• When asked a question about the way cool new Fight Club DVD (A great DVD and a fantastic flick, see it), Vincent dropped some big details on the upcoming Dogma Special Edition DVD. Check it out!

• Dogma hits shelves nationwide on VHS and DVD today. Remember, the DVD is just the bare bones version, which you can buy for about $15 at most discount and web retail shops. A Special Edition DVD set is due this Fall. The VHS tape is available FOR RENT ONLY, if you want to purchase it, it’ll cost you over $100. Most tapes arrive at a “sellthrough” price a few months after they are released, but no such date has been announced for Dogma at this time. There are no plans to release a Special Edition on VHS.

So, what are you waiting for??? Get out there and rent Dogma! Let’s see how high that sucker can get on the video rental charts! And, as a reminder, now that you can have a copy at home, you can safely play our Dogma Drinking Game. Just be careful!

• Kevin reported today that he’s made a way cool change to the proposed Vulgarthon 2000 lineup this October! Seems now that lucky attendees will get a chance to see the Cannes version of Dogma, which runs about 15 minutes longer. This event just gets cooler and cooler. Here’s Kevin:

• Thanks to our good friends at Columbia/Tristar, we were fed-exed review copies of the Dogma DVD! So, we’re proud to present an early look at this disc. Remember, this one will pale in comparison to the massive special edition that they’re preparing right now for this Fall, but all in all, if you just want to watch a damn good movie, this disc is certainly a worthy purchase. Check out our detailed review, menu screens, and cover art of the Dogma DVD here. The disc streets on May 2nd, one week from today.

• The Independent Spirit Awards aired on IFC and Bravo yesterday. Unfortunately Dogma, which was up for Best Original Screenplay, was edged out by “Election”. Election is a well-written flick, but we can’t help but think Dogma’s writing was quite better. But then again, we may be biased. Still, damn shame. Election also took the awards for best picture and director, so there were obviously some huge fans of the flick amongst the voters. That sort of explains why Dogma lost the screenplay nod.

Jason Lee was on hand to present the “Blair Witch Project” with the award for best movie under $500,000. Also, in a montage of movies honored in the awards, they showed the “Salsa Shark” clip of Clerks. That’s about all that happened Askew-related at this year’s show.

While we’re on the topic, in case ya didn’t see it, IFC does have an interview with Kevin online HERE.

• Kevin sent us the official press release on the Dogma VHS/DVD May release today, and we’ve also got a scan of the ad they’re running in the trades. Keep in mind this is the movie/trailer only release, but it WILL feature 5.1 Dolby Digital sound and a brand new 16:9 transfer, which is excellent news. Here’s the full text of the press release.

“THUMBS UP!
Roger Ebert – Roger Ebert at the Movies

“MERCILESSLY FUNNY…EXHILARATING, AUDACIOUS AND WILDLY IRREVERENT”
Janet Maslin – New York Times

A NEW COMIC FANTASY FROM THE DIRECTOR OF “CLERKS” AND “CHASING AMY”

FAITH IS A FUNNY THING

COMES TO VIDEOCASSETTE AND DVD MAY 2, 2000

(Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Alan Rickman, Jason Lee and Jason Mewes
( $30 Million Box-Office)
( Day/Date VHS and DVD Release)

DVD EXCLUSIVE ELEMENTS INCLUDE:

(Talent Files (Kevin Smith (Director), Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Linda Fiorentino, Jason Lee and Jason Mewes

Culver City, CA (02/28/00) – On May 2, 2000 Columbia TriStar Home Video will release DOGMA on DVD and videocassette. From director Kevin Smith (Clerks and Chasing Amy), DOGMA tells the story of two banished angels who find a loophole to get back into heaven, but must destroy humankind in the process. The film features an all-star cast which includes Matt Damon (The Talented Mr. Ripley), Ben Affleck (Shakespeare in Love), Chris Rock (Lethal Weapon 4), Salma Hayek (Wild Wild West), Linda Fiorentino (Men in Black) and Alan Rickman (Galaxy Quest).

SYNOPSIS – One of the most talked about movies of the year is also one of the funniest! In this hilarious comic fantasy from writer/director Kevin Smith, two banished angels (Damon and Affleck) find a loophole that would get them back into heaven. The only snag? They’ll be destroying existence in the process. In an effort to stop them, the overworked voice of God (Rickman), taps cynical mortal Bethany (Fiorentino), to save the world by preventing the angels from reaching their unholy destination, New Jersey. Throw in two unlikely prophets (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), the quick-witted, yet little-known thirteenth apostle (Rock) and a sexy, former muse with a case of writer’s block (Hayek) and you’ve got an hysterical and thrilling race against time.

Rated R
Color
Feature: 128 Minutes
DSS
Closed-Captioned

DVD SPECS

Format: Fullscreen and Widescreen (Enhanced for 16×9 TVs)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby 2-Channel
Languages: English, Spanish and French
Subtitles: English, Spanish and French
Suggested List Price: $24.95
DVD #04891
UPC #0-43396-04891-1

TRADE INFORMATION
Order Date: April 11, 2000 (VHS)
April 4, 2000 (DVD)

• Here’s something we bet you didn’t expect…That’s right…Word comes down from above that the Dogma DVD coming out on May 2nd will be JUST the flick and the trailer, day and date with the VHS release. The second version, the SPECIAL EDITION, the DVD to end all DVDs, will street sometime in October. Vincent Pereira is working very closely with JM Kenny (The same team-up that brought us that groundbreaking Mallrats disc) in putting together a massive super special-edition Dogma DVD that’s going to contain more content than you can believe. Plans are still to include all of the deleted material, though we’re sure the guys have a lot more surprises (kinda like that way cool live video during the Rats commentary). Already in the planning phases is another way cool documentary, this time focusing on the controversy surrounding the flick.

Oh, and speaking of commentary, it’s being recorded for the special edition THIS WEEKEND! Kevin will be hanging out with Affleck at his SNL gig this weekend, and after that, he and Kevin will meet up with Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Vincent Pereira, Scott Mosier, and possibly even Chris Rock (if he can get away from shooting his latest flick in Toronto) for what we’re sure will be another fun and informative track.

So, in summary, that’s TWO DVD releases for Dogma: The planned May 2nd release with just flick and trailer, and the super special edition this fall (presumably October, though nothing has been finalized yet). You heard it here first!

• As Dogma continues to make its way around the world, it’s always interesting to take a look at some of the press and reactions that the film has in other countries and cultures. This week, we’ve been receiving quite a bit of Australian press and scoops. Take a look:

• Garth from Dark Horizons ran his review on Dogma. It’s definitely mixed between positive and negative. Read it HERE.
• Here’s an Australian website that’s got their own review, and some clips from the flick HERE.
• This Sydney website has posted a favorable review of the flick. You can read it HERE.
• Finally, Imovie has posted a summary & review HERE.

In addition to all the press, we’ve gotten several reports stating that the flick is being received quite well, with lots of laughter, applause, and full audiences. Glad to hear it.

By the way, Dogma is also hitting a couple more foreign markets this month — It’s been announced that the flick premieres in Spain next Friday, February 11th. Thailand’s release WAS scheduled for tomorrow, but now we hear the date may have been pushed back a couple of weeks. Press is light over there, but a source may be sending us some interesting promotional material soon. Stay tuned.

• The most popular subject in e-mails to this site continues to be the flicks on DVD. Well, we know Dogma and Chasing Amy will come out sometime this year (though Amy’s original release of May seems a bit questionable now that Criterion doesn’t have it officially on the schedule). But what about the details? Well, several sites have speculated over who, what, where and when this Dogma DVD is going to surface. Here’s what we know, at least, last time we talked about it:

• The disc is going to street on May 2, 2000.
• Several websites are already taking preorders for the flick. Reel.Com has it for $14.99, which seems to be the lowest price going. If you want to wait until release, the Stash will likely sell signed copies.
• The disc will have Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio and be 16:9 enhanced (for widescreen TVs).
• The disc will contain a commentary track, though those speaking on it have yet to be announced. We’d say to expect at LEAST Kevin, Mewes, Vincent, & Scott, and more than likely a LOT more of the flick’s cast.
• Over an hour of deleted material is planned for inclusion, more than the packed Mallrats disc, even. This should include all of the famous sequences you’ve read about and heard about. The flick originally ran well over 3 hours long and was released at 2 hours and change.
• Vincent speculated that the disc MAY use branching technology to allow the Sundance version of the film to be watched in addition to the theatrical version. Sundance’s version did not have ALL the aforementioned deleted stuff, but ran about 20 minutes longer. Chances of this are slim due to the timeframe to put something like that together, but it may happen.

Other items, such as a possible documentary (wouldn’t that be sweet?), stills, and the like have yet to be announced, but we can tell you this – Dogma’s going to be a tough DVD to beat. In fact, we think it’ll be the best disc released this year, if not ever. And with just 3 months to go, you better start saving your pennies for that DVD player!

• Garth Franklin, who runs the fantastic Dark Horizons website, dropped us a line with some great news for those of you who live in Australia:

We’d last heard a June release was on tap for the flick, but this is MUCH better, isn’t it?