At first blush, the idea of Darren Aronofsky directing a Biblical epic seems silly. The talented filmmaker – best known for “Black Swan,” “The Wrestler” and “The Fountain” – cut his teeth on independent cinema. Even his hits live outside the mainstream, so a big-budget Bible story is the last thing many film lovers would have expected. That just proves that no one should judge an artist by his back catalogue. 

Writer-director Kevin Smith’s latest project has probably attracted more attention due to Smith’s pre-release antics than for the movie itself. Leading up to the Sundance film festival, the filmmaker promised to sell “Red State” in an auction at a special festival event. Then, at that event, he announced that he was purchasing the movie for self-distribution. This created controversy in the industry, and the film ultimately received an extremely limited theatrical release before becoming an on-demand option Sept. 1. This week, “Red State” is getting a wider rollout on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download.