Dogma (Australian Import) (4K UHD Review)
Director
Kevin SmithRelease Date(s)
1999 (December 10, 2025)Studio(s)
View Askew Productions/STKstudio/Lions Gate Films (Umbrella Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: A-
Review
[Editor's Note: This is a Region-Free 4K Ultra HD Australian import. You can also read Tim's thoughts on the standard Lionsgate release and the Lionsgate Limited Steelbook release.]
Though the idea for Dogma began long before Kevin Smith ever made Clerks, it was the pinnacle of his career in many ways. It was the biggest swing for the fences as far as budget, cast, and scope, and for all intents and purposes, it shaped the rest of his career since he never did anything on such a scale ever again. One of the reasons was due to the reaction of various religious factions that took the film more seriously than they should have, and in a move of true ignorance, misunderstood it without having even seen it (par for the course). As a result, there was some protesting and View Askew Productions received actual death threats. Whether this affected Kevin in such a way to where he never wanted that kind of attention ever again, or if the size of the project was too much for his ego, it was, and still is, his most ambitious work.
Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon) are two fallen angels, cast out of paradise after refusing to continue God’s work as a watcher and an angel of death, respectively. Having been banished to Wisconsin for the rest of eternity, they’re made aware of a loophole in Catholic dogma that will allow them return to Heaven. A church in Red Bank, New Jersey is celebrating its centennial through re-dedication under the direction of Cardinal Glick (George Carlin), which will give all who enter the church a morally clean slate, otherwise known as plenary indulgence. Bartleby and Loki then travel to Red Bank to do just that, not understanding that by doing so will prove God fallible and unmake existence. In order to stop them, the voice of God aka the Metatron (Alan Rickman) turns to the faith-questioning Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) for help. Aiding her are two so-called prophets, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith); the Thirteenth Apostle, Rufus (Chris Rock); and the muse Serendipity (Salma Hayek). Meanwhile, demon and former muse Azrael (Jason Lee) sends his minions the Stygian Triplets (Barret Hackney, Jared Pfennigwerth, and Kitao Sakurai) to stop Bethany from interfering with Bartleby and Loki, having dispatched God in an unknown fashion. Also among the cast are Bud Cort, Betty Aberlin, Janeane Garofalo, Bryan Johnson, Walter Flanagan, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Guinevere Turner, Dwight Ewell, Ethan Suplee, Matthew Maher, and Alanis Morissette.
Dogma is certainly one of the most interesting mainstream comic fantasy adventure films of the 1990s. There’s no way in Heaven or in Hell that a film like it would get released today to modern audiences with as much of a marketing push behind it. Even before its release, it became an albatross around the neck of Miramax Films due to the controversy surrounding it. Bob and Harvey Weinstein wound up purchasing the film and selling the distribution rights to a fledgling Lions Gate Films. It was a modest box office success, and like many other Kevin Smith productions, did exceedingly well on home video, with some even calling it his best film.
In hindsight, Dogma owes much of its existence to the independent success of Chasing Amy two years prior. Many members of the cast and crew for Dogma jumped on board to work with Kevin because of the reception to Chasing Amy, particularly Alan Rickman who wanted to work with Kevin regardless of what his next project was. Shot mostly on location in Pittsburgh, it suffered somewhat from frequent rounds of ruthless editing by Kevin and his producer Scott Mosier after screening at the Cannes Film Festival, and subsequent screenings after that. As such, an enormous amount of material wound up on the cutting room floor, and not much air was left in during conversations about the film’s plot. At a little over two hours, it feels extremely tight.
On the other hand, there are some terrific performances from all involved, including the always reliable Alan Rickman, whose scene with Bethany later in the film after she discovers her true identity is a definite highlight. This is also Jason Mewes’ comedic masterwork, becoming a mini star in the film due to how effective he is. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are also charming, as is Jason Lee, but the unsung hero of the film is Linda Fiorentino. Essentially the lead, she gives a low key contrast to the extraordinary and colorful characters surrounding her, grounding the audience in many of the film’s over-the-top moments. It’s no secret that she and Kevin didn’t fully get along during the production, with him asserting that she was feeling a bit solitary due to the amount of actors coming and going who were also working on other projects. She’s nonetheless the film’s emotional nucleus and hasn’t been given nearly enough flowers for her performance.
The other unsung aspect of Dogma is the score, composed by a pre-Lord of the Rings Howard Shore, giving the film an epic feel with a comedic and whimsy undercurrent. Speaking of whimsy, the cinematography was achieved by Robert Yeoman, known mostly for being Wes Anderson’s exclusive director of photography. Shooting the film in widescreen, he adds some much-needed depth to Kevin Smith’s canvas who, self-admittedly, was always lacking in visual prowess.
Even with all of this in its arsenal, Dogma’s most powerful muscle is its emotional depth. It’s definitely a satire, but it also explores the meaning of faith, and that having ideas instead of beliefs is more beneficial spiritually. None of this is by any means groundbreaking, but for a mainstream film, it’s unusual to see a writer and director deal with these types of issues and working through them on such an open stage. Kevin Smith had already addressed his personal hang-ups in relationships with Chasing Amy, and Dogma is just as much of an examination of where he was internally in 1999. Because of this, Dogma makes a larger impact on viewers than they might expect. Some may find the complex Catholic doctrine and extended biblical jargon difficult to discern, but with further viewings, one begins to understand what Kevin is wrestling with: that it’s okay to be faithful while also taking your faith a little less seriously.
Dogma was shot by cinematographer Robert Yeoman on Super 35mm film with Panavision Panaflex cameras and lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Umbrella Entertainment brings the film to Ultra HD for the first time in Australia with a new 4K restoration of the original camera negative, graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and authored and encoded by Fidelity in Motion to a triple-layered BD-100 disc.
Long unavailable on home video, the distribution rights to Dogma were finally rescued in recent years and now the film has been made available once again, this time on 4K Ultra HD. Needless to say, it’s a massive upgrade over the 2008 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Blu-ray release in every way. It also exceeds Lionsgate’s 25th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD release, but only in some key areas. The top of the line encoding ensures improved bitrates that sit mostly between 80 and 100Mbps at any given time. Opticals are obviously softer than the other material, as well as the CGI, but everything appears filmic and holds up a little better with a more robust encode. Grain and detail are much tighter, which is more noticeable on static backgrounds. Mild speckling is prevalent throughout, but the overall image is stable and clean with beautiful color. Umbrella’s exclusive Dolby Vision grade offers a slightly brighter experience that handles shadow detail much better. Hues are still just as bold with excellent contrast, but most viewers might not even notice some of the subtle differences. Umbrella’s presentation is the better of the two UHD presentations, but both are quite strong and should please most viewers.
Audio is included in English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Sadly, Lionsgate’s stellar Dolby Atmos experience is not included here. That said, the 5.1 track is more akin to that experience, offering some nice low end for sound effects and Howard Shore’s sweeping score. Staging is similar, though the Atmos track has obvious height to really fill out the sound stage. The stereo option is pretty flat comparatively. If the Atmos track had been included with this release, there would be no question as to which is the reigning champion.
Dogma on 4K Ultra HD is presented by Umbrella Entertainment in a Region-Free 2-Disc set with a 1080p Blu-ray in a black Amaray case and a slipcover with new artwork by Lucas Peverill. In true Umbrella Entertainment fashion, there were also a number of different site-exclusive Limited Edition bundles available at the time of release, all of which are now sold out, but included various packaging and swag options. This included a ‘Buddy Christ’ slipcover; a “stained glass” plastic slipcover; a reversible poster; 8 art cards; a “Catholicism Wow!” enamel pin collection; a t-shirt designed by Hollow Bones; and a hardback book containing new essays on the film by Matt Rogerson and Dave Lee, as well as production notes, behind the scenes photos by Kevin Smith, and hate mail. The standard Lionsgate 4K release includes a Digital code on paper insert in the package, while the Limited Edition Steelbook available directly from Lionsgate Limited includes its own artwork and slipcover, as well as the 16-page booklet Dogma: Revelations of the Easily Offended. It contains a message from Kevin Smith and re-productions of angry letters he received during the film’s release. As for the Umbrella release, the following disc-based extras are included:
DISC ONE (UHD)
- Audio Commentary with Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Scott Mosier, and Vincent Pereira
- Audio Commentary with Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, and Vincent Pereira
- Audio Commentary with Witney Siebold
DISC TWO (BD)
- Audio Commentary with Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Scott Mosier, and Vincent Pereira with Video Hijinks
- Audio Commentary with Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, and Vincent Pereira
- Audio Commentary with Witney Siebold
- Scenes from the Apocalypse: Behind the Scenes of Dogma (SD – 23:40)
- Outtakes (Upscaled SD – 13:04)
- Deleted Scenes with Introductions (SD – 16 in all – 97:00)
- Silent Dailies Footage Presented with Dogma Original Score (HD – 56:33)
- Original Cast and Crew Interviews (SD – 22:30)
- Judge Not: In Defense of Dogma (SD – 37:22)
- Jay and Silent Bob Secret Stash Spot Store Promo (SD – 1:35)
- Original PSP Introduction with Kevin Smith (Upscaled SD – 1:59)
- Dogma Q&A (HD – 18:09)
- Kevin Smith on Dogma (HD – 88:56)
- Jason Mewes on Dogma (HD – 24:10)
- No Exquisite Sin Greater: Special Makeup Effects Designer Vincent J. Guastini on Dogma (HD – 15:36)
- “My Opinion” by Mrs. Harriet Wise (SD – 2:54)
- The View Askewniverse After Dogma (HD – 14:07)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (Upscaled SD – 2:33)
- 25th Anniversary Trailer (HD – 2:01)
Two of the audio commentaries carry over from previous releases, though it should be noted that the cast commentary is not only censored, but further edits have been made to remove Kevin’s negative comments about Linda Fiorentino. For the record, the original commentary censored any mention of Miramax. Additionally, the Blu-ray features optional picture-in-picture video of the cast commentary. Exclusive to this release is an audio commentary with film critic Witney Siebold, which is mixed incorrectly as the events on screen do not reflect what he’s referencing.
Scenes from the Apocalypse features behind-the-scenes footage shot by Vincent Guastini of the special makeup effects being created and later executed on set. It’s prefaced by a Texas Chain Saw Massacre style commentary, which at this point, feels like a very hackneyed trope that needs to be retired. Next are a set of Outtakes and Deleted Scenes that, despite their quality, are more along the lines of scene extensions, with introductions by Kevin, Vincent Pereira, Jason Mewes, Scott Mosier, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, and Harley Quinn Smith (who was only a baby at the time). A collection of high quality Silent Dailies Footage is also included with the film’s score laid on top, featuring the filming of several scenes, as well as Original Cast and Crew Interviews during the film’s release with Kevin Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Ben Affleck, and Salma Hayek.
Long overdue for inclusion is Judge Not: In Defense of Dogma, a documentary that was cut from the original DVD and Blu-ray releases, but was included as an extra on the DVD release of Vulgar, directed by Kevin’s long-time friend Brian Johnson. Next is a mock commercial by Kevin and Jason Mewes for Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash comic book shop, an unused PSP Introduction to the film by Kevin and Scott, and a shorter version of a post-screening Q&A with Kevin during the film’s theatrical tour in 2025. Three newly-shot interviews follow with Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, and Vincent J. Guastini, with Kevin’s interview being the longest and most extensive. “My Opinion” by Mrs. Harriet Wise is a collection of DVD-era bumpers featuring a disapproving religious woman reprimanding us for watching the film. The View Askewniverse After Dogma is a video essay by Dave Lee. Last are the film’s Original Theatrical Trailer and 25th Anniversary Trailer.
As previously mentioned, Dogma was also released on 4K Ultra HD by Lionsgate Home Entertainment, who created their own extras package. There are many differences between the two releases, including the fact that Lionsgate’s release features a Dolby Atmos track. The following extras are included in their package, but not on Umbrella’s:
- Introduction by Kevin Smith
- Revelations: Making Dogma
- Establishing Shot with Robert Yeoman
- More Sermons from the Mount
- 25th Anniversary Teaser
- Easter Egg: How Jay Thinks Kevin Directs
- Easter Egg: How Kevin Directs
- UK Teaser Trailer
- US TV Spot
- UK TV Spots
Some of the new interview footage from Umbrella’s release was utilized by Lionsgate’s Cliff Stephenson and incorporated into the new documentary Revelations. The Lionsgate release also features longer versions of the Q&A and “My Opinion” segments. As such, both releases have their pros and cons and neither are truly definitive.
Missing from all of these releases is the animatic for the “Hosties” cereal commercial that didn’t make it into the film, which Kevin mentions in the commentary, as well as additional TV spots and footage of Kevin actually protesting the film during its release (the reporter had no idea who he was). It’s also a shame that we’ll never hear a truly uncensored version of the cast audio commentary as that seems to have been lost or discarded altogether.
Kevin Smith’s long-unavailable “love letter to God” has finally been resurrected, though it’s a toss-up as to which 4K Ultra HD release of the film is truly the one to own. The one with slightly better picture, the one with superior audio, or both for all of the various extras? One’s mileage will definitely vary, but this may be a case where owning both releases may be the way to go if you can afford it. Either way, you’re getting top notch packages of a very entertaining film that holds up beautifully. Highly recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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