Commentary with director/co-writer Todd Haynes: After watching this film, I truly expected Haynes to be one of those uber-intellectuals who has difficulty communicating with us normal folks. He's not. He does a great job of helping the layperson understand the film: How and why he made it, what it all means, how he chose the various characters, where it was filmed. This is one of those instances where the commentary most definitely makes the movie more worthwhile. Even if you weren't sure about it on first viewing, I highly recommend rewatching with Haynes' narration. You'll find yourself sucked in, if only because Haynes is such a Dylan fanatic, and in listening to him, you realize this isn't some overly intellectual exercise -- it's an exercise in passion. And that's something almost any of us can relate to.

Introduction to the film: Within this section of the DVD, there are actually four separate bonus features, all of which can be read/watched before watching the movie to arm you with a bit more knowledge and background than those who braved it at the movie theater.

First up: "What's Not There: Six Faces of Dylan" is a text intro to each of the Dylans in the film. This not only explains the basics -- "(Richard) Gere plays a secluded rancher in a frontier town full of circus folk" -- but also the inspiration for each Dylan -- "Haynes has cited photos of hipster Dylan circa 1965 as inspiration for (Heather) Ledger's character, though the bitter breakup chronicled on 'Blood on the Tracks' is in there as well."

Next up is "Tangled Up in Clues, by Ann Powers," in which Los Angeles Times pop music critic Powers dusts off her own Dylan doctorate. It's the text of a piece she wrote about the film. It's smart and literate, and might elucidate a few (or many) points you didn't piece together on your own.

"Decoding an Entertaining Enigma" is sort of a summary of the film, including descriptions of each character, which makes it a little repetitive for those who dove into the "Six Faces of Dylan" first.

Last we have "Notes on I'm Not There, by Greil Marcus," a lengthy essay from the famed music writer. It's obviously well-written and helpful, but after this much reading on a DVD, you might start to wonder when you'll actually get to watch some live action. It's pretty academic and reads somewhat like a thesis, but it probably tells you more about the film than many of the other writings on it.

View film with on-screen song lyrics: This one is completely self-explanatory. It's kind of cool, though, because even when the songs are just playing in the background, you're conscious of their lyrical subtext. It really drives home how they tie into whatever scene they're playing under.

Making I'm Not There: This 15-minute documentary features Haynes and most of the principal actors. It's unique because every actor seems to have had very different reactions to everything, from the script to the acting process. Of course it's sad to see such a vibrant, thoughtful Heath Ledger here, but it's also wonderful that he wasn't left out to spare us. Cate Blanchett is another real highlight here. She's witty and smart, not to mention her performance earned her an Oscar nomination, so it's fun to hear how she got to that place as an actor. This goes through the Dylans actor-by-actor, which is a great way to illustrate how the movie was made. In some ways it's easier to make sense of the chronology of Dylan's life this way -- each character represented a different Dylan era -- because in the film, the story is not quite as linear.

Director Q&A: This is a standard 25 minute Q&A with Haynes. It has its moments, but it does cover some of the same ground we've already heard. The production is also sort of strange -- this disembodied, unidentified voice asking Haynes questions -- but whoever she is, she asks some good questions you might have wondered about yourself watching the movie.

Trailer gallery: Three trailers from the film: The two theatrical trailers and the "Unreleased Flash Card Trailer (Subterranean Homesick Blues)," which is really cool. It's a number of different trailers of the various cast members (one of each cast member and two -- a long version and short version -- with the whole cast) doing flash cards of the song's lyrics a la Dylan's original "Subterranean Homesick Blues" video. It's a can't-miss homage. If you watch no other special feature on this set, at least get a glimpse of the long, full-cast version.

From the Edit Room: This includes audition tapes (Marcus Carl Franklin's and Ben Whishaw's), deleted/alternate/extended scenes, outtakes (entertaining, but definitely more subdued than most outtakes you might be used to -- and I could have lived without seeing the tarantula again), and a tribute to Heath Ledger. This was the first DVD featuring the actor that was released since his death, and it's lovely and poignant. Short and sweet, set to Dylan's "Tomorrow is a Long Time," it's the perfect way for this film to pay tribute to Ledger.

Look Back: This section of the disc includes "The Red Carpet Premiere," featuring clips and interviews of Haynes and cast at the film premiere. Pretty standard fare -- every movie has a premiere -- but it's unusual and welcome to get this on the DVD. "Making the Soundtrack" is also here. The 20-minute doc discusses how the music for the film was chosen, and describes how the film was really built around the music in a way that almost no other movie was (usually the music is added later). No big shock considering it's a Dylan biopic, but interesting nonetheless. "A Conversation With Todd Haynes" is here, too. This 40-minute "conversation" with Haynes is actually several conversations spliced together into one. It's interspersed with clips and still shots from the film and making of the film, and it's probably the best of the Haynes-centric featurettes on the DVD. Because it's edited, we only get the best questions and answers. They cut a number of different talks together as if it's all one, transitioning from one to the next nearly seamlessly. If you look away while he's talking, you'll have a hard time finding when it moves from one clip to another. Don't trust me? Try it. Did anyone nominate this thing for an editing Oscar?

Dylanography: This section is mostly facts and figures about Dylan and how he relates to this movie. The first is a New York Times Magazine article by Robert Sullivan called "This is Not a Bob Dylan Movie" and it's the longest single piece of writing I've ever read on my TV, hands down. The highlight of this section is the original one-page proposal Haynes submitted to Dylan to get his approval for the film. It obviously worked, and only Dylan really knows why, but see if you would have made the same decision if someone had submitted this proposal to you. He definitely had the film mostly mapped out before he submitted it. There are also Dylan factoids her e: A chronology, discography, filmography and biography. The filmmaker's notebook (featuring storyboards and notes) and still galleries of each character round out this section.

You don't often get this many extras on a DVD, so you're lucky when they come. You're even luckier if it's a well-made film that's left you wondering so many things. This set should answer any questions you might've had after seeing the film (I should know; I had a lot.) You literally could not ask for more from a DVD set. Even if this wasn't your favorite movie, if you're a DVD junkie, you will definitely want to take a look at this one.

One tip: If you rent this from a standard rental store (it's a Blockbuster exclusive, first of all, so good luck finding it anywhere else), you're only going to get the first disc, which includes the movie and everything in this review starting from the top through Director Q&A. Everything after that is on the second disc that you can only get by buying the two-disc set or adding the bonus features disc to your Netflix queue.

Buy It Now