Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar
Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (French: Astérix & Obélix contre César) is a 1999 French-Italian-German comedy fantasy adventure film directed by Claude Zidi, the first installment in the Asterix film series based on Goscinny and Uderzo's Astérix comics. The film combines plots of several Astérix stories, mostly Asterix the Gaul (Getafix's abduction), Asterix and the Soothsayer, Asterix and the Goths (the Druid conference), Asterix the Legionary (Obelix becoming smitten with Panacea) and Asterix the Gladiator (the characters fighting in the circus) but jokes and references from many other albums abound, including a humorous exchange between Caesar and Brutus taken from Asterix and Cleopatra, and the villain Lucius Detritus is based on Tullius Detritus, the main antagonist of Asterix and the Roman Agent (known as Tortuous Convolvulus in the English translation of the comic).
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Directed by | Claude Zidi (Original) Olaf Wijnants (English) |
Written by | Gérard Lauzier (Original) Terry Jones (English) |
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Cinematography | Tony Pierce-Roberts |
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Production companies | Katharina Renn Productions TF1 Fims Production Bavaria Film Bavaria Entertainment Melampo Cinematografica |
Distributed by | AMLF |
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Running time | 109 minutes |
Countries | France Italy Germany |
Languages | French German |
Budget | FFR 275 million ($48.5 million) |
Box office | $101.6 million |
At the time of its release, the film was the most expensive production in French cinema of all time, making it the most expensive production in France for the twentieth century. It was a box-office success and would be followed by a sequel, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, released in 2002.