Before “Asterix and Obelix versus Caesar”, there was another live-action adaptation of the adventures of the two boar-loving Gauls, and you’ve probably never seen it.
We are on February 27, 1967. The director Pierre Tchernia signs a TV movie entitled Two Romans in Gaul, adapted from the universe of Asterix. The authors of the comic strip of the small Gaul, René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo sign the scenario whose particularity is that it is a mixture of real and animated images.
Asterix and Obelix therefore appear there in animation with the same appearance as in the film Asterix the Gaul, which was to be released in December of the same year. The voices of these two heroes are provided by Roger Carel and Jacques Morel.
The story of the Tchernia film is a pretext. A little boy today learns his history lessons about Gaul. He is then transported to the universe of Asterix.
Two Romans, Ticketdebus (Roger Pierre) and Prospectus (Jean-Marc Thibault), walk in Gaul and meet various colorful characters, giving rise to a succession of sketches and even a medley of songs.
You can come across Pierre Mondy as an innkeeper, Maurice Biraud as a tank salesman, Jean Yanne as a centurion, Pierre Dac as a novelist, Roger Couderc as a sports presenter or Pierre Tornade as a Gaul (and who will later be the voice of Obélix). As for the two Gauloises who cross paths with the two Romans, they are played by Viviane Chiffre and Anne Sand.
The creators of Asterix, in addition to signing the screenplay, appear in the TV movie: Goscinny plays a waiter at the “Café de flora” and Uderzo a street designer who signs a magnificent Asterix in chalk which then comes to life.
Let it be said, Deux Romains en Gaule carries the weight of the years on its shoulders, and we are closer to a filmed variety theater show than a film, even with sketches. It is however to be rediscovered for fans of Asterix, who will see there a real piece of history, shot in barely three weeks!