10 Best Movie Trilogies Ever Made

And the winner by a nose is Peter Jackson's epic Lord Of The Rings trilogy. You can make a valid argument for several of the afore-mentioned trilogies as deserving of the top spot, but LOTR wins out by virtue of its consistency and completeness. No weak links here – ask three people to name their favourite and you might just get three different answers.

J.R.R. Tolkien's defining work was first brought to life by Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation in 1978. Peter Jackson was a fan and it became a long-standing ambition to see Tolkien’s prodigious high-fantasy novel done justice on the big screen. The rapid improvement and scope of CGI throughout the nineties made that a possibility, and cameras finally started rolling in Jackson’s native New Zealand as the decade drew to a close.

The Fellowship Of The Ring was hailed as an instant classic on its release in December 2001, with The Two Towers arriving a year later. The Return Of The King concluded the saga in 2003, winning all eleven Oscars for which it was nominated, including Best Picture.

Sumptuous in its extraordinary scope and featuring breathtaking visuals, impeccable pace, pitch-perfect performances and emotional heft, Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings is one of cinema's landmark achievements and remains the trilogy by which all others are judged.

Anything we missed? Disagree with the running order? You know what to do.