THE LORD OF THE RINGS: TWO TOWERS, Viggo Mortensen, 2002, (c) New Line/courtesy Everett Collection
For many if not most film fans, Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings is the gold standard of movie trilogies. It's understandable, too. An unprecedented act of commercial and artistic courage, the sprawling fantasy adaptation of JRR Tolkien's masterpiece was greenlit as a package with a then-astonishing $281 million around the turn of the century, spearheaded by a director who was mostly known for splatter comedy.
The gamble paid off; trilogy capper The Return of the King tied the all-time record for Oscar wins, and the movies grossed just under $3 billion cumulatively upon release. That figure is ever-climbing, too, as the beloved epics make bank upon every, relentless re-release). The historic achievement of The Lord of the Rings is set in stone, and it's a definitive film trilogy. It's all but in a league of its own in terms of three-act motion picture storytelling. The three following movie trilogies are the only ones that are even better than Peter Jackson's magnum opus. 3 The Toy Story Trilogy Released right in the middle of Disney's Renaissance era of prominence, John Lasseter's Toy Story revolutionized the historic film studio, as well as the entire medium of animation—if not cinema itself. The first entirely CGI generated feature put Pixar on the map, becoming one of the highest-grossing blockbusters of 1995. Even beyond the technological innovation, it was a great film that netted the first Academy Award nomination for screenwriting. 1999's Toy Story 2 is one of those textbook sequels that improves and expands upon a great original in every conceivable way, a highlight of what many consider to be the greatest year ever for cinema. Over a decade passed before the release of Toy Story 3, but it proved to be worth the wait. It was the highest-grossing movie of another historic film year , the first animated film to gross $1 billion, and only the fourth film overall. There was a highly successful fourth entry released in 2019 to positive reviews and another billion-dollar haul, but it was hard not to see Toy Story 4 as more than an afterthought; the previous pictures had perfected a three-act structure. The Toy Story films are particularly ingenious for how they captivate us at all stages of life. These films could easily be a child's first movie-watching experience; they're bright and dynamic, broadly funny, and they're about toys. The soul of the movies is about the things that grip us more and more the older we get: having meaning and purpose, selflessness, fear of losing what we love. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen's voice performances as Woody the cowboy and Buzz Lightyear bring equal parts aplomb and pathos to a friendship much like one in real-life, with seasons, highs and lows. The Toy Story films are exciting and screamingly funny throughout, and uncommonly devastating in stretches, from Jessie 's montage of abandonment in the second film, to the torrential emotions in the toys' transition to a new owner that rounds out part three. Like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, these are movies that everyone should see at least once, and they're intended for an even wider audience. 2 The Before Trilogy One of the most perfect trilogies ever made is about the furthest thing from blockbuster territory. In Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise , Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy played starry-eyed and conflicted youths who meet on a train to Vienna, then spend a night traversing the city, likely falling in love before leaving on an ambiguous note. Before Sunrise hardly became a box-office leviathan, but it was universally praised as one of the best films of its year, with critics praising the uncommonly perceptive performances and dialogue. The movie also became a snowballing cult success with audiences over time, with so much staying power that an unlikely sequel was announced nearly a decade later. Playing out in tension-filled real time and shot on location in Paris, Before Sunset was an even more remarkable achievement, rather rapidly entering conversations of the best movies of all time. It's one of the most spellbindingly romantic movies ever made, with the performances and dialogue even more mesmerizing. Another 9 years later, Before Midnight was released, and many critics went so far as to call it the best of the bunch. Here is a film trilogy that started out with perfection, and somehow only got better as it went along. The drama and stakes here were clearly affected by the actors' real lives, especially Hawke's much-publicized and nasty split from Uma Thurman. The two sequels netted Academy Award nods for screenwriting, and for years some fans expected we might see Jessie and Celine a fourth time , though it was reported that Delpy ultimately declined to return to the series. While it's easy to wish for more considering how great these movies are, here's a series that's virtually untouched by awful spinoffs and bastardizations, which can't be said of The Lord of the Rings or nearly any well-regarded film franchise in 2026. These are among the most technically astonishing drama movies ever made, and no director is more overdue for an Oscar win than Linklater. 1 The Star Wars Trilogy No one. not even George Lucas himself, expected this scrappy space opera about a farm boy, a princess, and warring space wizards to be any kind of success at the box office. Star Wars was rejected by numerous backers before 20th Century Fox greenlit it thanks largely to the goodwill Lucas had generated with his period comedy American Graffiti. Though it's worth noting that the film was, by many reports, initially a mess and saved in the edit, Star Wars immediately gripped international imaginations. For half a decade, it held the record for highest-grossing film ever made. For all the criticisms he's faced over the years, it's really important to credit Lucas' boldness and power moves as some of the defining acts of the New Hollywood movement. He demanded absolute control over the sequels, which resulted in The Empire Strikes Back being, technically, the most expensive and highest-grossing independently funded movie of all time. Critics were initially mixed on the follow-up due to its darker themes and loss of innocence, but Empire has, for decades now, very much been a contender for the greatest film ever made. 1983's Return of the Jedi has faced criticism for some perceived tonal whiplash as well, especially for the inclusion of the cuddly Ewoks. But the conflict between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader reaches its emotional peak in Jedi, and it's worth noting the films were always aimed at children above all. Watch these movies in their theatrical cuts today, though , and this clearly represents some of cinema's greatest broad strokes. It would be a delusion to say the Star Wars franchise is in anything but an awful place these days, with a long-unhappy fandom, or maybe it's more apathy now. There's been years of unrest, but this shouldn't do anything to negate the power of the original trilogy. And though The Lord of the Rings was obviously based on a series of books that predates 1977 by decades, it's unfathomable that the scope and execution of Jackson's vision was greatly influenced by this other, earlier defining feat of fantasy filmmaking. Is Your Perfect Movie? Parasite · Everything Everywhere · Oppenheimer · Birdman · No Country Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be — and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one. 🪜Parasite 🌀Everything Everywhere ☢️Oppenheimer 🐦Birdman 🪙No Country for Old Men FIND YOUR FILM → QUESTION 1 / 10TONE 01 What kind of film experience do you actually want? The best movies don't just entertain — they leave something behind. ASomething that pulls the rug out — that makes me think I'm watching one kind of film and then reveals I'm watching another entirely. BSomething overwhelming — funny, sad, absurd, and genuinely moving, all at once. CSomething grand and weighty — a film that makes me feel the full scale of what I'm watching. DSomething formally daring — a film that pushes what cinema can even do. ESomething lean and relentless — pure tension with no wasted frame. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 2 / 10THEME 02 Which idea grabs you most in a film? Great films are driven by a central obsession. What's yours? AClass, inequality, and what people are willing to do when desperation meets opportunity. BIdentity, family, and the chaos of trying to hold your life together when everything is falling apart. CGenius, moral responsibility, and the catastrophic weight of a decision you can never take back. DEgo, legacy, and the terror of becoming irrelevant while you're still alive to watch it happen. EEvil, chance, and whether moral order actually exists or if we just tell ourselves it does. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 3 / 10STRUCTURE 03 How do you like your story told? Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means. AGenre-twisting — I want it to start in one lane and migrate into something completely different. BMaximalist and genre-blending — comedy, action, drama, sci-fi, all in one ride. CEpic and non-linear — cutting between timelines, building a mosaic of cause and consequence. DA single unbroken flow — I want to feel like I'm living it in real time, no cuts to safety. ESpare and precise — every scene doing exactly what it needs to do and nothing more. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 4 / 10VILLAIN 04 What makes a truly great antagonist? The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you? AA system — invisible, structural, and almost impossible to fight because it has no single face. BThe self — the ways we sabotage, abandon, and fail the people we love most. CHistory — the unstoppable momentum of events that no single person can stop or redirect. DThe industry — the machinery of culture that chews up talent and spits out irrelevance. EPure, implacable evil — a force so certain of itself it becomes almost philosophical. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 5 / 10ENDING 05 What do you want from a film's ending? The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like? AShock and inevitability — a conclusion that recontextualises everything that came before it. BEarned emotion — I want to cry, laugh, and feel genuinely hopeful, even if the world is a mess. CDevastation and grandeur — an ending that makes me sit in silence for a few minutes after. DAmbiguity — something that leaves enough open that I'm still thinking about it days later. EBleakness — an honest refusal to pretend the world is tidier than it actually is. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 6 / 10WORLD 06 Which setting pulls you in most? Where a film takes place shapes everything — mood, stakes, what's even possible. AA gleaming modern city with a hidden underside — beauty masking rot, wealth masking desperation. BA collapsing suburban life that opens onto something infinite — the multiverse of a single ordinary person. CThe corridors of power and science at a world-historical turning point — where decisions echo for decades. DThe grimy, alive chaos of New York and Hollywood — fame as both destination and trap. EVast, indifferent landscape — desert and highway where violence arrives without warning or reason. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 7 / 10CRAFT 07 What cinematic craft impresses you most? Every great film has a signature — a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable. AProduction design and mise-en-scène — every frame composed to carry meaning beneath the surface. BEditing and tonal control — the ability to move between registers without losing the audience. CScore and sound design — music that becomes inseparable from the dread and awe of what you're watching. DCinematography as performance — the camera not recording events but participating in them. ESilence and restraint — what's left unsaid and unshown doing more work than any dialogue could. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 8 / 10PROTAGONIST 08 What kind of main character do you root for? The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you. ASomeone smart and resourceful who makes increasingly dangerous decisions under pressure. BSomeone overwhelmed and ordinary who turns out to be capable of something extraordinary. CA brilliant, tortured figure whose gifts and flaws are inseparable from each other. DA self-destructive artist whose ego is both their superpower and their undoing. EA quiet, principled person trying to make sense of a world that has stopped making sense. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 9 / 10PACE 09 How do you feel about a film that takes its time? Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately. AI love a slow build when I know the payoff is going to be seismic — patience for a devastating reveal. BGive me relentless momentum — I want to feel breathless and emotionally spent by the end. CEpic runtime doesn't scare me — if the material demands three hours, give me three hours. DI want it to feel propulsive even when nothing is technically happening — restless energy throughout. EDeliberate and unhurried — I want dread to accumulate in the spaces between the action. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 10 / 10AFTERMATH 10 What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema? The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want? AUnsettled — like I've just seen something I can't fully explain but can't stop thinking about. BMoved and energised — like the film reminded me what actually matters and gave me something to hold onto. CHumbled — like I've been in the presence of something genuinely important and overwhelming. DExhilarated — like I've just seen cinema doing something it's never quite done before. EHaunted — like a cold, quiet dread that stays with me for days. REVEAL MY FILM → The Academy Has Decided Your Perfect Film Is… Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works. BEST PICTURE 2020 Parasite You are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously — that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it's ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that — a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image. BEST PICTURE 2023 Everything Everywhere All at Once You want it all — and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn't want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point — because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it's about. BEST PICTURE 2024 Oppenheimer You are drawn to cinema on a grand scale — films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important — to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort. BEST PICTURE 2015 Birdman You are drawn to films that foreground their own construction — that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it's about. Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor's ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn't be possible. Michael Keaton's performance and Emmanuel Lubezki's restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else — a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all. BEST PICTURE 2008 No Country for Old Men You are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil — implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ Like Follow Followed Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope PG Adventure Action Science Fiction 9 10 Release Date May 25, 1977 Runtime 121 minutes Director George Lucas Writers George Lucas Cast See All
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