This really got me too when I went from film to digital. I still really miss having so much range in the highlights.
Anecdotally, I heard that this is the reason why, as recently as 10 years ago, a majority of movies were shot on film: it handles highlights so well. It took a while for digital to catch up.
Oh yes, I dabbled a bit into using motion picture film stock for photography. It is fun to shoot it by the frame and not in feet, if you have a lab close to you to deal with the process.
Vision3 50D was recently(for film) introduced in 2011, and I had amazing results with it. Super smooth with very good latitude.
Then you get an analogue NOT operation when printing the negative on the enlarger. Two negative processes make a positive.
Film photography is very interesting as it combines art with optics and chemistry. Just pure magic seeing the image fade into the paper when developing.