Cinephiles take note: a few of the best and most shamefully overlooked films of 2007 are out this week on DVD. Don't miss Christophe Honoré's homage to the New Wave, the moving Dans Paris. Todd Haynes's I'm Not There takes on Bob Dylan in six different ways, including one of the final performances by Heath Ledger. Independent filmmaker Tom Dicillo's Delirious tells the unexpectedly charming romance between a homeless paparazzo and pop star.
1. Dans Paris (2007)
Christophe Honoré's follow-up to Ma Mere is a loving homage to the French New Wave that stays true to its own emotional core. Heartthrobs Louis Garrel (The Dreamers) and Romain Duris (Moliere, The Beat My Heart Skipped) play brothers who find themselves once again in their father's small Paris apartment.
2. I'm Not There (2 Disc Set) (2007)
With I'm Not There, his hotly anticipated follow-up to Far From Heaven, Todd Haynes attempts to find the key to Bob Dylan's life and art by unfolding the larger-than-life personality over seven distinct characters. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whinshaw, and Cate Blanchett play the legendary musician at different stages of his career -- or rather, his imagined career, with events and characters drawn as much from the songs as from Dylan's actual biography.
The 2-disc release is tricked out with outtakes, extended scenes, a making-of-the-soundtrack featurette, and a fascinating commentary track by Haynes.
3. Delirious (2007)
Tom Dicillo's criminally overlooked Delirious earned only $200,000 at the box office, but it's well worth your time. Wide-eyed Michael Pitt and cynical-as-ever Steve Buscemi star in this utterly charming look at the battle of celebrities versus paparazzi. Alison Lohman co-stars as an angel/pop star in a push-up bra. The film is a lark, a fairy tale, a tantalizing mix between John Schleslinger's much darker Midnight Cowboy and John Water's ultra sweet Pecker.
