Whoever wants to watch Kevin Smith’s celebrated cult classic “Dogma” will not only click through the streaming services in vain. And we’re not just talking about the subscription offers on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and the like. “Dogma” is not currently available for subscription, purchase or rental from a single VoD provider. And even for the home cinema release on DVD and Blu-ray you have to pay much more money than is usual. At Amazon, last copies of the ancient DVD are still listed for €22.90 at the time of release via another retailer, the Blu-ray is available second-hand from €79.99.
Yes, it still happens far too often that especially older, non-Hollywood films are almost not available at all. But the fact that a cult film from 1999 with Hollywood superstars like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek and Chris Rock has disappeared like this and, according to our research, hasn’t even been shown on German TV (including pay TV) for eight (!) years, is special.
And no, it has nothing to do with the fact that the comedy about two angels who are banished to earth and could destroy all existence there was denounced as “blasphemy” by some arch-conservative religious groups or that suddenly someone is getting newly enraged about the humour. No, it has to do with a man behind the film – and not director Kevin Smith. He would love to keep showing “Dogma”. But the film doesn’t belong to him, but to another man, whom not only Smith calls a “devil. “
HARVEY WEINSTEIN HAS “DOGMA” …
“Dogma” was made for producer Harvey Weinstein, who still owns home theatre rights to the film. After allegations of numerous sexual assaults including rape came to light, Weinstein was arrested in 2018 and eventually sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2020. He currently sits there (while also awaiting another trial) but continues to hold some film rights. And he seems reluctant to part with them – or only for an extraordinary price.
As Kevin Smith has now revealed to TheWrap, he tried to get the rights to “his” film – even though he felt sick at the thought of giving Weinstein money. But Weinstein only scoffed at his offer and an improved, higher one. Weinstein was asking for five million dollars, a sum Smith said he didn’t have, but which the film wasn’t even worth in today’s market with the streaming age (which is why no one else would be allowed to strike). In the meantime, Smith is no longer even sure whether Weinstein is still selling the film.
.. AND “A FILM ABOUT ANGELS SO BELONGS TO THE DEVIL “
The last thing he was told by another company was that Weinstein had told them that there was no way he was selling the film back to Smith. Smith describes the situation very clearly: “He’s holding my film hostage. My film about angels belongs to the devil himself.”
Smith also gives himself fatalistic. He has thought about what he can do, he says. There is not much, he says. He could make a public racket (which he is doing at least a little with the interview), but he doesn’t think that will help: “I don’t think this guy reads the news anymore. “
WHOEVER HAS “DOGMA” SHOULD BE HAPPY
So all this should ensure that “Dogma” has not been released on DVD and Blu-ray for many years, no streaming service offers the film and no TV station shows it after it was still broadcast at least annually from 2003 to 2014. But all the rights necessary for this probably expired at some point, as is the case with these home cinema and TV broadcasting rights, which are usually only granted for a certain period of time, and Weinstein probably demanded too high prices at some point even before his prison sentence.
Since it is not foreseeable if and when the situation will change, we can tell you: If you own “Dogma” on DVD or Blu-ray, consider yourself lucky. If you are a fan of the film, you should definitely keep your Blu-ray, DVD (or maybe even VHS?) and not discard it the next time you clean up your collection. Of course, if you do want to do that, now might be a good opportunity to get a decent price.
In the end, Smith’s going public may help a little and the situation may change. Or Weinstein may at some point run out of money for his expensive legal team and have to ask for an acceptable price. But of course it could also be that Weinstein will simply sit on the rights for years or even decades to come…
NEW FILM BY KEVIN SMITH: “CLERKS 3”
Kevin Smith, meanwhile, is back with another film that at least features a few characters from “Dogma”, since it belongs to the same universe. Clerks 3″ has just been released in the USA and Great Britain – a meta sequel to “Clerks”. However, there is no German date yet.
