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Dogma: SE
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // June 26, 2001
List Price: $29.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
I walked in late on the View Askew game. Some of my roommates in college would quote extensively from "Clerks" and blather on endlessly about the brilliance of "Chasing Amy". Meanwhile, I associated Kevin Smith with gaudy full-page "Mallrats" comic book ads. The only of Smith's films that I saw before this special edition release of "Dogma" was "Chasing Amy", which I watched with disinterest on VHS in one of my English courses back in college. My entirely unjustified distaste for Kevin Smith's work turned around upon seeing "Clerks: The Animated Series" when the aborted program made its way to DVD. I watched the six episodes every day over lunch for months, nearly to the point of memorization. I eagerly snatched up a copy of Columbia/Tri-Star's "Dogma: Special Edition" DVD when the opportunity presented itself, and as frequently as the phrase 'special edition' is tossed around, this is one DVD set that genuinely deserves that title.
In "Dogma", two angels (played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) banished to Earth find a loophole to re-enter Heaven in the form of a campaign to rejuvenate interest in the Catholic Church. A minor consequence? God is infallible, and since a loophole would prove Him incorrect, existence would be obliterated. The Voice of God (Alan Rickman) turns to Bethany, a Catholic with little in the way of faith who, unbeknownst to her, also happens to be the Last Scion. Bethany's mission, should she choose to accept it, is to keep Loki and Bartleby from entering a church in New Jersey and, as a result, bringing about the end of all life. Helping her on her trek from Illinois to New Jersey are two prophets, Jay and Silent Bob, and Rufus, the long-forgotten thirteenth apostle. Of course, there are other dark forces at work as well...
My expectations were for a funny movie making frequent snide remarks about religion. "Dogma" turned out to be more intelligent than I anticipated, as well as more reverant towards its source material. There's very little religion-bashing going on, and "Dogma" even provoked some mild internal debate. It's definitely the sort of film that'll inspire discussion afterwards...at least, if you're unlike me and actually talk to other people. The intelligence, religion, and humor are balanced rather well, never seeming to veer too far in any one direction, which might be surprising considering that "Dogma" does, after all, prominently feature an excrement demon. It might not be humorous enough for comedy completists, and those interest in the film's religious aspects may be turned off by the language and some imagery, but I was pleased with the end result. I'm not as enthusiastic about "Dogma" as I thought I was going to be, but this is a film worth seeing and talking about, and the quantity and quality of the extras give this set the sort of added quality that warrants shelf space.
Video: The 2.35:1 anamorphic image is sure to surprise those fans who associate Smith with his grainier and more static 16mm works. The vibrant colors leap off the screen, and black levels and shadow delineation is without equal. Detail infrequently seems to drop off, though to such a small degree that it barely notes a mention. There's not a print flaw to be found in this crisp, gorgeous image.
Audio: "Dogma" may have substantially higher production values than "Chasing Amy", but at its heart, it is still a film driven primarily by dialogue. Accordingly, the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is heavily geared towards the front, with rare but highly effective surround effects. The enveloping score roars from every speaker, but not at the expense of the always-discernable dialogue. This isn't a dynamic, bombastic 6-channel mix, but it suits "Dogma" well. Included but unreviewed are English and Spanish stereo surround soundtracks.
Supplements: Yikes. I can't recall the last time I spent this many hours with a DVD release in such a short period of time. I'm assuming anyone who reads these reviews would also frequent the forum at DVD Talk, and as a result, it's a safe bet that you already know about the controversial documentary being knocked off this set. There are countless posts about it at DVD Talk that could cover this issue far better than I ever could, so I'll defer to the fine folks there. As for what is on the disc...
There are a pair of commentary tracks, one in the traditional View Askew style and the other taking a more technical, serious approach. The first has Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Jasons Lee and Mews, Scott Mosier, and Vincent Pereira cracking wise for two hours straight, and although it occasionally gets a little incoherent with six people in the recording booth at once, the track offers nearly as many laughs as the feature itself and will undoubtedly hold up well to repeat listens. The actor-less second commentary is far more technical in nature than its hilarious but largely uninformative bastard cousin. Back when I was in college and spent a hefty portion of my free hours sitting around aimlessly, watching far too many DVD commentaries, I found myself enthralled by technical notes and how specific shots were performed. Now that I'm a programmer in the relentlessly-cruel real world, I have to plead guilty and say that I find myself greatly preferring the more informal, hysterical variety. For that, I'm sorry. You can also supposedly view clips of the commentary being recorded whenever a Buddy Christ icon appears on-screen. I intensely hate watching movies with the remote in hand, so I didn't give that a spin.
The deleted scenes, extended scenes, and outtakes on disc two run literally almost as long as the feature itself. Seemingly anything committed to film has been included here in some capacity. The extended scenes are presented in their entirety, placing them in the proper context, and darn near everything is introduced by Smith, Pereira, and whoever else happens to be around. The majority of these have that rough, MPEG-1 look to it, and needless to say, they aren't anamorphic. A lot of what was cut is really superfluous, but there's some genuinely hilarious stuff mixed in here. Those View Askew fans disappointed with the lack of Star Wars references in the theatrical cut will wiggle their fingers wildly and giggle with mirth and glee during one cut scene on the train. This is, for those keeping track, my first use of the word mirth in one of my DVD reviews. I have the capability to check, and sadly, I did.
Other stuff...trailers, cast/crew bios, even more shameless plugs for "Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash", following the several hundred mentions on the commentaries...still galleries...animatics...all sorts of assorted wackiness. This is an extensive collection of supplements and could easily take an entire day to examine in its entirety.
Conclusion: Few stones were left unturned when compiling the special edition content for this 2-disc set, despite the reportedly-excellent documentary being dropped. "Dogma" is a refreshing change from the largely banal sorts of 'comedies' flooding theaters and store shelves, centered around close ups of genetalia and the extensive use of bodily fluids in lieu of wit. There's enough mindless humor to appeal to the sorts of Adam Sandler-worshippers who think ejaculate is inherently funny, but it's blended with enough substantial comedy to balance things out. Underneath the laughter is a well-crafted, intelligent story that, despite dragging on occasion, is absolutely worth viewing. The extensive supplements add an enormous amount of replay value. Though the movie itself falls short of deserving the coveted "DVD Talk Collectors' Series" rating, "Dogma: Special Edition" comes very highly recommended.
In "Dogma", two angels (played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) banished to Earth find a loophole to re-enter Heaven in the form of a campaign to rejuvenate interest in the Catholic Church. A minor consequence? God is infallible, and since a loophole would prove Him incorrect, existence would be obliterated. The Voice of God (Alan Rickman) turns to Bethany, a Catholic with little in the way of faith who, unbeknownst to her, also happens to be the Last Scion. Bethany's mission, should she choose to accept it, is to keep Loki and Bartleby from entering a church in New Jersey and, as a result, bringing about the end of all life. Helping her on her trek from Illinois to New Jersey are two prophets, Jay and Silent Bob, and Rufus, the long-forgotten thirteenth apostle. Of course, there are other dark forces at work as well...
My expectations were for a funny movie making frequent snide remarks about religion. "Dogma" turned out to be more intelligent than I anticipated, as well as more reverant towards its source material. There's very little religion-bashing going on, and "Dogma" even provoked some mild internal debate. It's definitely the sort of film that'll inspire discussion afterwards...at least, if you're unlike me and actually talk to other people. The intelligence, religion, and humor are balanced rather well, never seeming to veer too far in any one direction, which might be surprising considering that "Dogma" does, after all, prominently feature an excrement demon. It might not be humorous enough for comedy completists, and those interest in the film's religious aspects may be turned off by the language and some imagery, but I was pleased with the end result. I'm not as enthusiastic about "Dogma" as I thought I was going to be, but this is a film worth seeing and talking about, and the quantity and quality of the extras give this set the sort of added quality that warrants shelf space.
Video: The 2.35:1 anamorphic image is sure to surprise those fans who associate Smith with his grainier and more static 16mm works. The vibrant colors leap off the screen, and black levels and shadow delineation is without equal. Detail infrequently seems to drop off, though to such a small degree that it barely notes a mention. There's not a print flaw to be found in this crisp, gorgeous image.
Audio: "Dogma" may have substantially higher production values than "Chasing Amy", but at its heart, it is still a film driven primarily by dialogue. Accordingly, the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is heavily geared towards the front, with rare but highly effective surround effects. The enveloping score roars from every speaker, but not at the expense of the always-discernable dialogue. This isn't a dynamic, bombastic 6-channel mix, but it suits "Dogma" well. Included but unreviewed are English and Spanish stereo surround soundtracks.
Supplements: Yikes. I can't recall the last time I spent this many hours with a DVD release in such a short period of time. I'm assuming anyone who reads these reviews would also frequent the forum at DVD Talk, and as a result, it's a safe bet that you already know about the controversial documentary being knocked off this set. There are countless posts about it at DVD Talk that could cover this issue far better than I ever could, so I'll defer to the fine folks there. As for what is on the disc...
There are a pair of commentary tracks, one in the traditional View Askew style and the other taking a more technical, serious approach. The first has Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Jasons Lee and Mews, Scott Mosier, and Vincent Pereira cracking wise for two hours straight, and although it occasionally gets a little incoherent with six people in the recording booth at once, the track offers nearly as many laughs as the feature itself and will undoubtedly hold up well to repeat listens. The actor-less second commentary is far more technical in nature than its hilarious but largely uninformative bastard cousin. Back when I was in college and spent a hefty portion of my free hours sitting around aimlessly, watching far too many DVD commentaries, I found myself enthralled by technical notes and how specific shots were performed. Now that I'm a programmer in the relentlessly-cruel real world, I have to plead guilty and say that I find myself greatly preferring the more informal, hysterical variety. For that, I'm sorry. You can also supposedly view clips of the commentary being recorded whenever a Buddy Christ icon appears on-screen. I intensely hate watching movies with the remote in hand, so I didn't give that a spin.
The deleted scenes, extended scenes, and outtakes on disc two run literally almost as long as the feature itself. Seemingly anything committed to film has been included here in some capacity. The extended scenes are presented in their entirety, placing them in the proper context, and darn near everything is introduced by Smith, Pereira, and whoever else happens to be around. The majority of these have that rough, MPEG-1 look to it, and needless to say, they aren't anamorphic. A lot of what was cut is really superfluous, but there's some genuinely hilarious stuff mixed in here. Those View Askew fans disappointed with the lack of Star Wars references in the theatrical cut will wiggle their fingers wildly and giggle with mirth and glee during one cut scene on the train. This is, for those keeping track, my first use of the word mirth in one of my DVD reviews. I have the capability to check, and sadly, I did.
Other stuff...trailers, cast/crew bios, even more shameless plugs for "Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash", following the several hundred mentions on the commentaries...still galleries...animatics...all sorts of assorted wackiness. This is an extensive collection of supplements and could easily take an entire day to examine in its entirety.
Conclusion: Few stones were left unturned when compiling the special edition content for this 2-disc set, despite the reportedly-excellent documentary being dropped. "Dogma" is a refreshing change from the largely banal sorts of 'comedies' flooding theaters and store shelves, centered around close ups of genetalia and the extensive use of bodily fluids in lieu of wit. There's enough mindless humor to appeal to the sorts of Adam Sandler-worshippers who think ejaculate is inherently funny, but it's blended with enough substantial comedy to balance things out. Underneath the laughter is a well-crafted, intelligent story that, despite dragging on occasion, is absolutely worth viewing. The extensive supplements add an enormous amount of replay value. Though the movie itself falls short of deserving the coveted "DVD Talk Collectors' Series" rating, "Dogma: Special Edition" comes very highly recommended.
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