1 indiana jones
2 star wars - ot non se
3 godfather (would have been higher but ick on 3)
4 jersey trilogy
5 3 colors

i left out lotr and matrix since they aren't done.

Mighty Ducks anyone?

1. Star Wars IV-VI
2. Indiana Jones
3. Godfather
4. Die Hard
5. Rocky I-III

I can't believe I forgot this one. These are three solid movies too.

And I know it would ruin the trilogy thing, but I enjoyed the hell out of Rocky IV.

And the Star Trek films, 2-6, were all pretty strong (V being the weakest, but it's looking pretty darn good compared to the films the next generation cast has been putting out).

And let's not forget the "Three Musketeers/Four Musketeers/Return of the Musketeers" trilogy (even though the latest "Complete Musketeers" boxed set dropped the third film for some reason). All are very good.

-- Jough

I would say that Bergman's 'faith' trilogy:

Through A Glass, Darkly
Winter Light
The Silence

is the best, but he denies that it really is a trilogy. So I guess maybe Kieslowski's Three Colors.

How can you say LOTR is the best, when you haven't even seen 33% of it??? All that indicates is a complete lack of critical judgement.

My favorites as of now:
#1-Godfather
#2-Dollars (aka "Man with No Name")
#3-Indy
#4-Mad Max (Am I the first one to mention this?)
#5-Dead (Night,Dawn,Day)
#6-Evil Dead
#7-Die Hard
#8-Back/Future

[mini rant]

Several people have complained that LOTR should not count as a true trilogy since we have yet to see Return of the King. In theory, they say, the third movie could suck.

How can a movie scripted and filmed as a single, 9 hour epic suddenly blow apart at the very end? It's not like The Godfather where everybody took ten years off and had their show business careers (and egos and waistlines) greatly expand... or even like Die Hard where in the 3rd movie they just sort of ran out of ideas and enthusiasm.

Like most movies, LOTR was shot out-of-order. So for Return of the King to be bad, everyone involved would have to have said, "You know what? Let's just all phone in every third scene or so. So today and tomorrow we'll all be masters of our craft... but on, say, Wednesday, we'll all agree to just totally blow, OK?"

OK, OK... even granting that there is a possibility that Return of the King could be a bad movie... based on the strength of the first two, I'd still include the trilogy in my Top 5. And it's not like there's any doubt that the 3rd movie will get released... heck, 90% of it is in the can.

[/mini rant]

ncmojo, I think your argument is specious.

First of all, only the principle photography is in the can - the SFX, editing, music, tone, pacing, etc. of the film won't come together until later this year.

Jackson and his team are masters of their craft, to be certain, and it's unlikely that the final film will "suck," but the final film has a lot of weight to bear. It has to complete the story, tie up loose ends, and do so in a craftful way.

It's not a foregone conclusion that it will be great.

I think what the above posters objected to was the proclaimation that this is the greatest "trilogy" of all time, when they haven't seen the third act.

-- Jough

Reasons why Return of the King isn't guaranteed to be great:

(in descending order of likelyhood)

1. The Two Towers wasn't great. It wasn't even very good...
2. There's a lot of ground left to cover, and it's going to be nearly impossible to put it all in in a coherant and entartaining way.
3. The final installments of trilogies are frequently the weakest.
4. Jackson might lose focus.
5. Jackson might get bored.

Gilliam Trilogy (Brazil, Time Bandits, Baron Munchaussen)?
Once Upon a Time in China Trilogy
Evil Dead Trilogy
Mad Max Trilogy
Back to the Future Trilogy
Dead Or Alive Trilogy
Die Hard Trilogy
Lethal Weapon Trilogy
Aliens Trilogy (I liked part 3)

This isn't the order I'd go with, but I like all these better than most of what's been suggested so far.

This is sig material

If you look at it this way, why in the hell is LOTR even in this discussion? It's not a trilogy.

Wow, someone REALLY thinks Return of the King is going to be good... I was dissapointed in TTT because it was very incoherent (Hobbits rode a tree for an entire movie length which for Frodo took months and for them, I guess, a few hours..., Army of 10,000 orcs that were supposed to take over the world and inspire fear were defeated by 100 archers... huh? Gandalf comes back from the dead how?) and I agree with the above poster that there is not enough time to save this trilogy from lack of coherent story...

It's not an insult to what is a great trilogy, but in my opinion a series which really should be at least 6 movies... It feels like it was sardine canned.

1. Indy
---Raiders, ***** never gets old
---Temple-**** 1/2 I realy love this movie even though some don't The darker feel is great
---Crusade***** has the best action of the 3

2. BTTF
---Part 1***** classic movie making
---Part 2**** one of the best true sequels ver made
---Part 3 *** 1/2 not a bad way to end the trilogy

3. SW OT

---Empire ****1/2 has the best story and most even of the 3
--- Jedi **** a bit uneven but has some memoral parts
--- A New Hope *** takes a little long to "get going"

4. Die Hard
---Die Hard 3 ***** one of the rare time when part 3 is the best, great action, acting, plot, EVERYTHING!!
---Die Hard 2 ****1/2 I love it!!!!!!!!!!
--- Die Hard 1 *** 1/2 a little too slow for a true action film but still better than most movies out there

CB, are you sure you don't have those Die Hard films in reverse order?

i'm just stunned that i am the only person to list the jersey trilogy thus far. i thought it was a favorite of most people. maybe it is because it isn't really a trilogy anymore. oh well.

1. SW: OT-Great Films. All three are solid.

2. Indiana Jones- Once again all 3 are solid flicks.

3. Die Hard- First ones a classic, 2nd one isnt that bad, and the 3rd is really good.

4. BTTF- First one is great, second one is really good, third one is not so good.

How does the Matrix keep getting mentioned here. People are saying the next two look good. Did I miss the Matrix: Revolutions trailer or something? LOTR shouldnt be mentioned either since its not out yet.

Three Colours Trilogy

Nothing even comes close.

I love Kieslowski'sThree Colors and Inagaki's Samurai trilogy (although as an Ejikawa adaptation, it leaves a lot out).

I also enjoy Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy a LOT. Blood of a Poet and Orpheus are sheer brilliance. Testament of Orpheus is the weak point here, a still good and often brilliant but ridiculously over-indulgent.

The other big ones mentioned are:

Lord of the Rings -- Return of the King isn't out yet so it's out of the running. I'm sorry, but as much as I love Parts I & II, I can't work on assumption (and neither should anybody else).

Matrix -- by end of year 2003, we'll know where we stand with LOTR and Matrix.

Star Wars: OT -- A New Hope and Empire are holy writ, but Jedi horrid on too many levels.

Star Wars: Prequels -- I like 'em. I enjoy 'em. I'll watch 'em again and again. But let's face it, they're second-rate.

Back To The Future -- Again, Part I is religiously delicious. Part II has some fascinating bits but it's frustrating in many parts. III is light and enjoyable and wraps things up in a satisfying ribbon. Not the best trilogy by far, but a fun and imaginative ride.

Godfather -- The strengths of I and II elevate this to the top of the list (below Three Colors and Samurai, though, because of the comparitively weak but still very enjoyable III).

That's all for now. Join us next time for "Mood Music for Morons", in which Diane gets her comeuppance, but good.

jersey trilogy isnt really a trilogy since its not the same storyline/universe (ex: ben affleck plays diff. characters in mallrats and chasing amy)

It's really hard to pick a Best since so many are in different genres.

My favorites are easily, The Godfather, Back to the Future and Indiana Jones. I never thought I would say it but Lord of the Rings will probably be up there when the third one comes out.

The original Star Wars
Indiana Jones
Back to the Future
The Godfather
Also, LOTR also looks promising, although (like everybody else) I haven't seen the final installment.

My picks:

1. László Krasznahorkai Trilogy:
- Damnation
- Satantango
- Werckmeister Harmonies

2. Heart of Gold Trilogy
- Breaking the Waves
- The Idiots
- Dancer in the Dark

3. Trois Couleurs
- Bleu
- Blanc
- Rouge

Agree with you 100%. Upon first viewing when they came out, I thought "Red" was the best. Now after I have them on DVD, and have rewatched all of them again for the first time in years, my opinion has changed. "Red" is still a brilliant (brilliant ) film, but I do think "Blue" is the best. Marginally. "White" is my least favorite. But still a very good film.

Pasolini's 'Triology of Life'
- Decameron
- Canterbury Tales
- Arabian Nights

____________________

Critically acclaimed and screening at the AFI here in DC later this month:

Satyajit Ray 'Apu Trilogy'
- Pather Panchali
- Aparajito
- The World of Apu

Marcel Pagnol's 'Marseilles Trilogy'
- Marius
- Fanny
- Cesar