I was watching one of my favorite movies on DVD last night, The English Patient. While watching I asked myself why it is my favorite movie or more interestingly what makes great movies and is there anything we can learn for product marketing too?

To make the answer more simple although less representative let's see why I like this movie. I simply assume I am not entirely different so we can derive generic clues from it - maybe.

• great story. there are two stories in this movie (in Egypt and in Italy) and they go back and forth between the two. I sort of like it as it challenges you when watching and gives an intellectual touch to it as well. I am sure literary types would be able to explain this better.
• great people. Of course in a movie it is the actors and actresses that make the difference. I am a fan of Juliette Binoche and have seen most of her films. Why do I like her? She has character, at least in her movies. Always playing very convincingly and it seems she is a down to earth person, loves natural realistic roles. I trust that what she plays is also what she thinks. Maybe I would be very disappointed if I were to meet her in real life and if she were not as she acts, but we are talking about movies now. Also Ralph Fiennes and the great Kristin Scott Thomas or the authentic William Dafoe are great. All immersed into their roles with their full heart.
• flying scenes. I am a private pilot myself or at least was one when still living and working in Silicon Valley. The flight scenes in the movie over the dessert get me dreaming of experiencing this beauty myself. I am sure it is part of the reason why I like this movie.
• good entertainment. Love story, adventure, wartime, betrayal, jealousy, gorgeous landscapes, mystery (some), excitement (looking for land mines or looking at great art in a chapel in dark), revenge, English decadence during colonial times, caring for the weak and injured, loneliness, cruelty, men society, danger, fun, technical competency (an Indian guy looking for land mines), personal tragedy, ancient art, sexuality, friendship, natural challenges (sandstorm in the dessert), great story telling, foreign cultures, sexual desire and fascination, guilty conscience, action, bad guys, spies, loyalty, ... (this list I wrote down while watching the movie )
• intellectual challenge: in between, the conversations have good content and one has to concentrate to be able to follow or at least to understand the nuances.
• foreign cultures. It plays in Egypt. Arabic countries have a certain mystery and attraction to me, I admit. Not that I know much at all about them, but I feel I will engage more and try to better understand them.

So I guess with the above list one could assemble a list of required attributes for good product marketing. At the least it was interesting for me to see if it is possible maybe.