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= Dogma (film) =
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Introduction
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'Dogma' is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film written and directed by
Kevin Smith, who also stars with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, George
Carlin, Linda Fiorentino, Janeane Garofalo, Chris Rock, Jason Lee,
Salma Hayek, Bud Cort, Alan Rickman, Alanis Morissette in her feature
film debut, and Jason Mewes. It is the fourth film in Smith's View
Askewniverse series. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson, stars of the
first Askewniverse film 'Clerks', appear in the film, as do Smith
regulars Scott Mosier, Dwight Ewell, Walt Flanagan, and Bryan Johnson.
The story revolves around two fallen angels who plan to employ an
alleged loophole in Catholic dogma to return to Heaven after being
cast out by God, but as existence is founded on the principle that God
is infallible, their success would prove God wrong, thus undoing all
creation. The last scion and two prophets are sent by the seraph
Metatron to stop them.
The film's irreverent treatment of Catholicism and the Catholic Church
triggered considerable controversy, even before its opening. The
Catholic League denounced it as blasphemy. Organized protests delayed
its release in many countries and led to at least two death threats
against Smith. Despite this, 'Dogma' was well received by critics, and
grossed $43 million against its $10 million budget, becoming the
highest-grossing film in the View Askewniverse series to date.
Plot
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Bartleby and Loki are fallen angels, eternally banished from Heaven to
Wisconsin for insubordination, after an inebriated Loki resigned as
the Angel of Death at Bartleby's suggestion. In a newspaper article
that arrives anonymously, the angels discover a way home: Cardinal
Ignatius Glick is rededicating his church in Red Bank, New Jersey, in
the image of the "Buddy Christ." Anyone who enters the church during
the rededication festivities will receive a plenary indulgence,
remitting all sins. Were the banished angels to undergo this rite—and
then die after transmuting into human form—God would have no choice
but to allow them re-entry into Heaven. They are encouraged by the
demon Azrael and the Stygian triplets, three teenage hoodlums who
serve Azrael in hell.
Bethany Sloane, a despondent abortion clinic counselor, attends a
service at her church in McHenry, Illinois. Donations are solicited
for a campaign to stop a Red Bank hospital from disconnecting life
support on John Doe Jersey, a homeless man who was beaten into a coma
by the triplets. Metatron—a seraph, and the voice of God—appears to
Bethany in a pillar of fire and explains that if Bartleby and Loki
succeed in re-entering Heaven, they will overrule the word of God,
disprove the fundamental concept of God's omnipotence, and nullify all
of existence. Bethany, aided by two prophets, must stop the angels and
save the universe.
Now a target, Bethany is attacked by the triplets, who are driven off
by the two foretold prophets, drug-dealing stoners Jay and Silent Bob.
Bethany and the prophets are joined by Rufus, the 13th apostle, and
Serendipity, the Muse of creative inspiration, who now works at a
strip club in search of inspiration of her own. Azrael summons the
Golgothan, a vile creature made of human excrement, but Bob
immobilizes it with aerosol air freshener.
On a train to Red Bank, a drunken Bethany reveals her mission to
Bartleby, who tries to kill her; Bob throws the angels off the train.
Bartleby and Loki now realize the consequences of their scheme; Loki
wants no part of destroying all existence, but Bartleby remains angry
at God for his expulsion, and for granting free will to humans while
demanding servitude from angels, and resolves to proceed.
In Red Bank, Bethany asks why she has been called upon to save the
universe; why can't God simply do it himself? Metatron admits that
God's whereabouts are unknown; he disappeared while visiting New
Jersey in human form to play skee ball. The task falls to Bethany
because—she now learns—she is the last scion, a distant but direct
blood relative of Jesus.
The group cannot persuade Glick to cancel the celebration. Jay steals
one of Glick's golf clubs. Their only remaining option is to keep the
angels out of the church, but Azrael and the triplets trap them in a
bar to prevent them from doing so. Azrael reveals that he sent the
news clipping to the angels; he would rather end all existence than
spend eternity in Hell. Bob kills Azrael with the golf club, which
Glick had blessed to improve his game. Bethany blesses the bar sink's
contents, and the others drown the triplets in the holy water. They
race to the church, where Bartleby has killed Glick, his parishioners,
and assorted bystanders. When Loki (who is now wingless and therefore
mortal, with a conscience) attempts to stop him, Bartleby kills him as
well.
All appears lost; Jay attempts to seduce Bethany before all existence
ends. When he mentions John Doe Jersey, Bethany finally puts all the
clues together. She and Bob race across the street to the hospital, as
the others try to keep Bartleby from entering the church. But in doing
so, Jay destroys his wings with automatic gunfire, making him mortal
as well. Her faith restored, Bethany disconnects John's life support,
liberating God, but killing herself. Bartleby reaches the church
entrance where he confronts God, manifested in female form, who
annihilates him with her voice. Bob arrives with Bethany's lifeless
body; God resurrects her and conceives a child—the new last
scion—within her womb. God, Metatron, Rufus, and Serendipity return to
Heaven, leaving Bethany, Jay, and Silent Bob to reflect on the past
and the future.
Cast
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* Ben Affleck as Bartleby
* Matt Damon as Loki
* Linda Fiorentino as Bethany Sloane
* Salma Hayek as Serendipity
* Jason Lee as Azrael
* Jason Mewes as Jay
* Alan Rickman as Metatron
* Chris Rock as Rufus (the Thirteenth Apostle)
* Kevin Smith as Silent Bob
* George Carlin as Cardinal Ignatius Glick
* Bud Cort as John Doe Jersey/God
* Alanis Morissette as God
* Janeane Garofalo as Liz
* Betty Aberlin as Nun
* Barret Hackney, Jared Pfennigwerth, and Kitao Sakurai as the Stygian
Triplets
Development
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On October 25, 2000, Kevin Smith wrote an essay titled 'In the
Beginning... The Story of Dogma', which details the history and
genesis of how 'Dogma' came to be. His essay is available on the
'Dogma' 2-disc Special Edition DVD.
Before Smith began writing 'Clerks', he began noting down ideas for a
film called 'God'. During his brief period in film school, he
essentially wrote the scene introducing Rufus, but this version did
not feature Jay and Silent Bob. During the development of 'Clerks',
Smith continued to jot down ideas for his 'God' project, including
having the main character be a high school jock, the conception of
13th Apostle, Rufus, and a muse named Serendipity; but, Smith didn't
have a story to work off of.
By the time 'Clerks' had been picked up for distribution, Smith began
writing the first draft for the film. He felt calling the project
'God' was inappropriate, and retitled it 'Dogma'. The first draft was
completed in August 1994, with 148 pages accomplished, and more
additions; the high school protagonist was changed to a stripper named
Bethany who meets Jay and Silent Bob at a nudie booth, Azrael (or
known throughout the script as the "Shadowy Figure") was introduced in
the final 30 pages, and Bethany blew up the church in order to not let
Bartleby and Loki pass through the archway. After Smith and 'Clerks'
producer Scott Mosier reread the draft, they decided that they didn't
want 'Dogma' to be their sophomore film; they didn't want to tackle a
bigger scale picture until they felt ready to do it. Despite including
the line "Jay and Silent Bob will return in 'Dogma'" at the end of
'Clerks', Smith moved to Universal Studios in order to develop his
next film, 'Mallrats'.
During 'Mallrats production, Smith revisited the 'Dogma' script and
made some changes; Bethany's job went from stripper to an abortion
clinic and included an orangutan for Jay and Silent Bob to hang out
with. In 1996, he dropped the orangutan and reworked Bethany to be
played by his then-girlfriend Joey Lauren Adams. During that time, he
was writing 'Chasing Amy' and got Ben Affleck to agree to be in both
projects. After 'Chasing Amy' was released to critical and box-office
success, Smith felt confident enough to make 'Dogma'.
Visual effects
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Smith and Mosier assembled a group of visual artists to realize their
concept of a surreal, abstract environment "somewhere between reality
and unreality": production designer Robert Holtzman, special effects
supervisor Charles Belardinelli, creature effects supervisor Vincent
Guastini, costume designer Abigail Murray, and director of photography
Robert Yeoman.
Locations
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Principal filming took place from March to June 1998. The triplets'
attack on John Doe Jersey was filmed on the boardwalk in Asbury Park,
New Jersey; all other scenes were shot in and around Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. The Mexican restaurant in which Metatron explains
Bethany's mission was the Franklin Inn in Franklin Park, north of
Pittsburgh. Serendipity's pole dance and the Golgothan confrontation
took place at the Park View Cafe (since renamed Crazy Mocha and later
Yinz Coffee) on East North Avenue in Pittsburgh. The heroes plan
their final strategy in the Grand Concourse Restaurant in the restored
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Station. St Michael's Church, site
of the apocalyptic climax, is the Saints Peter and Paul
Church—currently vacant—in East Liberty.
Casting
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Jason Lee was initially attached to play Loki. When that role went to
Matt Damon, due to his onscreen chemistry with Affleck in 'Good Will
Hunting', Lee received the Azrael role due to scheduling conflicts
with filming 'Mumford'. Smith envisioned Samuel L. Jackson as Rufus,
but was convinced to hire Chris Rock after meeting him. Alan Rickman
was recruited to play Metatron. Albert Brooks was offered the role of
Cardinal Glick, but turned it down. Emma Thompson was originally
attached to play God, but had to withdraw when she became pregnant.
Smith — a fan of 'The X-Files' — offered the role of Bethany to
Gillian Anderson, but "heard back that she really hated it."
Critics expressed surprise at the film's eclectic casting, which Smith
said was done deliberately to emphasize contrasts between characters —
Rickman as the powerful Metatron, for example, opposite Mewes as the
hopelessly verbose stoner Jay, "...a Shakespearean trained actor of
the highest order next to a dude from New Jersey." Smith warned Mewes
that he would have to take his acting to a higher level. "I really
impressed upon him that he had to be prepared for this movie. 'There
are real actors in this one,' we kept telling him." In response, Mewes
memorized not only his own dialogue but the entire screenplay, because
he "didn't want to piss off that Rickman dude".
Other unorthodox casting decisions included George Carlin, who had
made his atheism a cornerstone of his public image, as a Catholic
priest; Mexican actress Salma Hayek as Serendipity — "the [Muse] who
throughout history inspired all the geniuses of art and music, like
Mozart and Michelangelo, and never got any of the credit" — and
singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette as God. "There's a Zen Buddhist
serenity to Alanis that calls to mind something otherworldly," Smith
explained. "She's definitely ethereal in nature, even when not
speaking, and she carries an air about her that played into the role."
It was rumored in the years following the film’s release that
Fiorentino and Smith did not get along during the filming. Smith
stated that rumors of a falling out between the two had been
misconstrued and overstated, and that while the two hadn’t spoken in
years, they amicably reconnected following his near fatal heart
attack. He attributed the rumors to a careless comment: “ I remember
on a commentary track on the DVD — Janeane Garofalo was in the movie
and at one point I said it would have better if she played the lead,
which was a really shitty and stupid thing to say. Thoughtless,
considering that Linda was the lead and Linda did a great job. So it
had been years since I had spoken with Linda and I got an email from
her. And of course I was thankful to hear from her and it also gave me
a chance to say I’m so sorry that I ever said that thing years ago. It
gives you a chance to make amends. So that was my favorite one. I
heard from so many people, but that one really stood out for me
because, if somebody had said, ‘Oh, the movie would have been better
if Ben Affleck directed it,’ that would have hurt my feelings. I know
it hurt her feelings and really unnecessarily because I always loved
her performance in the movie.”
Deleted scenes
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On the film's official website, Smith described a scene that did not
make the final cut: a climactic face-off in the hospital between
Silent Bob, a badly burned and half-decomposed triplet, and the
Golgothan. The battle was to end with the triplet killing Bethany
(temporarily), and God, newly liberated, transforming the Golgothan
into flowers. Test audiences felt the scene had "too much Golgothan",
and the film's run time already exceeded two hours, so the scene was
eliminated.
Another deleted scene has come to be known as the "'Fat Albert'
sequence". In the strip club, a gang (led by Dwight Ewell) grows
jealous that the stripper is paying more attention to Jay & Silent
Bob than to them. The gang confronts them and draws guns. Jay &
Silent Bob then defuse the situation by taking to the stage and
performing the theme song from 'Fat Albert.' Rufus realizes that the
stripper is the muse Serendipity, and she actually deescalated things
by giving Jay & Silent Bob the idea. The sequence was in the film
when it screened at Cannes, but was removed before its general
release. The scene gained notoriety as fans began speculating as to
why it was removed. On the 'Dogma: Special Edition' DVD, Smith said
the feedback he received was that the scene ran too long and was not
very funny.
Release
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'Dogma' was originally scheduled for a November 1998 release by
Miramax Films, but due to controversy, the film was postponed for a
1999 release, and the rights were passed on to Lions Gate Films for
the United States, although Miramax Films retained foreign
distribution rights.
The film was screened but was not entered into competition at the 1999
Cannes Film Festival.
Home media
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'Dogma' was released on DVD and VHS by Columbia TriStar Home Video in
May 2000. This was followed by a 2-disc Special Edition DVD in 2001
and then on Blu-ray in 2008. A thirty-seven minute documentary
produced for the DVD, 'Judge Not: In Defense of Dogma', was not
completed in time for the release and was instead included on the DVD
release for the Smith-produced film 'Vulgar'.
Rights issues
===============
'Dogma' is unavailable to stream or purchase digitally due to the
film's rights being owned personally by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in a
deal that predates streaming. In early 2020, after he was convicted
and sentenced to 23 years incarceration for rape, Harvey Weinstein was
reportedly having financial difficulties; purportedly necessitating
liquidation of some of his assets (to go towards financing his
appeal).
On May 15, 2020, Harvey reached out to his brother and former partner,
Bob Weinstein, for the first time since the two had become estranged
(over a year ago). Relayed over text message, Harvey asked Bob if he
would
Bob Weinstein told author, Ken Auletta, that he considered his older
brother's offer: just another "Harvey con;" Bob continued, "Harvey
proposed that if we re-released ['Dogma'] for streaming it would be
worth five million dollars. The truth is, it is probably worth closer
to $50,000, if that. He was completely lying. He said that he would
like me to give him three and a half million towards the fictitious
five million that this picture was worth. The only thing Harvey cared
about was trying to convince me to give him three and a half million
dollars. I did not respond to his request." Harvey denies contacting
his brother (from prison).
In 2022, instead of the release of 'Clerks III', Kevin Smith talked
about trying to buy back the rights to 'Dogma' from the Weinsteins. He
claimed that both of his offers were "scoffed at" and added that "my
movie about angels is owned by the devil himself."
In June 2024, at a Smodcastle Theater screening of 'Clerks: The
Animated Series', Kevin Smith announced that the film had finally been
purchased from Weinstein. Months later, Smith confirmed he regained
rights to the film on an episode of the podcast 'The Hashtag Show',
intending to re-release the film on home video and tour the film in
theatres in 2025, as well as release the film on digital. He also
expressed interest in making sequels and TV versions of the film as
means of expanding the story.
Soundtrack
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The soundtrack album accompanying the film was released in the United
States on November 2, 1999, by Maverick Records. It features an
orchestral score by Howard Shore, performed by the London Philharmonic
Orchestra; and the song "Still", written, performed, and produced by
Morissette. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the "rich,
effective" score as "alternately melodramatic and humorous".
Several songs used in the film do not appear on the soundtrack,
including "Magic Moments" performed by Perry Como, "Candy Girl" by New
Edition, "Alabamy Bound" performed by Ray Charles, and others. In one
scene, Matt Damon's Loki recites the hook of the Run-DMC song "Run's
House".
Box office
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'Dogma' was the third-highest-grossing film in its opening weekend,
behind 'The Bone Collector' and 'Pokémon: The First Movie', grossing
$8.7 million. The film grossed a domestic total of $30.7 million from
a $10 million budget. It remains the highest-grossing film in Smith's
View Askewniverse series.
Critical response
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On Rotten Tomatoes, 'Dogma' has an approval rating of 67% based on 127
reviews, with an average rating of 6.25/10. The site's critical
consensus reads, "Provocative and audacious, 'Dogma' is an uneven but
thoughtful religious satire that's both respectful and irreverent." On
Metacritic, the film received a score of 62 out of 100, based on 36
critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert of the
'Chicago Sun-Times' awarded the film three-and-a-half stars (out of
four).
Some religious groupsin particular the activist Catholic
Leaguedenounced the film as blasphemous. Other groups staged protests
outside theaters screening the film. Director Kevin Smith himself
attended one of these protests, pretending to be opposed to the movie.
Roger Ebert noted that no official objection came from the Catholic
Church itself. "We are actually free in this country to disagree about
religion," Ebert wrote, "and blasphemy is not a crime."
Accolades
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Year !! Award !! Category !! Nominee(s) !! Result
1999 The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Musicians Who Shouldn't Be
Acting Alanis Morissette
rowspan=5 | 2000 rowspan=2 | Satellite Awards Best Performance by
an Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical Alan Rickman
Best Original Song: "'Still'" Alanis Morissette
Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay rowspan=2 | Kevin Smith
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Screenplay, Original
Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Supporting Actress Salma Hayek
(sharing with 'Wild Wild West')
rowspan=2 | 2001 Nebula Award for Best Script Best Script Kevin
Smith
Golden Schmoes Award Best DVD of the Year 'Dogma': Special
Edition
Possible sequel
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In late November 2005, Smith responded to talk of a possible sequel on
the ViewAskew.com message boards:
When asked about the sequel in October 2017, Smith said it would not
happen, as he no longer desired to make any new religious films.
Near the same time as the cancellation, just weeks before the
Weinstein scandal broke to the public, Harvey Weinstein pitched to
Smith about doing a sequel. Not much came from this pitch, but it was
just a mere idea for Weinstein. According to Smith in an interview
with 'Business Insider', he recalls:
Smith believes that he only got the call because, "It was him looking
to see who was a friend still because his life was about to shift
completely."
Damon returned to reprise his role as a reborn Loki in 'Jay and Silent
Bob Reboot'. In a fourth-wall breaking monologue, he explains after
the events of 'Dogma' God once again banished him to Earth, this time
to the Mediterranean Sea where he was rescued by Italian fishermen
after getting amnesia, describing the plot of Damon's film 'The Bourne
Identity': he remarks that would make his current form his "'reborn'
identity".
While promoting 'Clerks III', Smith reiterated that Weinstein still
owned 'Dogma', and tried to buy the film's rights back once he was
assured the money would not go directly to Weinstein, who is currently
imprisoned. Despite increasingly larger offers from Smith's camp and a
letter sharing how personal 'Dogma' was for him, their offers were
denied by Weinstein's lawyer. Smith described the film as a movie that
is "held hostage" and shared his wish to both tour the film as a
re-release and to produce a sequel if he would get the rights back.
In pop culture
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A scene in which Jay says the lines, "I fell in love with you! We fell
in love with you! Guys like us just don't fall out of the fucking sky,
you know?" and "Beautiful, naked, big-titty women just don't fall out
the sky, you know?", was sampled on Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign's
song, "Back to Me", featuring Freddie Gibbs. The song is the fifth
track on the duo's collaborative album 'Vultures 1', according to the
official tracklist.
See also
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* List of films about angels
External links
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*
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*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060820073647/http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/1999/11/09/catholics/index.html
Why are Catholics so set on dogging "Dogma"?] at Salon
*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120406194218/http://www2.citypaper.com/film/review.asp?rid=5941
God Stuff: Kevin Smith Chases Jehovah]
*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070110182540/http://www.fbi945movies.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=132290
Radio Interview with Kevin Smith] from FBi 94.5 Sydney Australia
License
=========
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogma_(film)