It’s been 25 years, and Dogma is finally coming back to the big screen. Not a moment too soon. For years, this movie has been stuck in distribution hell, a legendary piece of cinema that you couldn’t find anywhere without resorting to a grainy bootleg on a hard drive. But now, it’s getting a glorious 4K restoration, a theatrical re-release in the UK and Ireland on November 7th. They’re calling it Dogma: Reesurrected, which, for a movie about fallen angels and the fate of all existence, is a pretty damn good name.
For those of you who weren’t old enough to buy a ticket in 1999 (or were still a gleam in your parents’ eye), Dogma is Kevin Smith’s magnum opus of blasphemy. It’s a road trip movie with a killer cast—Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as two banished angels who are basically the ultimate celestial frat boys. They find a loophole in Catholic dogma that could wipe out all of creation, and it’s up to an abortion clinic worker (Linda Fiorentino) to stop them. Along the way, she picks up a crew that includes a prophet, a muse, the last living relative of Jesus, and Chris Rock as the 13th apostle. Oh, and Alan Rickman as the Voice of God. And George Carlin. And Salma Hayek. It’s a cast so stacked it’s a wonder the whole thing didn’t collapse under its own weight.
But it didn’t collapse. It sparked controversy, got a big middle finger from the Catholic League, and became an instant cult classic. And honestly, that’s exactly what it deserved. Dogma isn’t just a movie about two idiots trying to get back into heaven; it’s a funny, irreverent, and surprisingly heartfelt look at faith, doubt, and belief. It’s the kind of movie that could only be made in the ’90s, and it’s a shame it’s been so hard to watch for so long.
Now, thanks to Vertigo Releasing, you can see it in all its 4K glory. Kevin Smith himself calls this restoration a “resurrection,” and he’s not wrong. It’s a chance for a whole new generation to see this classic the way it was meant to be seen: on a big screen, with a crowd of people who are laughing at the same jokes and probably getting yelled at by some old guy who thinks they’re going to hell.
So mark your calendars for November 7th. Don’t miss your chance to see God’s favorite mess back in cinemas, resurrected and ready to piss off a whole new crowd of uptight critics.
