While the Catholic Church many times tries to stay outside of popular media, many times they have also tried to recoup a bit of the spotlight as was done back in 1995, when during the 100th anniversary of motion pictures, the Catholic Church decided to announce their list of the 45  ’great films’ which they conveniently broke up into three categories: Religion,Values and Art.  Some of the films put on the list include: The Seventh Seal, Ben Hur, Nosferatu, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Ghandi. 

You can also access the full list of the 45 films HERE

Some of the films in the past that have been boycotted by the Catholic Church include: The DaVinci Code (for ‘slanderous’ offenses against Catholicism), The Golden Compass ( due to its ‘atheist agenda’ ) and The Last Temptation of Christ Christ (for being “historically false”). Now aside from the actual boycotts from the Vatican itself there are even those in The Catholic League who try to boycott everything under the sun from such films as Priest and Dogma to that of Rosie O’Donnell herself ( we can only assume the distaste for O’Donnel resulted from the film Last Exit to Eden.)

With the films mentioned do you think an actual boycotting of the film will do more good than harm? Check out the box office count for the boycotted films.

The Last Temptation of Christ-8.3 Million (only released in 123 theatres at its highest theatre count)

The Da Vinci Code- 758 Million

The Golden Compass- 372 Million.  This film is rather interesting in that there was a huge onslaught of controversy and ‘boycotting’ of the film by the catholic league discussing how unsuccessful the film was HERE,yet of course with a budget of 180 million and a worldwide gross of 372 million, you have to wonder who is really to blame for the films success. The boycott or the actual popularity of the film.

Now I certainly am not against the practices the church and its subsidiaries attempt to do with the films.  I just wonder if all the negative word on the films will in the end come back and make the film even more money in the end regardless on the films actual merits.  As they say in the end, all press is in fact good press.

Don’t forget The Catholic League once tried to boycott Miller Beer, so a little perspective must be taken when film boycotts such as these have take place.

Jon: For me, “Dogma” ranks at the bottom of the Kevin Smith directed films and not because it’s bad either. I know that sounds like I’m going to rip on it, but us fan boys love to rank things, so when I say it’s at the bottom of his filmography, that’s like saying “Kundun” is one of the lesser Martin Scorsese pictures. It doesn’t mean much because it’s still a Scorsese picture, but it’s no “Raging Bull”. So while I like “Dogma”, as it’s still funnier than most so-called comedies, its no “Chasing Amy”.

It’s a unique film for sure, dealing with Catholic traditions and practices. For all of the (unnecessary) flack Smith gets for his flat camera work, “Dogma” is more like an action picture. There’s stuff going on everywhere, it’s a visual feast, especially for a comedy, a new direction Smith is taking. Humor is still here, obviously and my two favorite lines are:

Jay (standing outside of an abortion clinic): 

Bethany: “Wait a second you knew Jesus?”

Rufus:  “Knew him? Shit…nigga owes me 12 bucks!”

For me, it’s the fact that Smith tackles religion in a way, in which he doesn’t just use it as a punching bag, but instead uses it to look at it satirically. Of course, the Church came down hard on this film, but it’s not like Smith is attacking Christianity because he despises it, in fact he’s curious about it. You just can’t talk religion or question it, but we all do. He definitely over-plots it, so don’t be afraid to roll with it since it might be hard to understand. I liked it, but I’m hardly in the mood for “Dogma”. You might ask does the questioning of religion bother you. No, I like to question religion, not because I’m an atheist, I was raised a Catholic, it’s mostly because it feels so much unlike “Clerks”, “Chasing Amy” which is good and bad. What are your feeling on “Dogma”, Donny?

Donny:  “Dogma” for me was a a nice departure from the flicks that most of his fans, myself included were expecting to see from him.  I was expecting more potty humor, which “Dogma” offers up aplenty, only the ideas presented here almost cancel out the filthy dialogue.  When I first saw “Dogma” I hadn’t set foot in a church in years, but seeing the characters talk openly about belief, and questioning that belief took me back to a time when I went to church.  It reminded me of the problems that I have with my own faith, and reminded me of the reasons I don’t attend anymore.  Sure the flick questions belief, but it never questions the existence of God, it merely asks if we (meaning anyone that believes) might take him (or her) more seriously than he (or her) takes himself (or herself).  

I agree with Jon when he says it’s no “Clerks” or “Chasing Amy,” but I don’t think it has to be.  I’m happy that it wasn’t like those movies.  I think sometimes filmmakers get stuck making movies that mirror their previous movies so much that they get bored, and the films suffer because of this boredom.  I think “Dogma” took the elements of the universe that Smith created, and changed the rules.  It allowed the characters to take on roles that they normally wouldn’t tackle, and it definitely pushed the limits of where a comedy can go.  So while, like Jon, I didn’t get that same feeling in my gut that “Clerks,” and “Chasing Amy” gave me, I did enjoy the film immensely.  Maybe even more than the previous films in some ways.  “Dogma” showed me that Kevin Smith had grown as a filmmaker.  Sure, it was funny, and there was a giant poop monster in it, but he tackled a difficult subject and rocked that bitch!