Is Lord of the Rings clearly the best movie trilogy?

[Pau]

Agreed. Ursula lends herself exceptionally well to poor adaptations due to the both heady and subtextual nature of her books. They could never quite nail it.

I was randomly thinking the other day of who could properly adapt The Left Hand of Darkness and I came to the conclusion that it's nobody.

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I think a good, even great adaptation is still possible. After all, people used to say LOTR was impossible to adapt, even beyond the effects needed. And no one ever expected Peter Jackson to be the one to do it.

An Earthsea adaptation just wouldn't be an action blockbuster like LOTR. Films are perfectly capable of having subtext and heady narratives. They all just come through the combination of elements like visuals, sound, acting, editing, and minimal dialogue instead of just narrative prose.

Honestly if you could find a composer who could do for Earthsea what Howard Shore did for Middle-Earth, I think you're halfway there.

 

[q4core]

Out of what I'm seeing, I'd say
1. LOTR
2. Three Colours
3. Before Trilogy

And my personal picks, that are for sentimental reasons are the Once Upon a Time in China trilogy and A Chinese Ghost Story trilogy.

 

[roguebubble]

Dollars Trilogy is up there, especially if we're going by cultural impact since spaghetti westerns thrived after it

 

[AzorAhai]

Yes. Only movies I've rewatched dozens of times.

(I haven't seen Godfather though)

 

[Eila]

I like the Godfather Part 3. It has some bizarre parts, but still enjoyable. Add to that the the first two films are among the all-time best and I think that's the best movie trilogy.

 

[Strings]

Obviously the real answer is The Human Condition but I'll allow it.

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Had to make sure someone mentioned it.

 

[Wally_Wall]

BttF III isn't my favorite but that trilogy is magical

 

[Layla]

i like the LOTR films and want to rewatch them now I have a 4K TV
but personally would rate Apu, 3 Colours, and Samurai trilogies as better
(fittingly for this thread the historical swordsman Miyamoto Musashi that the Samurai films are based on wrote a book about martial arts in 1645 called The Book Of Five Rings)

 

[gdt]

Is the Before Trilogy for me. Before Sunset is my favorite movie, period.

 

[meowdi gras]

Nope. Not as long as this magical trilogy continues to exist:

 

[Solaris]

The Human Condition stands above all others I've seen, but LOTR is probably a close second

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More than worth the 9 and a half hours across the 3 films.

 

[J_Viper]

LOTR
Godfather (I still need to watch the Copolla Cut of III)
TDK
SnyderVerse
Bourne
Apes
John Wick

 

[Scullibundo]

Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight

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One and done.

 

[Addie]

LOTR
Godfather (I still need to watch the Copolla Cut of III)
TDK
SnyderVerse
Bourne
Apes
John Wick

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The Coppola Coda really improves 3, honestly. It's what keeps Godfather easily in the running here.

Highly recommend you see it!

 

[rsfour]

Before trilogy.

 

[captive]

I think so, I struggle to think of a single franchise that has three legit A+ movies.

Nolan's Batman ain't bad either, nor is the original Star Wars saga. But I think you're right OP.

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Your trilogy needs more than 1 good movie to even be considered in the conversation.

 

[maigret]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trilogy, handily.

 

[jon bones]

for me, yes it is

 

[Jencks]

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literally my first thought

 

[Fnnrqwin]

Even ignoring everything I listed earlier, Return of the King is such a slog in places (including pretty much the entire Extended Edition) that it really brings the trilogy down.

 

[HellofaMouse]

lotr trilogy is once in a century kind of thing.

somethig that good, and on that scale, wont happen again for a long long time. (and dont even start with the marvel shit)

 

[Bishop89]

The correct answer is die hard

 

[Senator Toadstool]

Most consistent but not "the best" it has a lot of lows

 

[MetalGearZed]

Another vote for the Before trilogy. glad it's getting a lot of love itt

 

[Soapbox Killer]

The American Frontier Trilogy.


Sicario
Wind River
HELL OR HIGH WATER

 

[SliChillax]

I'll get burned like a witch for saying this but I saw the trilogy for the first time last month and I am just clueless as to what everyone is raving about, seriously. I almost fell asleep so many times and had to force myself to watch it. I also saw the 4K extended blu rays with a kickass Atmos sound system and big ass oled tv so I was definitely experiencing it the "right way" and still, please explain to me why this boring trilogy is so loved?

 

[Hollywood Duo]

I'll get burned like a witch for saying this but I saw the trilogy for the first time last month and I am just clueless as to what everyone is raving about, seriously. I almost fell asleep so many times and had to force myself to watch it. I also saw the 4K extended blu rays with a kickass Atmos sound system and big ass oled tv so I was definitely experiencing it the "right way" and still, please explain to me why this boring trilogy is so loved?

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I'd disagree that the extended editions are the right way. The right way for a first viewing are the theatrical cuts. The extended cuts are for hardcore fans.

 

[Kill3r7]

It's my favorite but in large part because I grew up adoring the books, not necessarily the lore/world/minutiae but the camaraderie and adventure. Jackson did an excellent job capturing the spirit of fellowship and delivered an epic adventure on the big screen.

 

[Blackie]

Maybe. For me, from what I've seen, probably LotR or the Cornetto Trilogy is best for movie trilogies, yup.

So many people are saying the Before Trilogy in this thread. I've never seen a single one of those movies. Guess I gotta get on top of that!!

 

[BLEEN]

Austin Powers

Cornetto Trilogy is up there too!

 

[UltimateHigh]

Before... Trilogy is a good one that I always forget about in arguments like this. that does make it difficult, the first two meant a lot to me. and the 3rd is very good as well.

If Godfather 3 didn't drop the ball so hard in compared to the first two, it probably wouldn't be close... but it did.

BttF trilogy has been insanely rewatchable for what, 30+ years? But I dont think 2 and 3 actually stack up that great.

Star Wars... No.

So, LOTR vs Before... Trilogy... Apples and oranges, man... I dunno.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

If Incredibles 3 sticks the landing in a few years it has a shot.

 

[J_Viper]

The Coppola Coda really improves 3, honestly. It's what keeps Godfather easily in the running here.

Highly recommend you see it!

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Will do! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[DoubleDribbler]

Clerks, Blade, The Mummy, Ong Bak.

 

[OneTrueJack]

Yes, but it's cheating. Much like how the original books aren't actually a trilogy but instead one really large book cut into three sections, the Jackson films are essentially one really long movie cut and released in three sections.

 

[Eros]

cornetto is close, but yeah lotr beats it by a little bit.

looks like i should watch this before trilogy.

 

[Modest_Modsoul]

One of the best & most entertaining for me.

Though I'm not movie fan much & just casual audience.

 

[OneTrueJack]

Nolan's Batman ain't bad either, nor is the original Star Wars saga. But I think you're right OP.

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No trilogy that contains the movie "The Dark Knight Rises" can be considered good.

 

[THEVOID]

Before Trilogy

 

[Ducarmel]

LOTR is just too long for me I still have not re watched it with out skipping scenes or pausing to take a break.

Right now for me its

1 Planet of the Apes reboot
2 Toy Story
3 OG star wars
4 Dollars Trilogy

If Paddington 3 can some how do the imaginable being even better than Paddington 2, the Paddington trilogy will probably be number one for me for the rest of my life. Might even still be number one still if P3 is just a good movie.

 

[Scottoest]

Eh, there's lots of really great trilogies if you cast a net wider than epic, expensive blockbuster films.

But within that genre? Sure, I'd probably give it the nod. The Star Wars OT is really great, but I think falls off for a large part of ROTJ. The Bourne trilogy is pretty great, but I know some people weren't as keen on the final one.

The thing that I think will allow LOTR to endure like Star Wars did, is the use of so many practical effects instead of just CG. They used such an ungodly number of practical techniques for the effects in those movies, and they still look fantastic 20 years later - forced perspective, miniatures, "bigatures", compositing, massive numbers of fully costumed extras, massive sets, etc.

 

[Paper Wario]

Dr. No
From Russia with Love
Goldfinger

Half kidding since I wouldn't count franchises or movies with over 3 entries unless it's a clearly confined trilogy, i.e. the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy. That being said, the Apes trilogy gives LotR a run for its money but LotR still takes the cake in my books.

 

[Doran]

Not enough respect for the Ocean's trilogy in here.

 

[DrForester]

Looks like LotR won't be the best Trilogy ever for much longer.


View: https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1604168479267061760

 

[psionotic]

LotR is high up there. I'm also very fond of Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three colors trilogy.

 

[Rickyrozay2o9]

Easily the best trilogy. John wick is pretty great too for a recent one.

 

[TolerLive]

Absolutely. There really isn't anything that comes close in my mind to the consistency of the LOTR trilogy. Absolute lightning in a bottle was caught with those films

 

[Servbot24]

Yes. I don't think there's anything else all that close. I can respect Before trilogy, Godfather, Three Colors, and a few others as candidates.

Star Wars trilogy is a good set of movies but mentioning it as an all-time candidate is an absolute joke.

Eh, there's lots of really great trilogies if you cast a net wider than epic, expensive blockbuster films.

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We are including all genres. LOTR is that good.

 

[Zutter]

Until Maxxxine drops and the X trilogy is complete sure!

 

[CHC]

All you fuckers just wait for Black Adam 2 and 3, you will be ashamed of what you've said