Greatest Film Trilogy

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Now, this year saw the release of the third Toy Story film. Each film in the series is regarded as excellent by critics and the general public. Mark Kermode, a noted film critic in this country, went as far as to say that the series is the 'greatest film trilogy of all time'. There are a lot of film trilogies out there and they range in genre from sci-fi to gangster and every genre in-between. Now my question is which is the greatest.?

My vote is:

The Man With No Name Trilogy

This is the trilogy that launched Clint Eastwood's film career and gave birth to a new era of western. This is a series of films where the good & the bad (and the ugly) all blur into one another, though the hero is never in doubt. This is a series that basically created a pop icon in Eastwood. The stories all run together to make one linear story following on and are easy enough to follow, but still delve deep within the characters. Ennio Marricone's music is also widely recognised as being phenomenal with 'The Ecstasy of Gold' and 'Pursuit' as two of the most recognisable pieces of film music ever.

That's just my opinion though, what do you think is the greatest film trilogy of all time?

 

[Smartie]

To me it's The Godfather.

Great story and great acting.Movie's structure allowed the story to continue and the first two makes my and a lot of other people's all time top 10 list.

The only problem about the trilogy is the third one which is somehow forgettable.

Honorable mention would be Lord of the Rings for me.The trilogy was great and I think none of them was too better than the others.It had a good beginning and a nice finish and great box office success.

At last , Don't forget that The Dark Knight Rises will be released in 2012 so Nolan's Batman trilogy can also be considered If the third one be as great as first two.

 

[Davi323]

How can this answer be anything other than the original Star Wars Trilogy? Not because of the storyline, but because of the impact it has had on pop culture ever since Star Wars came out in 1977. Star Wars is the single most recognizable movie franchise in the entire world, was responsible for inventing a lot of the special effects that exist today, and gave us the most over villain in cinematic history, Darth Vader. The original Trilogy has spawned a multi-billion dollar empire for George Lucas that ranges from filmmaking, including a second trilogy, TV shows, the best special effects company in the business in ILM, a highly successful gaming company in Lucasarts, books, and merchandizing. Where the real money from the movie is made. Star Wars T-shirts, action figures, toy lightsabers, etc. have been in your local Walmart or shopping mall for sale for over 30 years now.

(NOTE: based on the gap in time after Return of the Jedi and the Phantom Menace, I group the Star Wars films as two distinct, very different trilogies, rather than as 6 parts of the same story.)

This isn't about just being a Star Wars fanboy, this is about the overall cultural impact. When Family Guy does a parody of Toy Story, let me know. Star Wars is an integral part of American pop culture, a cultural phenomenon.

I love Toy Story, Back To The Future, the Godfather, Lord of the Rings, I own all of those trilogies on DVD. I am a fan. I haven't seen all of the Eastwood flicks, so I won't comment about those...but I have watched and rewatched each of those other trilogies numerous times. I am not hating. But the cultural impact of Star Wars dwarfs everything else, so it gets my vote.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

How can this answer be anything other than the original Star Wars Trilogy? Not because of the storyline, but because of the impact it has had on pop culture ever since Star Wars came out in 1977. Star Wars is the single most recognizable movie franchise in the entire world, was responsible for inventing a lot of the special effects that exist today, and gave us the most over villain in cinematic history, Darth Vader. The original Trilogy has spawned a multi-billion dollar empire for George Lucas that ranges from filmmaking, including a second trilogy, TV shows, the best special effects company in the business in ILM, a highly successful gaming company in Lucasarts, books, and merchandizing. Where the real money from the movie is made. Star Wars T-shirts, action figures, toy lightsabers, etc. have been in your local Walmart or shopping mall for sale for over 30 years now.

I HAS to be Star Wars. As Davi said, it really is a phenomenon and is still as popular now as it ever was, and we are several generations down the line. Literally almost every type of merchandise possible has been made for Star Wars, it is worth an unbelievable amount of money.

For pure quality of film however, I would have to say LOTR trilogy is up there, its a staggering achievement of film making.

Also, honorable mentions to The Godfather and Indiana Jones (a personal fave of mine )

 

[Spidey Revivey]

The highly acclaimed Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy gets my vote. Nothing says badass more than Jack Sparrow (Captain) taking it to the pompous asses in wigs, mate. These three movies have pretty much restored my faith in movie making, a time where Romantic Comedies were vastly being overdone, here came The Black Pearl and a whole new reason to love the antihero. The music is memorable, the acting will stand out for years to come, and just the overall storylines going into them were fresh and on-par to our viewing needs. Pirates were made fun of a lot before this movie came out. And then lots of people got the pirate fever.

 

[SorgFamily]

My vote is:

The Man With No Name Trilogy​

This is the trilogy that launched Clint Eastwood's film career and gave birth to a new era of western. This is a series of films where the good & the bad (and the ugly) all blur into one another, though the hero is never in doubt. This is a series that basically created a pop icon in Eastwood.

I just got these off ebay earlier this year. Great films especially if you love Eastwood.

As much as I like them though, I'm afraid they don't compare to the greatness that is STAR WARS. Referenced almost every day where I work, the most common being you see someone do something ******ed, "Impressive, most impressive", this film has become the epitome of pop culture. Even Luke being possibly the whiniest hero ever can't stop this trilogy from being my favorite.

I also wanted to put out a second place vote for the Bourne Trilogy. Re-vamped the action movie in the mid 2000's. Instead of being big, bloated and epic it was cramped, realistic, and dirty. Plus the fight with Damon using the magazine is awesome. Actually all of the fight scenes in that movie are awesome as is the cross roof chase in the Bourne Ultimatum.

Honorable Mention:
Spider-Man (Sure, everyone hated the third but I actually found it decent)
Pirates
LOTR

 

[realoldskoolfan]

To me it's The Godfather.

Great story and great acting.Movie's structure allowed the story to continue and the first two makes my and a lot of other people's all time top 10 list.

The only problem about the trilogy is the third one which is somehow forgettable.

Honorable mention would be Lord of the Rings for me.The trilogy was great and I think none of them was too better than the others.It had a good beginning and a nice finish and great box office success.

At last , Don't forget that The Dark Knight Rises will be released in 2012 so Nolan's Batman trilogy can also be considered If the third one be as great as first two.

how can The Godfather be considered a great trilogy when you yourself admit part 3 is forgettable?

 

[Tna-WWE]

i THINK ANOTHER GREAT TRILOGY YOU FORGOT WAS Back to the future The first one is an instant classic and the second one was not great but better than other films still in Hollywood. The third one was a better film in the trilogy than the second. Also another great trilogy is the Indiana Jones trilogy All the original's are classics and the new one too much CGI

 

[Smartie]

how can The Godfather be considered a great trilogy when you yourself admit part 3 is forgettable?

I know that a weak third film can led to that not be the best trilogy but the First two are arguably among the all-time top 10 movies so I think no matter how weak or forgettable the third one is , The trilogy is still the best Hollywood has to offer.

 

[INDYjon22]

There are a lot of great trilogies but this should not even be close. Star Wars set the standard for what trilogies should be. Even Scream references that, well Scream 3. Each film works as a different act in the saga and plays its part perfectly. Episode 4 leaves you optimistic, while Episode 5 brings you down and reveals something new, and Episode 6 brings closure that makes everyone happy, well except the Sith lords I guess. Not only is Star Wars probably the greatest trilogy of all time but Episodes 4 and 5 are two of the best films ever just on their own. I love Back to the Future, The Godfathers and The Matrix's but this should be an open and shut case.

 

[Rasha]

This is one of those times where you almost have to go "OTHER THAN" so that you can have a discussion that keeps coming back to Star Wars. While that's the clear winner, I'm going to nominate something different for second-place: The Bourne Trilogy. It seems like almost any trilogy has that one chapter which people have to try and make excuses for (e.g. Godfather III, Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom, Matrix Revolutions). But the Bourne movies were fantastic from beginning to end, setting the bar for the spy/secret agent genre.

I'll never forget that early scene from "The Bourne Identity" when Bourne is sleeping on the park bench and the cops come over to check him out. That look when he instinctively grabs the cops nightstick and then the beatdown he puts on them was one of the coolest movie scenes ever.

 

[Mr. Truth]

When people say "The Trilogy", they always are referencing Star Wars. It set the standard that all trilogies follow. It's actually been quite a while since I've seen any of them, but I do remember being glued to my TV every moment for all three films the first time I saw them on VHS. I guess it's the best due to the relatability. Good vs. evil. It's a theme that connects with everyone. The big twist 2/3s the way through of Vader being Luke's father (there can be good in everyone). Everyone can assign these characteristics to aspects of their lives.

 

[Big Sexy]

The Back to the Future trilogy is right up there, but one that has not been mentioned is the Ninja Turtles trilogy. No, I'm not talking about the computer animated movie that recently came out. I'm talking about the three movies in the early 90's that were live action with people in giant turtle suits doing karate.

The first two were instant classics and the third one, while not on par with the first two, was still good enough to finish off what was a fantastic trilogy. The movies combined comedy, action, and all around good stories. Definitely deserving of a mention.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

That's a very difficult one to answer. I would go with Star Wars, the first one, not the prequels. My only problem with them is the dialogue is so basic. The Matrix, I liked a lot but the first film was the best and the qulaity went downhill from there. The Bourne Trilogy is a really interesting twist to this arguement. Each film is superb, in terms of action, and plot. Then you have the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's a remarkable testament to the the briliance of Peter Jackson and his vision. SO if I'm going with cultural impact it's got to be Star Wars. It led the industry itself into a different age of filmmaking.

 

[Post]

I have to go with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

These are the only movies that got me to skip work to go and see. The combination of great stories, wonderful actors, and sweet graphics make it my favorite.

I can't argue against Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or the Karate Kid either. All classics!