Asterix et le coup du menhir

In collaboration with Gaumont, Music Box Records proudly presents on CD the original motion picture soundtrack of the French animated film Astérix et le Coup du menhir (Asterix and the Big Fight, 1989) composed and conducted by Michel Colombier.

After Asterix the Gaul (1967), Asterix and Cleopatra (1968), The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976), Asterix Versus Caesar (1985) and Asterix in Britain (1986), Michel Colombier came after Gérard Calvi and Vladimir Cosma for this new Asterix and Obelix adventure. The creators (Yannick Piel and Philippe Grimond) chose to base the story on the comic book Asterix and the Soothsayer, adding as a prologue the druid Getafix's head injury, caused by a menhir in the comic book Asterix and the Big Fight, which makes him lose his mind. As for the film's music, they wanted a broad symphonic score in the style of early 20th century Russian music, but not a full-on pastiche and were seduced by Michel Colombier's work, notably his score for the movie The Golden Child (1986), mixing synthetic sounds, percussion and orchestral elements such as brass instruments and strings. Michel Colombier composed an orchestral score with atmospheres reminiscent of Prokofiev, Shostakovich or Stravinsky.

This present edition has been fully remastered from DAT session mixes courtesy Michel Colombier's vaults and features previously unreleased music. The package includes an 8-page booklet with liner notes by Gilles Loison, discussing the film and the score. The CD release is limited to 500 units.