In Bruges. As I left the theater I thought "Damn. My script isn't nearly that good." Then I went home and completely rewrote it to try to make it that good.

Ever since, that film has been my benchmark.

Traffic. I was in awe of it's scope, it's subject matter, it's aesthetic. It's one of the few movies I was extremely jealous of when I finished watching it.

Micheal Clayton.

Collateral and Tropic Thunder

12 Monkeys

Almost Famous.

Because it's so engaging and insightful, scene after scene and beat after beat.

I always remember that oft-quoted saying (so often quoted I don't remember who said it) that a good film has three good scenes and no bad scenes. And Almost Famous has no bad scenes and about 500 good ones.

"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool."

I almost stopped writing after watching Citizen Kane. I thought, "That was so brilliant. I could never create anything that compares."

I was depressed because I was already past my mid-twenties. The thought that Welles created his ultimate masterpiece at such a young age depressed me.

Then I pulled my head out of my butt, thought of artists who produced some of their best work at later stages in life (Eastwood, Steinbeck, Scorcese, Los Lobos), and went back to work.

Now I just choose to be inspired by Kane.

I've occasionally blogged about 'movies I wish I'd made.' One of my favorites, though pretty obscure compared with the others on this growing list, is "Ushpizin." It's an Israeli film from a few years ago.

To me, Ushpizin is the kind of small film that I aspire to make; it deals with matters of the heart, relationships, cultures, and spirituality in a way that I relate to. The characters and cultural setting (Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem) are very foreign to me, but I identified with them. I love to be drawn into a completely new world where I can also find a home with the characters and their journey.

Shakespeare in Love is probably at the top of my list also, in terms of equal parts inspiration/intimidation - and I do love that movie.

Also: Michael Clayton and Traffic.

I'd add: Groundhog Day, You Can Count on Me, As Good as it Gets, Broadcast News, Dirty Pretty Things.

Just about anything scripted by Nick Hornby who's got this sneaky, low key brilliance about characters and how they interact.

An oldie but a goodie: Bang the Drum Slowly.

And really old, but really brilliant: All About Eve

The Big Lebowski.

I expected nothing, never even heard of the Coens before. And I went out of the theater and was enlightened.
I wish I could come up with something as equally brilliant.

Although based on novels:
Fight Club and Jackie Brown.

Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds,
Inception...

there are quite a few that make me "jealous" but I don't begrudge the people who made them.

"Menilmontant" (1925, Dimitri Kirsonoff) is a film I saw in film school which made me feel that way. It was the first film I remember seeing that used Avant Garde filmmaking techniques to pull the viewer in rather than push them away. This is something I have always been inspired to do in my own films.

Here's a link to a clip with what is VERY DIFFERENT soundtrack from the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOeIqYCeVxk

I've also had the same feeling (jealous and inspired) by many other films including "It's A Wonderful Life", "Pan's Labyrinth", "Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind" and "Citizen Kane"

@B-Scene Films - be sure to check out "La Jetée" (1962, Chris Marker) - it is a film made only with stills (with one exception) and is the film upon which 12 Monkeys is based.

Brokeback Mountain; No Country for Old Men; and I know it gets a lot of haters, but Titanic.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD. The best examination of the dark side of the American character since TAXI DRIVER, a unique blend of melodrama and character study with horror film overtones that is almost Biblical in its power. IMO PT Anderson is the youngest director to make a true classic and since he's five years younger than me that's where the jealousy come in.

"Haven't we all been there: As a movie ends, sitting there in the dark, balancing those two feelings -- inspiration and jealousy."

Not lately, lawl.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI was on HBO the other night. I was struck by how effective it still is. And I can't put my finger on what makes that movie work, either.

I think that might be the problem with Hollywood film, especially of the last 10 years or so. The overwhelming majority of it is cookie-cutter.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI was shot in 1973 and is set in 1962. That alone perplexes me.

I think it captured what the 60s were like. I don't know. I wasn't there. But it matches my expectations of that time period.

Can you imagine doing the same?

A film coming out in 2011 is a nostalgic look back at a better time: the year 2000.

I can't.

I don't even know what 2000 would look like. Or if it is even different enough from 2011 to reflect nostalgically.

Kind of a tangent post on my part. But it just got me thinking about what makes good film.

From last few months, Bronson. Wow that was some ride. imdb wikipedia

Bergmann: Cries and Whispers - both when I saw the film and especially later when I read the script, which is written as long letter to his team, beginning: "Dear friends, this summer we'll go to the countryside and make a film..." The script reads more like a full treatment, with only suggestions for dialogue, but also sometimes essayistic with reflections on the story, its inspiration and what will be difficult to get across.

Shakespeare in Love - for the very same reasons as Scott and also the audacity of trying to match Shakespeare - and succeeding.

Silence of the Lambs: Ted Tally's and Demme's adaption infuse what could just had been a good thriller with several layers and truly archetypal hero-story which would have made Campbell delighted.