A Foray Off-Track: Greatest Movie Trilogy?
Hmmm. I'm about to venture into uncharted waters for this blog, and I won't make a habit of it, but I have to comment on this. I just read an article that tries to argue that the Godfather trilogy of movies is the greatest of all time, surpassing the Lord of the Rings. I just can't allow such an absurd claim to pass.
Let me explain, right out, that I think the Godfather is the greatest film of all time and that the Godfather II is in my top ten. But for a claim for greatest trilogy to be sustained you can't have such a complete drop-off in quality as you get with the Godfather III. All it shares with the earlier films is character names and a director. Aside from that it is at best a red-headed step child.
To judge a trilogy as great, or even as good, you need sustained quality, and Lord of the Rings provides that to a far greater extent than any other. It surpasses, not only the Godfather, which was not even in the running, having stumbled and fallen badly at the second baton toss, but Star Wars, which though it declined in quality from the second to the third films, was still far more consistent than the Godfather.
What do you think? Can you count trilogies that don't know when to quit? (for example, could you count the first three Lethal Weapon movies?) How about "accidental" trilogies, like Mad Max, that weren't planned as such, but just kept going until there were three?
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