Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra [Region 2]
by Alain Chabat
![Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra [Region 2]](/images/Asterix-Obelix-Mission-Cleopatra-Region-2-B000BNYFCU-L.jpg)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alain Chabat, Christian Clavier, Claude Rich, Gérard Darmon, Gerard DepardieuDirector: Alain Chabat
Host: CategoryCentralEurope
Host: CategoryFrance
Host: CategoryKidsandFamily
Host: Festival Ceasar Awards
Host: Festival European Film Awards
Host: film movie Foreign
Host: film movie France French
Host: film movie Germany German
Producer: Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra ( Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre )
Producer: Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra
Producer: Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre
DVD: Region Code 2
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Import, PAL, Widescreen
Running Time: 103 minutes
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Fox
Movie Reviews of Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra [Region 2]
Movie Review: The best Asterix film - in two very different versions
Summary: 5 Stars
For those not in the know, the Asterix books are a hugely successful series of comic books about a village of indomitable Gauls who resist Caesar's invasion thanks to a magic potion that renders them invulnerable supermen. There have been several animated features (only one of them, The Twelve Tasks of Asterix really capturing the wit and spirit of the books despite being an original screen story) before a perfectly cast Christian Clavier and Gerard Depardieu took the lead roles in two big-budget live action adaptations that proved colossally successful throughout Europe but made no impression whatsoever in the English-speaking world.
This follow-up to Asterix and Obelix Take On Caesar/Asterix et Obelix Contre Cesar is easily the most successful attempt to get the books mixture of slapstick, anachronisms and highbrow classical humorous asides to the screen, mixing classical references (such as a great Raft of the Medusa sight gag or the Sphinx's broken nose inspiring Depardieu's Obelix to quote Cyrano de Bergerac), alongside more modern pop-culture references - mobile phones, Star Wars and even The Benny Hill Show. It's also incredibly spectacular and lavishly designed, putting many recent epics to shame. Some of the subtitles, however, leave a little to be desired, with joke names such as Matthieukassovix changed to Lennykravix for Anglophone consumption (very jarring when you can still hear the originals), but that's a minor complaint compared to the Miramax cut also included here. Not all of it works, but it's still great fun.
Despite paying a reputed $45m for both films, in a classic case of buyer's remorse Miramax completely re-edited the film (at least 21 minutes gone) and crudely dubbed it into English. Maybe Harvey Weinstein mistook it for a Hong Kong movie. Whereas Asterix et Obelix Contre Cesar was lovingly dubbed into English from a particularly good translation script by Terry Jones but otherwise left unaltered, that sort of thing really isn't the Miramax way. The results ain't good.
Aside from the voices for Gerard Depardieu and Monica Bellucci just seeming very, very wrong, a lot of the classical references are gone (the Raft of the Medusa and Cyrano gags among them), the pirates are reduced to a single sequence, alongside anything that seems too French or might slow the picture down, with the result that the first 20 minutes are now a real slog. Several punchlines to sequences are missing, Depardieu's part has been trimmed (his part was already fairly small because of his serious health problems during the shoot: the US version has been partially digitally regraded to change the unhealthy pallor of his face in the original!), and as usual with dubbing, because literal translations into English don't fit properly, lines are either rushed so much they're not funny anymore or the dialogue has been changed completely. A couple of these changes are admittedly funny, like one character dreaming of a world in which he could move his lips in French and hear the words in English, so it's not quite a total disaster, but very disappointing.
Still, Pathe's UK DVD gives you the choice of both versions in excellent transfers, even if it is at the cost of any extras (the French DVD was a lavish two-disc set, but without English subtitles). But you'd definitely be better off sticking to the uncut subtitled French version even if you're buying it for the kids - tell them think of it as a reading a book with moving pictures!
Summary of Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra [Region 2]
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Alternative Footage, Interactive Menu, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra bets against the Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar, that her people are still great, even if the times of the Pharaohs has long passed. She vows (against all logic) to build a new palace for Caesar within three months. Since all her architects are either busy otherwise or too conservative in style, this ambivalent honor falls to Edifis. He is to build the palace and be covered in gold or, if not, his fate is to be eaten by crocodiles. Edifis calls upon an old friend to help him out: The fabulous Druid Getafix from Gaul, who brews a fantastic potion that gives supernatural strength. In order to help and protect the old Druid, Asterix and Obelix accompany him on his journey to Egypt. When Julius Caesar gets wind of the project succeeding, he has the building site attacked by his troops in order to win the bet and not lose face. But just like the local pirates, he hasn't counted on Asterix and Obelix. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Ceasar Awards, European Film Awards, ...Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra ( Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre )Similar DVD Movies
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