Trilogies comprised of THREE good movies? (1 Viewer)

[Chad A Wright]

After seeing the third Spy Kids this week, I could cry. It will probably be better after multiple viewings, but it just seemed so far below the other two. Maybe when the DVD comes out ...

Here's one that hasn't been mentioned. Jurassic Park. While the second one wasn't great, and come to think of it, the third wasn't perfect either, I do own and generally enjoy all three. Albeit, the last two are enjoyed as mindless fun.

 

[Peter Kim]

Kar-Wai Wong's Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, & Happy Together.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

I agree with most of the English ones listed, except, the Evil Dead series, all 3 are STINKERS, IMHO.

I like the RAMBO TRILOGY as well.

So The Evil Dead sucks, but Rambo 3 is a good movie?

I just can't wrap my brain around that.

 

[Ben JH]

Star Wars Original Trilogy.
Indiana Jones.
Back to the Future.
Alien films (Yeah yeah, I know there's four films, but for me the saga really finished with Ripley's death in Alien 3). I think Alien 3 rather unfairly gets a lot of bad press because people were expecting a rehash of Aliens, and David Fincher instead had the courage to take it in an altogether different direction.

 

[Patrick McCart]

A Hard Day's Night, Help!, and Yellow Submarine.

This could be considered a trilogy since Let It Be was a documentary and Magical Mystery Tour was made for TV.

All three films are wonderful!

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Good pick, Pat. I'd certainly call that a trilogy.

 

[TheLongshot]

What? No mention of the Three Colors trilogy?

Jason

 

[Darren Haycock]

I really enjoyed the first two Rush Hours. If the third one turns out well...

 

[Matt Stone]

What? No mention of the Three Colors trilogy?

Well, no mention...that is unless you count Claire, Nick, and Bill's posts

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I wouldn't count the Three Colors trilogy as the first entry Blue still irks the living shit out of me. But White and Red are fine though.

But since all the great ones have already been mentioned with great fanfare, I'll put in another vote for the Samurai trilogy with Toshiro Mifune.

 

[Phil Florian]

Once Upon A Time in China 1-3 were excellent but really went down hill for the remaining 2 or 8 follow ups. So if looked at in the original 3, THAT is a great trilogy. I really enjoyed the first two of Better Tomorrow films by John Woo but haven't seen the final one by Tsui Hark (but hear it is pretty good, as a prequel). Pink Panther? The first two were good but the last one lost some steam. Ditto ditto for most of what was mentioned above (except Rambo...what's up with that?).


Phil

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Joseph, I was just gonna post the same thing, seriously. And I fully agree. All the other Trek films are basically stand-alone, but those 3 flow one right into the other.

 

[Brook K]

Ingmar Bergman's Trilogy of Faith - Through A Glass Darkly, Winter Light, The Silence

Haven't seen his island trilogy

 

[Pascal A]

Michelangelo Antonioni's Trilogy of Alienation: L'Avventura, La Notte, L'Eclisse.

Federico Fellini's Trilogy of Loneliness: Nights of Cabiria, Il Bidone, La Strada.

Tsai Ming-liang's Taipei Trilogy: Rebels of the Neon God, Vive l'amour, The River.

R.W. Fassbinder's BRD Trilogy: Lola, The Marriage of Maria Braun, Veronika Voss.

Also, the majority of Theo Angelopoulos' films are trilogies (as I had indicated in the current issue of Senses of Cinema):

Trilogy of History: Days of '36, The Travelling Players, O Megalexandros
Trilogy of Silence: Voyage to Cythera, The Beekeper, Landscape in the Mist
Trilogy of Borders: The Suspended Step of the Stork, Ulysses' Gaze, Eternity and a Day

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Was John Ford's cavalry trilogy really intended to be perceived as a unit, or did that label just get foisted onto them by later critics who were wanting to slap some labels on things? I kind of see them as just 3 entries in the long, long series of Ford-Wayne collaborations over the years but not really having anything to do with each other beyond that.

 

[Jefferson Morris]

Terry Gilliam has often described the three magnificent films he directed during the 1980s as being a trilogy - Time Bandits, Brazil, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

The thread connecting the three is that they each tell the story of a dreamer/fantasist at different stages of his life. Time Bandits, which has all the elements of a coming-of-age story, shows the fantasist as a boy when he first becomes acquainted with the world. Brazil shows the struggle of the fantasist as an adult, when the drab realities of modern bureaucracy threaten to crush his dreams. Munchausen is the triumphant final chapter in which the defiant old fantasist laughs at death (literally) and passes the torch to a new generation (i.e., Sally).

--Jefferson Morris

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Well, to name only actual trilogies (Star Wars doesn't count to me as a trilogy with the new ones added):

Trois Colours
Back to the Future (I love 1 & 3, 2 is decent)
Die Hard (I love 1 & 3, 2 is decent)
Indiana Jones (I love 1 & 3, 2 is decent...hmmm a pattern is emerging)

Near misses:
Godfather (Part III is horrible)
Lethal Weapon (going good until 4)

 

[Colin Jacobson]

How about Star Trek 2 thru 4....since the storyline links all three films together, I think that counts as a trilogy. Sure, some people have problems with 3 but I'm not one of them...I think it stands up pretty well.

I have bigger problems with 4 - I think it's one of the worst of the Trek series...

 

[Rob P S]

The Naked Gun

 

[Artur Meinild]

Lord of the Rings - what Scott said...
Indiana Jones
Back to the Future
Evil Dead
Alien 1-3
Die Hard - yeah, I think all 3 are better than most other action films
Lethal Weapon 1-3