Best Movie Trilogy
- Thread starter Stitch
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Djinn
and Tonic
That's a little hard since at least to me trilogies tend to have a good first, a soso sequel, and a god-awful threequel.
Lord of the Rings are one of the few that really do not fall into this trap.
Toy Story is another good one
Lord of the Rings are one of the few that really do not fall into this trap.
Toy Story is another good one
Justac00lguy
BooBoo
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Lord of the Rings hands down.
No movie trilogy will ever have the source material behind is such as Tolkien's fantasy world. The books and history far beyond the Lord of the Rings is incredibly deep. It gives the Lord of the Rings much more than just a story contained in a made up world. Each place has a meaning and a background behind it, names may refer to past characters who did great deeds, references aren't just blind but have full stories behind them. Tolkien gave Lord of the Rings a rich mythology, which served as the history for his own languages. No series (book or film) will probably ever take the time to accomplish something as incredibly detailed as this ever again.
Of course some of the credit has to go to Peter Jackson and whoever helped on the movie side of things. They brought the book to life and made nearly everyone a Lord of the Rings fan it seems. I'd have never been introduced to the world if it wasn't for the movies and I've been a fan for as long as I can remember. Since watching the Fellowship when it first released on DVD to now where I'm reading all of the Middle Earth books. I'm thankful for the movies to introducing me to some of the greatest written works ever. Enough about the books though, the movies will always hold a special place in my heart. I make sure to marathon them at least twice a year and it will always take me back to when I was 8 years old pretending to go off an adventures, lol. They serve as great nostalgia, but still they hold up a decade and more later. Amazing cast, beautiful soundtrack, gripping action, stunning visuals, an intense story, moments of happiness and sadness, it had it all. This series, no doubt, will be the one people look back on in a century's time and still talk about. Truly a modern masterpiece.
No movie trilogy will ever have the source material behind is such as Tolkien's fantasy world. The books and history far beyond the Lord of the Rings is incredibly deep. It gives the Lord of the Rings much more than just a story contained in a made up world. Each place has a meaning and a background behind it, names may refer to past characters who did great deeds, references aren't just blind but have full stories behind them. Tolkien gave Lord of the Rings a rich mythology, which served as the history for his own languages. No series (book or film) will probably ever take the time to accomplish something as incredibly detailed as this ever again.
Of course some of the credit has to go to Peter Jackson and whoever helped on the movie side of things. They brought the book to life and made nearly everyone a Lord of the Rings fan it seems. I'd have never been introduced to the world if it wasn't for the movies and I've been a fan for as long as I can remember. Since watching the Fellowship when it first released on DVD to now where I'm reading all of the Middle Earth books. I'm thankful for the movies to introducing me to some of the greatest written works ever. Enough about the books though, the movies will always hold a special place in my heart. I make sure to marathon them at least twice a year and it will always take me back to when I was 8 years old pretending to go off an adventures, lol. They serve as great nostalgia, but still they hold up a decade and more later. Amazing cast, beautiful soundtrack, gripping action, stunning visuals, an intense story, moments of happiness and sadness, it had it all. This series, no doubt, will be the one people look back on in a century's time and still talk about. Truly a modern masterpiece.
This is kind of difficult. And Djinn's right. Usually with trilogies, the quality seems to vary wildly from film to film. Every time I think of a movie trilogy that I like, there's always one more addition to the series that was made years later than the others making it a trilogy no more. I'm not sure I can make a call on the best one out there, but there are a few that I think are definitely up there. I'm not really a high fantasy fan so I guess I'll be bucking the Lord of the Rings trend.
To keep in line with the spirit of the thread, here is a trilogy of trilogies that I think stand above the others:
Having recently seen the Evil Dead movies, I think that these safely stand out as different from the rest. Though it does have some of the usual horror tropes like sex=death, with a total disregard for any semblance of continuity, Bruce Campbell is really great at playing into the comedic aspect of horror making it a really fun set of films to sit down and watch.
The Millennium Trilogy (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest) is an interesting thriller series and Noomi Rapace is amazing as Lisbeth Salander which is what I think makes this trilogy stand out. I don't think I've run across a character quite like her before. What I love most about this trilogy is that the subplot of the first film ends up becoming the main plot and ultimately drives the films to their climax.
Lastly, Back to the Future. Not just because yesterday was BTTF Day, but the trilogy itself is iconic. The time travel rules are simple and the amount of 80's-ness that oozes from the first two adds to its charm. The Western themed third would have been really left-field had Doc not mentioned the West a few times in the first two instalments and it gave the Part III a different tone to the others. It manages to keep the rules the same but at the same time a different setting keeps it feeling fresh.
To keep in line with the spirit of the thread, here is a trilogy of trilogies that I think stand above the others:
Having recently seen the Evil Dead movies, I think that these safely stand out as different from the rest. Though it does have some of the usual horror tropes like sex=death, with a total disregard for any semblance of continuity, Bruce Campbell is really great at playing into the comedic aspect of horror making it a really fun set of films to sit down and watch.
The Millennium Trilogy (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest) is an interesting thriller series and Noomi Rapace is amazing as Lisbeth Salander which is what I think makes this trilogy stand out. I don't think I've run across a character quite like her before. What I love most about this trilogy is that the subplot of the first film ends up becoming the main plot and ultimately drives the films to their climax.
Lastly, Back to the Future. Not just because yesterday was BTTF Day, but the trilogy itself is iconic. The time travel rules are simple and the amount of 80's-ness that oozes from the first two adds to its charm. The Western themed third would have been really left-field had Doc not mentioned the West a few times in the first two instalments and it gave the Part III a different tone to the others. It manages to keep the rules the same but at the same time a different setting keeps it feeling fresh.
Without a doubt LOTR. The trilogy was amazing. It had some flaws yes but they were very minor. The trilogy had everything. They kept you going on and on. It was not only a big project for Peter Jackson but there was so much material to work with and so many things to add to this amazing story. No other trilogy could even stand in the shadow of it in my opinion.
My two favorite "trilogies" have always been the original Star Wars trilogy and the Indiana Jones trilogy. I think it's fair to include Star Wars since the two currently existing trilogies are mostly distinct story arcs, but Indiana Jones threw in a fourth movie that wasn't the start of anything new. Another loosely defined trilogy that I love is the Monty Python Holy Trinity of Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and Meaning of Life. This is even less of a trilogy since there were other sketch movies released around the same time. I also want to mention Austin Powers as a trilogy I love yet is critically forgettable. I agree with everyone that the Lord of the Rings trilogy maintained a high standard throughout the three films. That is something that trilogies like Dark Knight and Godfather can't claim. However, if I am picking a single trilogy of films to watch, I will pick Episodes IV through VI of Star Wars. I'm not remotely a film buff so I'm not saying they are better than Lord of the Rings, but Star Wars is definitely my favorite.
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Garo
Boy Wonder
Either Three Flavours Cornetto (Edgar Wright's trilogy of English genre comedies Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End) or the trilogy from which it took its name, Kieslowski's Three Colors (consisting of his final three films, Three Colors: Blue, Three Colors: White, and Three Colors: Red.)
Cornetto is where my heart tends to lie because at the end of the day, I'm a fan of genre film first and foremost. Its rhythms and its tropes are like a well tuned drum beating constantly in the back of my mind while I'm watching a genre film; it's very pleasant to see a director playing the genre conventions and using them to create something really unique. Using zombies as a catalyst for breaking a slowly aging man out of a suburban rut is inspired. Using action tropes and a vague murder mystery plot to satirize the insanity of suburban groupthink still blows my mind. And using an alien invasion to mask a deeply affecting portrait of alcoholism and self-doubt is still one of the most insidious ways a movie has ever given me an existential crisis.
Three Colors is up there almost entirely because Kieslowski was my first real introduction to art film. It was the first trilogy that really let me see the strength of the format and the possibilities it offered beyond a single story being told in three parts (which is what most trilogies are; Star Wars, bless it, barely feels like a trilogy because Empire and Jedi are ever so slightly out of step with the original film, a byproduct of being afterthoughts made after the wild success of the first rather than conceived as part of the initial vision). Seeing how each film fit into Kieslowski's overall inversion of standard structures, playing jump rope with expectations of comedy, romance, and traditional drama, is one of the things that made me fall in love with art film. After Kieslowski came Tarkovsky and Kiarostami and Vertov and Vinterberg and Park Chan-wook and Wong Kar-Wai and Weerasethakul and all these wonderful wonderful directors that I would never have been exposed to were it not for Kieslowski's brilliant work. He blew the doors wide open for me, and I will always love these films for that.
Honorable mention to Richard Linklater's Before trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight) for being deeply affecting portraits of relationships over vast stretches of time. They've arguably shaped how I approach human relationships over the course of my entire life.
Cornetto is where my heart tends to lie because at the end of the day, I'm a fan of genre film first and foremost. Its rhythms and its tropes are like a well tuned drum beating constantly in the back of my mind while I'm watching a genre film; it's very pleasant to see a director playing the genre conventions and using them to create something really unique. Using zombies as a catalyst for breaking a slowly aging man out of a suburban rut is inspired. Using action tropes and a vague murder mystery plot to satirize the insanity of suburban groupthink still blows my mind. And using an alien invasion to mask a deeply affecting portrait of alcoholism and self-doubt is still one of the most insidious ways a movie has ever given me an existential crisis.
Three Colors is up there almost entirely because Kieslowski was my first real introduction to art film. It was the first trilogy that really let me see the strength of the format and the possibilities it offered beyond a single story being told in three parts (which is what most trilogies are; Star Wars, bless it, barely feels like a trilogy because Empire and Jedi are ever so slightly out of step with the original film, a byproduct of being afterthoughts made after the wild success of the first rather than conceived as part of the initial vision). Seeing how each film fit into Kieslowski's overall inversion of standard structures, playing jump rope with expectations of comedy, romance, and traditional drama, is one of the things that made me fall in love with art film. After Kieslowski came Tarkovsky and Kiarostami and Vertov and Vinterberg and Park Chan-wook and Wong Kar-Wai and Weerasethakul and all these wonderful wonderful directors that I would never have been exposed to were it not for Kieslowski's brilliant work. He blew the doors wide open for me, and I will always love these films for that.
Honorable mention to Richard Linklater's Before trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight) for being deeply affecting portraits of relationships over vast stretches of time. They've arguably shaped how I approach human relationships over the course of my entire life.
The Lord of The Rings Trilogy. For me the orginal Star Wars Trilogy is pretty close, by orginal I mean episodes 4, 5, and 6.
HeroOfTime
Challenger Approaching!
Lord of the Rings. Indiana Jones comes in very close, but I love the fantasy-medieval theme that JRR Tolkien created.
