Taglines: Get ‘touched’ by an angel.
Dogma movie storyline. The latest battle in the eternal war between Good and Evil has come to New Jersey in the late, late 20th Century. In what can only be deemed a comedy parable, two renegade fallen angels attempt to jerry-rig the entire cosmological system — unless a rag-tag group of humans can stop faith. Bethany, the heroine of Dogma, is a woman who feels her prayers haven’t been answered when, out of nowhere, a heralding angel appears in her bedroom and declares her the potential savior of humanity.
This abrupt meeting sets her off on an extraordinary journey of mystery, comedy and suspense as she is transported to a fantastical world of celestial characters and spirited adventure. Along the way she will meet up with a heaven-sent messenger, an apostle with a 2,000 year old beef, a hotheaded demon, a heavenly Muse and two unlikely Prophets known as Jay and Silent Bob as they each discover the power of their own individual faith.
Dogma is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film, written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also stars along with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Bud Cort, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo, Alanis Morissette, 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.
About the Production
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 and thus undo 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.
Smith and his production partner Scott 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.
Principal Photography took place from April 1998 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) 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—now vacant—in East Liberty.
The soundtrack album accompanying the film was released in the United States on November 2, 1999, by Warner Bros. 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”.
Dogma was 1999’s 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.
Dogma (1999)
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Janeane Garofalo, Marie Elena O’Brien, Lesley Braden
Screenplay by: Kevin Smith
Production Design by: Robert Holtzman
Cinematography by: Robert D. Yeoman
Film Editing by: Scott Mosier, Kevin Smith
Costume Design by: Abigail Murray
Set Decoration by: Diana Stoughton
Art Direction by: Elise G. Viola
Music by: Howard Shore
MPAA Rating: R for strong language including sex-related dialogue, violence, crude humor and some drug content.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: November 12, 1999
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