Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3856 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-03-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Synopsis

Imaginative theology and a bigger-than-usual budget make Dogma--Kevin Smith's ("Chasing Amy"; "Clerks") fourth film--a kind of post-Catholic fantasy that only a comic-book enthusiast of his caliber could dream up. Dogma concerns fallen angels Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck), who, after a few millennia in Wisconsin, discover a loophole in Catholic doctrine that would allow them back into heaven. The only problem is that their finding would prove the fallibility of God and destroy the universe. As they make their way to New Jersey to receive a plenary indulgence, God dispatches a seraph (Alan Rickman) to recruit lapsed Catholic Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), who attempts to stop the angels. She finds help in two prophets, Jay and Silent Bob (played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith respectively), and the forgotten 13th apostle, Rufus (Chris Rock). Before long though, all hell breaks loose (literally) and God (Alanis Morrisette) has to put in an appearance of her own. Smith's controversial and very funny film is powered by his trademark dialogue and is ripe with observations on pop culture, religion, and bodily functions.

Customer Reviews

THIS FILM ROCKS!
This film is absolutely sensational! I loved it...a thought provoking, extremely witty and laugh out loud film where Alan Rickman's natural sarcasm fits perfectly! So glad it's available on DVD. Highly recommended if you're sitting on the fence with regards religion - in that it'll either send you one way or t'other! Thanks Kevin Smith!

Will watch it again and again :-)
I really love this film and have watched it over and over.

Kevin Smith's films are, on the face of it, pretty silly. The humour often appears rather of the 'toilet' variety. But then, he'll just slip in a little barb and I think, well, maybe there is something to this, after all. He does it with this film, right from the start, with an apology to all Duck Billed Platypus lovers. Ten minutes later, there's Alan Rickman, sporting a fine pair of wings, claiming to be The Metatron (i.e. Voice of God) and complaining bitterly to Linda Fiorentino who has just doused him with a fire extinguisher.

What I didn't realise the first time I watched this film is just who all the actors are. Linda Fiorentino plays an abortion clinic doctor who turns out to be the 'Last Scion' (i.e. last living blood relative to Christ), Salma Hayek plays a 'muse' (and a pole dancer). Bud Cort is in it! (Who on earth is Bud Cort? Well, he's the guy who plays the lead role in the 'cult classic' Harold & Maude). And George Carlin plays a Catholic bishop introducing the church's latest attempt at recruitment, the 'buddy Christ' (so who's George Carlin? Well, he was the hitch-hiker in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, plus he's well-known for his black humour. Do a search on YouTube - you'll find loads).

So, what Kevin Smith manages to do in this film, apart from make a very funny film, is make several political points, satirise a few 'Hollywood Blockbusters' and create a wonderful ensemble performance from a lot of very talented people.

The DVD is distributed by Film 4, has 24 minutes of extra bits and pieces, has a 5.1 Dolby soundtrack, subtitles and stuff and is widescreen (2.35:1).

Lovely film - have watched it over and over and will watch it again and again :-)

Fun if you're in the mood, but inept and boring if you're not
I like Kevin Smith. I'm not sure why, because he keeps making movies that aren't very good. It has something to do with his friendly and gregarious persona as the indie movie director who also does stand-up. I like the fact that he can still get his more famous mates to be in his films. I like the way he is loyal to his less famous mates and sometimes, as in "Clerks II", gives them starring roles in his films - and "Clerks II" was definitely one of his better movies.

When I first watched "Dogma" I thought it was really good, punkish fun. That was a few years ago, and watching it again I am surprised by how...well...boring it is. It's not that it doesn't have lots of good moments, but they're nearly always spoiled by Smith's limitations as a director. There are three main limitations of which I speak: one, he is rubbish at framing a shot; two, he is lazy with actors; three, he is a lazy writer.

Shooting style: I can't count the number of times in which I just got bored watching this film because what should have been an especially intense or dramatic moment was thrown away in a boring medium-shot.

Directing actors: one of the crucial scenes in this film is the argument between Loki (Damon) and Bartleby (Affleck) in a parking lot, about whether or not they are going to go to war against God. I'll say that again: this is an argument about going to war against God. Smith lets them get away with acting it like they are arguing about whether McDonald's is better than Burger King.

Lazy writing: Linda Fiorentino is said to have been unhappy on the set, and watching the film I can't blame her. Her character is written as a one-note grumpy, reluctant, boring drone. A better writer would have given her enough spark to make the early exposition scenes with Alan Rickman take off and actually be enjoyable to watch, instead of just information-shovelling which they are. Fiorentino spends a ridiculous amount of screentime sitting in a slouch and looking bored and sceptical while other characters yak on at her about what's going on in the story. This is not because she is a bad actress, but because that's how Smith wrote her character. He has only himself to blame if she didn't enjoy herself making this film.

In his other films, Smith often relies on his regular company of actor buddies who just like having him as a director, and when that works the film has enough daft energy to be fun to watch. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon clearly enjoy being in this, and their scenes are often among the best - which is not something you can often say about a film with Ben Affleck in it. But while "Dogma" actually does have a coherent storyline, it is not often translated into actual drama. Most of it is told to us in wads of hefty exposition, and I might also point out that despite Smith's attempt to claim that the film is about faith in general, it is spoiled for us non-believers by having god as a living character, even if she is amusingly portrayed by Alanis Morrissette as a sort of spunky Head Girl.

"Dogma" is probably Kevin Smith's worst film because while it has ambitions to be about big things, it totally fails to live up to the weight of its own themes. "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" is a lot sillier, but a lot better, because Smith did it in such a way that a mere spud like me can't imagine it being done any better. I have high hopes for "Zack and Miri Make a Porno". I'd rather he made films about people trying to have sex than about God, faith and the meaning of life. My reason for saying so is that when he makes films about people trying to have sex, they're actually kind of about God, faith and the meaning of life. When he tried to make a film about God, it ended up being about nothing more than his ambition to make a film about God.