The Epic Trilogy in Film - Transcending Modern Genre

In the realm of Hollywood Genre the trilogy represents a tale too vast and encompassing to simply attribute a single genus to it, its epic proportions becoming a form of genre all their own. The trilogy has simultaneous and continual elements of adventure, family, history, comedy, horror and plot that the typical genre cannot combine in a single film. They are not the b - list "sequel" movies released due only to the success of the predeceasing films, rather they are pre designed chapters in a story usually of grand proportions. The most recognizable sagas to transcend genres to attain epic trilogy status include George Lucas' Star Wars, Brando's The Godfather, and most recently Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.

They are the most appropriate examples for our control group when developing the new epic trilogy genre. Star Wars cannot simply be defined as a modern western set in outer space, The Godfathers are not just average gangster flicks, and the Lord of the Rings is not merely a typical adventure story. All embody qualities greater than that of the normal generic film, in a category that they should be recognized in. Failed attempts to reach this generic pedestal include The Matrix, which faltered in its efforts to create a cohesively unique three part story. It is time that we pay these great cinematical feats the homage that they are owed and place them in a new category reserved only for the triple installment series: the epic trilogy.

Star Wars are the first benchmark films for determining the criteria of the epic trilogy. They have all the necessary elements and epic proportions to make them a major fascination of our entire culture, and this kind of universal appeal and recognition is part of being an epic trilogy. George Lucas released the first piece of the saga in 1977, entitling it A New Hope. The introduction is so unique and captivating that even today audiences symbolize with the powerful title tracks provided by John Williams as the story of galactic turmoil scrolls down the screen. The score and musical compositions add atmosphere and emotion of almost a "galactic" way, and they underlie and enhance the movie as a whole. Many people would describe Star Wars as a science fiction film after viewing only one of the trilogy, or seeing it for the first time, but this classification would be mistaken. The second installment of the trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, reveals the family melodrama that is at the heart of the Star Wars trilogy.

Darth Vader utters the immortal line "LUKE , I am your father" and cements the framework for a large scale family feud between son Luke Skywalker and daughter Leia with evil dad Darth Vader, whose name actually means "Dark Father" in German. It sets the stage for a conflict of destructive consequences for the family that can only be solved by good or evil gaining prominence in the universe. Their dead mother is a source of sadness and grievance for Luke and Leia, and even Vader admits at the end, as he dies in Luke's hands, that he should have joined the light side like his son, but it was too late.

Now that we have established the Star Wars trilogy as both partly a science fiction film of exploration and expansion into unknown and dangerous places, similar to the circumstances of the western, but also partly a story of family melodrama where the children can not get their father back to them. The third major generic piece that completes the trilogy also represents climatic action and the completion of the right of order for the two male dominant characters, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.

In The Return of the Jedi Luke slays his father most deadly rival Vader and therefore achieves his right of order as the hero, restoring peace to the universe and sadly slaying his corrupted father. Han Solo not only helps in achieving this right of order as a hero, but he marries princess Leia, completing a right of integration while at the same time adding to the family melodrama by making Han and Luke brothers (Schatz 35). This intricate lacing together of so many different strands of plot in a background of such rich cinematography is what makes Star Wars the mythological story that is still so popular in today's modern culture.

George Lucas attempted to once again capture the magic of the Star Wars trilogy in his latest trilogy, and although turnout was high, the new trilogy is generally regarded as b rate compared to the original series. This could be a litmus test as to how a sequel trilogy to an original trilogy may turn out; a disappointment compared to the creative power of the first.

Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather series is another trilogy to transcend the modern gangster film and become a landmark of work of art of its own class. Again, similar to Star Wars, the first Godfather movie is introduced by the haunting and beautiful theme music that follows the Corleone family throughout all three films. The horn playing the slow melody is a signature that represents family, death, and film noir; the very components that compose The Godfather trilogy. Although they are the story of the supposed "gangster," The Godfathers strike at something deeper and more real than just the average thug shooting everything in sight.

They consider the family and history behind the men who are the crime bosses, the emotion that these men have when their women leave them or abandon them. Vito Corleone's mother is slain in The Godfather II and Michael's wife simultaneously leaves him after revealing she murdered their son, two strong elements of family melodrama. The dynamic between Michael and Fredo is also a conflict within the nuclear Corleone family, with Michael being forced into a situation where he knows that his brother has betrayed his trust and violated him, but not knowing whether or not death is the right punishment. Ultimately we know the cold decision, with Fredo dying on the lake.

The gangster element is still apparent in scenes in the first movie such as when Sonny's car is turned into swiss cheese or when Michael blows the police chief's brains out in cold blood, but this genre serves as a type of veneer for disguising the family melodrama of the gangster's private lives and the film noir references. The Godfather could be considered film noir due to is unique representation of the American dream - reaching the top at all means. The settings in all three movies are dreary, dark, and surrounded by shadow, similar to the methods the Corleones employed to attain the American Dream: tainted, but effective.

The brutal guerilla methods used by the family reference war and violence in America. This is a reference to America's disillusion and disarray with national affairs after World War II, and spawned movies of the film noir genre (Schatz 112). This is the only movie in the "epic trilogy" genre created that features villainous main characters and a generally darker plot, but this runs true to its gangster and film noir roots, and the social and legendary status The Godfather has achieved places it in the epic category.

Recently The Lord of the Rings trilogy is making a strong case for entrance to the elite league of epic trilogies. As mainly a fantasy, Altman classifies it as a "tertium quid" film, targeted at audiences such as children and elderly folks, and exempt from the guidelines that govern "male" films such as westerns and gangsters and "female" films such as weepies and musicals (Altman 128). This makes it difficult to label an epic genre due to its apparent lack of dimensions and different elemental genres. But if this was true, The Lord of the Rings would not have been so successful so quickly with so many people. The fact that it blends other genres such as adventure and family melodrama into fantasy is what makes it groundbreaking and epic. Before The Lord of the Rings, fantasy movies with dwarves, elves, and wizards were for geeks, nerds and dweebs.

The Lord of the Rings has suddenly made Bilbo Baggins cool and at the same time opened up the fantasy genre in new ways to the overall public audience. Aside from its fantasy plots and fairytale characters the movies had action and battle scenes more gruesome and action oriented than other fantasy films, dark scenes in a spiders lair that could easily be cut out of a horror film, and interaction between family characters such as previous ring carrier Bilbo and hero nephew Frodo (although there is an interesting lack of female family and interaction throughout the series, limiting the melodrama). It will take time to see if the American culture integrates The Lord of the Rings into its fabric the same way it has honored Star Wars and The Godfather.

A strong consideration made for qualifying a trilogy as epic was its overall integration into the American public's mainstream culture and lore. Star Wars became so famous that after President Reagan's speech about space missile defense on March 23rd, 1983, the actual program became referred to as "Star Wars" due to its intentions to shoot missiles into space (CNN). The Godfather is honored by multiple rap artists such as DJ Godfather, The Corleone Family, and Wu Tang clan. These types of occurrences demonstrate how these movies transcend genre and culture in the same way that Michael Jordan transcends basketball, but these movies are not even real. Being hailed and celebrated as a cultural phenomenon is a quality only the epics share.

There have been many terribly failed attempts at developing a unique and fresh trilogy, and many great trilogies that just did not meet the stringent qualifications of entering the epic trilogy genre. Starting at the bottom, The Jurassic park attempt at a trilogy shamed Spielberg's original masterpiece, instead turning the trilogy into a classic and two B rate rip offs that were strictly made for monetary gain and probably should have gone straight to TV. Although the first Matrix movie was also extremely original and unique, the series faltered slightly thereafter, becoming too abstract and odd for most people to fully understand. Two of my favorite trilogies, Back to the Future and Indiana Jones, are both some of the best movies ever made, but do not have the continuation between movies or depth of genre mixture to place them in a place as hallowed as epic.

The toughest trilogy of all to cut from my list of the epics was Cameron's original Aliens, with its combination of science fiction, horror, and the female presence and drama of Sigourney Weaver, it seems an obvious choice due to its genre mixing themes, continuation of plot between installments, and creativeness. It is still not a movie that is culturally understood in the same way the epics are, and this is what limits it from entering their company.

History of the trilogy runs as far back as Oedipus, which was written by Sophocles as a trilogy with three installments: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone (The Literature Network). This has themes of family melodrama and Freudian psychology with Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother, and later the choice Antigone must make regarding her family and doing the right thing. It has film noir elements such as death and war, and fantasy elements like the oracle. Considering this the "original" epic trilogy may be a stretch, but it is interesting to draw parallels between a timeless classic such as Oedipus and those of Star Wars, in both of which son kills father, and in Star Wars Luke almost romances his sister Leia accidentally, incest similar to that of Oedipus and his mother. These coincidences are spaced out by over a hundred years, but carried out in trilogy form both seem very similar.

The epic trilogy isn't about the Academy Awards or the Oscars, even though these movies have accumulated their fair share, but about these trilogies transcending American cultural genre to a place that is now legend. These movies are more than the average film you see at theaters every year; they create their own boundaries and are regarded as mythical. These trilogies combine generic flavors and string the results over three distinct parts, revealing different twists along the way. These films are not the equals of sequels because each installment is of equivalent value to the series, discrepant from the way that sequel movies sometimes become B rate and redundant. Argument will always exist over which trilogies are at the top of the mountain, but Star Wars, The Godfather, and The Lord of the Rings are all masterful sagas, and deserve to be recognized for their exclusive triumvirate success

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