Product Details

• Actors: Jacques Balutin, Roger Carel, Micheline Dax, René Goscinny, Henri Labussière
• Directors: René Goscinny, Lee Payant, Albert Uderzo
• Format: NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Buena Vista Home Ent
• VHS Release Date: July 31, 1990
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301758021
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,034 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Asterix's filmus mirabilis, April 29, 2002

By 

darragh o'donoghue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asterix Et Cleopatre [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The first Asterix film to be released in an English version, 'Asterix and Cleopatra' begins with a witty and self-conscious prologue about dubbing and its inadequacies, with an Egyptian giving an onomatopaeic rendering of hieroglyphic speech (e.g. on a chicken symbol he tweets). The film itself is a vast improvement on its predecessor, 'Asterix the Gaul' - character movement is still a little stilted in relation to background, but those backgrounds are now spectacularly, vividly detailed.

The film opens with the hectoring of a shrewish Cleopatra echoing over her Egyptian empire, the intricate magnificence of her buildings matched by the mass labour needed to build it. Pert and slinky, she is the screen's most beautiful Egyptian queen, and she is placing a bet with Caesar - who thinks her empire is decadent - that she can have a temple of unparalelled pomp built for him. Unfortunately, her leading architect, Edifice, is hopelessly inept, his grasp of engineering shaky. Faced with the threat of becoming alligator chow, he enlists the help of his old friend Getafix and the warriors Asterix and Obelix. Despite obstacles at every turn - pirates; sabotage by rival architect Artifice and his sneaky sidekick Crewcut; the displeasure of Caesar, using his prodigious chameleon spy, who can blend against decorated walls, pillars, skies etc.

It's not just the recreation of Egyptian architectural brilliance and local colour that marks 'Cleopatra' as an improvement, but the increased confidence of the animators to tell their jokes visually, rather than simply relying on a funny script. Highlights include Edifice's death-trap buildings, like a Hollywood classical set designed by Dr. Caligari; the labyrinthine imprisonment of our heroes in a pyramid whose wall decorations include an Egyptian Santa Claus; one of those historical explanations for famous ruins we always find in Asterix, here the noseless Sphinx, caused by Obelix scrambling the monument to get a panoramic view, causing the souvenir merchants to hack away at their replicas. There are some splendid musical interludes - Cleopatra's odd, operetta bath; Obelix's ravenous hallucination conjuring a Homer Simpson-like dream-world of food; and Artifice and Crewcut celebrating a dastardly plan. The abstract choreography of the building-work itself echoes Stanley Donen's 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' barn-raising sequence.

Made in 1968, a period of domestic upheaval in France, the satire at the expense of strikers is a bit off, but it doesn't sour the pleasure of this, the most inventive of all Asterix films.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In English, February 27, 2005

By 

M. A. Ramos (Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asterix and Cleopatra [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Here is your chance to see Asterix and Obleix as a cartoon. This 72 minute animated movie was dubbed into English by Disney Studios. It is faithful to the books and fun to watch. Espeically when Obleix takes out to thump the pirates. This is the second animated Asterix film to be dubbed. Sound quality is great.

In this film our little warrior from Gaul, Asterix, goes to Egypt in order to help a friend of their druids. They need to build a Palace that is being constructed to impress Caesar on; the orders of Cleopatra. Problem is, she only gave the architect three months to build the whole thing, or else. If you are an asterix fan, and do not know French...this is a must for you to view.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Asterix movie ever. A classic!, April 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Asterix Et Cleopatre [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is ,by far, the best Asterix movie ever. It follows the original senario of the book and adds a few goodies that have become classics. The most popular are Cleopatra's bath and the arsenic pouding. All fans agree, this is a must see and a must to have in a video library.