Pierre Billard : Asterix & Obelix against Caesar. The book about the film. (Original title: Asterix & Obélix contre César ). German by Paul Derouet and Hartmut Becker . Egmont-Ehapa-Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, 159 pages, ISBN 3-7704-0040-2 .
Web links
- Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Asterix and Obelix versus Caesar in the online film database
- Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Criticism of the dpa in the Rhein-Zeitung
Individual evidence
- ^ Certificate of release for Asterix and Obelix against Caesar . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , March 2009 (PDF; test number: 81 609 DVD).
- ^ Criticism on moviemaster.de
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: film review on br-online.de
- ↑ Asterix and Obelix against Caesar. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Asterix and Obelix against Caesar In: fbw-filmbeval.com.