Your top 5 movie trilogies of all time, and why?

[Mannahnin]

Spun off from the top 5 sci-fi films thread.

Like that one, I'm asking for "your" top 5. So you can factor in historical importance and critical reception and all that, but I want your personal preferences and biases in there too.

I'm not going to go as rules-heavy as Snarf. You can define a trilogy for yourself, but for ME, I think to qualify the subsequent installments need to have been intended as sequels to the first and second. So this rules out the "Dollars" trilogy of Eastwood movies, which Leone intended to be stand-alones. (Convenient for me, as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is probably my favorite film). I do think it's fine to include trilogies which have subsequent further installments.

Obviously there aren't all that many trilogies out there, so feel free to stretch it a little, and if you can maybe explain your rankings. Why is one better than another?

My list:
1. LotR (Extended cuts). It's not perfect. Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson took some liberties, distorted a couple of characters, and threw in a number of silly gags and suspense jumps which weren't really needed. And the Army of the Dead (Green Glowing Bees)... eh. That being said, it's unbelievably good. Way better than anyone could have expected, wonderfully cast and acted and shot, gorgeously scored. Visually stunning. Amazing production values. And for while I have my complaints about the script, they also did some amazing things using Tolkien's original words but re-placing them to fit them into the movies. Like Gandalf's iconic words to Pippin about a green country under a swift sunrise, which is taken from the books, a dream Frodo had when sleeping at Tom Bombadil's, and preserved in a moment for Ian McKellan to immortalize again with his voice. This effort helped make some original parts and changes in the movies feel like Tolkien anyway.

2. Star Wars (original 3). The Ewoks are silly, and some of Lucas' dialogue is absurd, but come on. Incredible visuals, sound, some of the greatest and most iconic film scoring of all time, beloved and memorable characters including villains for the ages, tight and suspenseful editing. Endlessly rewatchable and fun but also dramatic. For me the later movies have their charms, but in this first series Lucas was better balanced by great collaborators like Marcia Lucas and Richard Chew editing, Irvin Kirshner directing the best one, Bob Anderson's sword choreography in latter two, and actors being able to work their characters and dialogue. (HAN: "I know.")

3. Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight. Linklater and Delpy and Hawke just crush these. The opposite of a series of blockbusters, let's just have intimate conversations between two smart and beautiful (but still imperfect) people, at ground level immersed in wonderful cities, and feel a relationship develop. From infatuation to more. IIRC 7 years passed between each of these, both in the real world and in the film continuity, and they nailed it.

4. Indiana Jones (original 3). Some of the most thrilling and fun and iconic movies ever, perfectly cast and acted (except for 2), wonderfully shot, gorgeously scored. I think Temple drops the ball substantially, but it's still a fun adventure.

5. The Dead. (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead). The birth of the whole zombie genre. Wonderfully written and horrifying. Mostly great casts, too.

Also-rans include the first 3 Mad Max movies, Toy Story 1-3, Evil Dead 1-2 + Army of Darkness, Back to the Future 1-3, the Sam Raimi Spider-Man series, and maybe Austin Powers 1-3.

And Alien and Aliens and Alien 3, despite everything wrong with Alien 3. It's still better than people say. The first two are so great that maybe they should be on the list over the Dead trilogy anyway. I'll probably think so tomorrow, but for now I can't do it.

Notes:
This exercise reminded me that I still haven't watched the Three Colors, so I need to fix that. Also the original Infernal Affairs trilogy.
And Godfather 2. Argh.

Honorable mention to the first three Captain America movies, though I don't think they really count or stand on their own, being a sub-set of the MCU.
Also to the original Swedish Lisbeth Salander "Millenium Trilogy", though the TV miniseries version really fleshed it out and made it better.

I'm also eagerly waiting for the final Spider-Verse movie. The first is perfect. The second is ambitious, but needs the conclusion. If they stick the landing it'll be a heck of a contender.

 

[aco175]

Definitely LotRings and the original Star Wars. I can also give Indiana Jones' first three.

I might throw Toy Story in there.

 

[Mannahnin]

Definitely LotRings and the original Star Wars. I can also give Indiana Jones' first three.

I might throw Toy Story in there.

Any ordering? Given how few real trilogies are out there, maybe the meat of the discussion is in the ordering.

 

[Cadence]

I'll have to think about this one!

LotR would have easily been there for me at one point - but the last two times I rewatched Two Towers and Return of the King there were things in them that annoyed me more and more. I hate Faramir taking the Hobbits to Osgiliath and how the scene at Osgiliath plays out. I increasingly dislike the cartoony-ness of Legolas in some places and the army of the dead. And if I mull on it too often I want the extended cut where Legolas and Aragorn stop once in a while when running to wait for Gimli to catch up. Those are tiny things compared to what I put up in most movies, but maybe familiarity is breeding contempt. That being said, there are also tons I love about them still!

So we can cut off a longer series and take the first III and take 3 that hang together like IV-VI (or I-III or VII-IX), but now I'm wondering if there are sets of three in Bond, for example, that are meant to hang together. (Not saying I want to, but that would limit my looking around) if I can't).

---

Avoiding work: holy cow - even restricting it to just three entries exactly - there are a lot of them I hadn't though of or never heard of
List of feature film series with three entries - Wikipedia

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Trilogies... let's see (off the top of my head)-

1. The Godfather Trilogy. Given that 1 and 2 are some of the greatest films of all time, we'll cut the third one a little slack.

2. LoTR. Has to be there, as does ...

3. The Vengeance Three. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance ... as good a meditation on a subject as any set of movies has a right to be.

4. Star Wars. If you have to ask "which Star Wars trilogy," then you've gone to the Dark Side.

5. The Dollars Trilogy. Ima disagree with @Mannahnin here- these movies are a trilogy, and they're spectacular.

Honorable Mentions- Evil Dead Trilogy, Colors Trilogy (Red/White/Blue), Time of Day Trilogy (Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight), The Three Mariachis (El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon...)

 

[Clint_L]

My most perfect trilogy, in terms of having almost no notes, is Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight. I'll have to think about the others.

 

[payn]

Im gonna spend some time on my submissions so im not doing an all 5 in one post.

Probably take some heat for this but, I think the Terminator trilogy was excellent and deserving of top 5 finish. It had a few problems and peculiarities, but as for consistency and a solid landing I think its all there. The first film was a dystopian sci-fi horror story. The sequel was an action blockbuster. The third film was the crown of the trilogy that rams home the message of fate in a Shakspearean way. All three films are executed well, had good casting, and mostly good writing (T2 is the shakiest, folks often overlook the great writing in T3 which ill cover next.)

Why do folks think its not? The third film suffered alot of those problems and peculiarities. The role of John Connor was recast, Arnold being the terminator again again, and the villain terminator escalation problem. That last problem being that T2 upped the ante on how scary a terminator can be as a foe. Ever since then the franchise has been trying to double down on this concept to its detriment. Finally, the third film was trying so hard to replicate the action of the sequel, that it clouded its overall story and just ended up appearing derivative. If they had shifted the style of the third film to something more dramatic, I think they could have pulled off a historical feat in trilogy film.

Additionally, some folks really liked Dark Fate, however I actually rather loathed it. Mostly because it undoes the original trilogy and its message is that the fated roles of the original characters was just a joke all this time and anybody can do anything. I think T3 had shown that there was plenty of room for Terminator franchise heroes to sit right along with John Connor without just wiping him out. Consider me a sucker for the classics and Gilliam knew what he was doing with time travel fate stories with a film named 12 Monkeys.

 

[payn]

Trilogies... let's see (off the top of my head)-

1. The Godfather Trilogy. Given that 1 and 2 are some of the greatest films of all time, we'll cut the third one a little slack.

There is a lot of good stuff in the third GF film, but its often overlooked by the bad (which was in good supply). I think the first film is a bit overrated. Its got some flaws that folks often overlook, especially in the shadow of GF2. Though an excellent choice for a top 5 franchise.

3. The Vengeance Three. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance ... as good a meditation on a subject as any set of movies has a right to be.

Uh oh, doesn't this violate @Mannahnin's must be connected rule? Who are we kidding, to hell with that rule if it gives us the Vengeance trilogy!

5. The Dollars Trilogy. Ima disagree with @Mannahnin here- these movies are a trilogy, and they're spectacular.

I mean, yes absoltuely. If you are not going to do a bunch of rules for this, why do a single one that rules out some of the best trilogies???

 

[The Soloist]

[Place Holder for the Villeneuve Dune Trilogy]

 

[Lidgar]

It's hard to find a "perfect" trilogy. There's almost always a weak film among the three. This list is ranked based on my overall enjoyment - so I placed the trilogies that had a had a weaker entry (IMO) toward the bottom (looking at you, Godfather).

1. LotR. 'nuff said.
2. The "Dollars" films. These were just so impactful to a youth that was really into Boot Hill at the time. They still hold up today.
3. Toy Story 1-3. Between the innovation in animation to the writing and voice acting, each one is a banger.
4. Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Rises. A great arc of a troubled hero.
5. Godfather I/II/III. Can I just watch I and II?

Funny that Star Wars didn't make the list. It really should be there, but RotJ is not as strong as the other two IMO.
EDIT: Same goes for the Indiana Jones Trilogy. Love the first and third, can skip the second.

Also, Star Trek II-IV should be there, if nothing else but for the unforgettable lines...