Product Details

• Format: Anamorphic, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: French
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (701 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004YRKL
• For more information about "Dogma" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Kevin Smith is a conundrum of a filmmaker: he's a writer with brilliant, clever ideas who can't set up a simple shot to save his life. It was fine back when Smith was making low-budget films like Clerks and Chasing Amy, both of which had an amiable, grungy feel to them, but now that he's a rising director who's attracting top talent and tackling bigger themes, it might behoove him to polish his filmmaking. That's the main problem with Dogma--it's an ambitious, funny, aggressively intelligent film about modern-day religion, but while Smith's writing has matured significantly (anyone who thinks he's not topnotch should take a look at Chasing Amy), his direction hasn't. It's too bad, because Dogma is ripe for near-classic status in its theological satire, which is hardly as blasphemous as the protests that greeted the movie would lead you to believe.

Two banished angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) have discovered a loophole that would allow them back into heaven; problem is, they'd destroy civilization in the process by proving God fallible. It's up to Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), a lapsed Catholic who works in an abortion clinic, to save the day, with some help from two so-called prophets (Smith and Jason Mewes, as their perennial characters Jay and Silent Bob), the heretofore unknown 13th apostle (Chris Rock), and a sexy, heavenly muse (the sublime Salma Hayek, who almost single-handedly steals the film). In some ways Dogma is a shaggy dog of a road movie--which hits a comic peak when Affleck and Fiorentino banter drunkenly on a train to New Jersey, not realizing they're mortal enemies--and segues into a comedy-action flick as the vengeful angels (who have a taste for blood) try to make their way into heaven. Smith's cast is exceptional--with Fiorentino lending a sardonic gravity to the proceedings, and Jason Lee smirking evilly as the horned devil Azrael--and the film shuffles good-naturedly to its climax (featuring Alanis Morissette as a beatifically silent God), but it just looks so unrelentingly... subpar. Credit Smith with being a daring writer but a less-than-stellar director. --Mark Englehart

From The New Yorker

This is obviously the growth season for indie kids. Just as David O. Russell has graduated from nerdy comedy to "Three Kings," so Kevin Smith, lord of the zero budget ("Clerks," "ChASINg Amy"), has decided to stretch himself with this sprawling, star-stuffed fantasy on the trifling theme of good and evil. It even has special effects: fairly cruddy ones, it's true, but there was a time when the most special Kevin Smith effect was two consecutive minutes of audible sound. His unlikely plot features Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, the Abbott and Costello of the next millennium, as a couple of renegade angels who spot a chance to reënter heaven and thus terminate the universe. Up against them is a rank of supernatural forces-played by Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, and Selma Hayek-a perplexed earthling (Linda Fiorentino), and a couple of unwitting prophets, played by the grungy Jason Mewes and the bearded Smith himself, back by popular demand from his previous pictures. The result has some great lines, but it's a muddle that turns into a mess; there have been cries of distress about the film's attack on organized religion, but no self-respecting church could seriously claim to be damaged by this extended skit. With Alanis Morissette as God. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Catholicism....WOW!, April 18, 2000

By 

J. Anthony Rick (the 'burg, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dogma (DVD)

Don't listen to the zealots, this is a great movie. Many people believe that this movie "bashes" Christianity, Catholicism in particular. Now, like Kevin Smith, I am a Catholic, and I was in no way offended by this movie, in fact I saw it five times in the theater. This is a movie that shows the idiosyncracies in church dogma, just as every structure has idiosyncracies. The movie shows these points through an interesting and entertaining story of good v. evil. The overall theme of this movie is that people should be more open to new ideas and to realize what Christ was all about, love and understanding. "Jesus wasn't sent to earth to give us the 'willies,' he is a booster." Finally, this is a great movie, with great ideas and great dialogue. I believe that it is Kevin Smith's best work to date. Matt Damon, Jason Lee, Linda Fiorentino, George Carlin, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Alan Rickman, and Chris Rock all give very good performances, but Ben Affleck does a wonderful job as Bartleby. I would certainly suggest this movie to anyone. Faith is a funny thing.

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A humorous look at faith, January 19, 2001

By 

"nikolena27" (Chesapeake, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dogma (DVD)

As a pair of two lapsed Catholics, My husband and I rented this movie on the recommendation of another catholic friend of ours. From the moment they unveiled the hilarious "Buddy Christ" to the moment the ending credits appeared we were rolling on the floor howling with laughter as only two people who spent years in catholic school could.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were great as two fallen angels banished by God to hell (Wisconsin) trying to get back into Heaven through a loophole in Catholic dogma. Which would unfortunately destroy the world because it would prove God fallible. Chris Rock was a very funny 13th Apostle named Rufus and Selma Hayek's role as a feisty muse name Serendipity was also good. Jason Mews and Kevin Smith himself in their perennial roles as "Jay" and "Silent Bob" were a scream as two unlikely "prophets" sent to aid the last Scion played by Linda Fiorentino. My favorite performance was that of Alan Rickman who played the surly and much put upon Metatron (or the voice of God). He portrayed the long suffering character of God's right hand angel with an excellent mix of irony, dry humor, and compassion. His fiery entrance scene was classically funny!

I felt that the weakest performance was that of Fiorentino's who played the main character Bethany, the last Scion charged with the mission of stopping the renegade angels. While she did a good job, there was something that seemed slightly forced in her portrayal of a catholic (who worked in an abortion clinic by the way) struggling with her beliefs just going through the motions of faith. The sarcastic lines lacked some bite and her expressions seemed a bit contrived. Her performance improved in the middle of the movie during her scene with Rickman after she discovers her true identity.

Overall, I felt that Dogma was not about bashing the Catholic church, but about some of the funny things about organized religion and faith. Smith touches on a number of different issues here, and the humor was a great way of dealing with the touchy and explosive subject of religion.

Most critics I suspect were offended by the language, but if you've seen one of Kevin Smith's movies before, that's to be expected. Sometimes you have to look past the messenger to see the message. Other critics sited implausible plot, wordy, or the always elegant "it just sucks". One critic bashed Smith for assuming that everyone was Catholic!

Those that thought the movie bashed Catholicism didn't read into what Smith was saying. Selma Hayek summed it up perfectly "You people don't celebrate your faith. You mourn it." Loosen up people, having a sense of humor about it is part of celebrating your faith.

I agree that the dialogue got a bit wordy, but I suspect that was for the benefit of those who didn't have a background in Catholicism. If you filtered out some of the conversational meandering and vulgar interjections by the trash mouthed "prophet" Jay, you'll find some interesting and thought provoking gems in there. As for an implausible plot...hello! We're talking religion here folks, and I think that few people would agree that the Bible is necessarily a wellspring realistic and plausible plots. Religion is about leaps of faith and if you can't handle that, then you won't get the meaning behind the movie.

The critics in the "it just sucks" camp I suspect aren't very patient with the subject of "two hours of Catholic mythology" and are more comfortable with the secular subjects of Smith's other movies (romance, shopping, drugs and the like). Hey, I don't like football, so am I going to complain that the writers of The Replacements and Remember the Titans assumed that everyone in the world enjoys football? No, I'm simply not going to watch movies about football...problem solved. The name of the movie is Dogma, it should give you a clue. And if you don't know what dogma means, look it up.

So here's a warning to all...if you have no tolerance for organized religion, so called Catholic mythology, occasional potty humor (literally), profanity, or you have no sense of humor on the subject of religion, then don't watch this movie. You be disappointed or angry.

If you are a little bit more open minded, I invite you to try out this wonderfully funny movie.

36 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Movies of 1999!, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dogma (DVD)

Contrary to some of the negative reviews (who really cares ifan A-list movie looks "subpar"--if it's watchable andenjoyable, then what does it matter), this movie has more than simple comedy and great performances. Smith's "Dogma" asks so many theological quetions that when I left the theatre, I could not stop talking about some of the ideas he proposed--however controversial they might have seemed. Smith's writing, I think, has reached an all time high with this film, following his superb "Chasing Amy" and hilarious "Mallrats" (sorry to all you "Clerks" fans, but watching that film is so exceedingly painful and boring I can't describe it). In "Dogma," Smith rips apart religion and its factions--with a few extra stabs at his own Catholicism--yet at the same time upholds religion as a whole. And his knowledge of the Bible is clearly apparent, for some of his scenes (namely the scene between Fiorentino and Affleck (...)) drip with emotion and truth that Smith's motives are clear: in writing "Dogma" Smith attempted to intertwine lost faith, religious humor, and redemption. And what a fine effort it is! Even if the visuals are not amazing, the script, cast, and the discussions you will have long after the movie has ended are. Rent or buy this movie--it doesn't matter which--just see it. "Dogma" is truly wonderful; one of the best of 1999. END