Tarantino Names the Best Trilogy Ever
When viewers were asked which guest they would like to see on political comedian Bill Maher’s podcast, they chose director, Quentin Tarantino. In his August 2024 appearance on Maher’s Club Random, Tarantino names the best trilogy ever made, talks Robert Blake’s murder case, and Alec Baldwin’s Rust shooting.
The Podcast
For those who have never watched or listened to Club Random, it’s a show featuring veteran showbiz and media personalities who sit down with host Bill Maher (Real Time with Bill Maher, HBO) for a couple of hours to talk about anything and everything. It’s generally an open space where guests drink, smoke, and speak freely. It’s available on platforms like Youtube, Spotify and Apple.
According to Maher, fans recently said the guest they wanted to see most was Quentin Tarantino, who became Maher’s first return guest.
Tarantino Names the Best Trilogy Ever
After a discussion about the Godfather trilogy, Tarantino names which movies make up the best trilogy and why.
I think there’s only one trilogy that completely and utterly works to the nth degree, and that’s a Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.
Principally, it has a single director’s vision from Sergio Leone. He adds:
It does what no other trilogy has ever ever been quite able to do. The first movie is terrific, but the second movie [For a Few Dollars More] is so great and takes the whole idea to such a bigger canvas that it obliterates the first one. And then the third one [The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly] does the same thing to the second one. And that’s kind of what never happens. You’ll see this big jump from the first to the second, but they never really land the third one.
This great western trilogy was sometimes referred to as, “The Man with No Name Trilogy.” What trilogies did Tarantino say failed to stick the landing on the third try? There’s the aforementioned Godfather films, Mad Max, and one of Quentin’s favorite series – from Disney no less (which some may see as surprising given what Tarantino said the company did to him a few years back).
(There’s) Mad Max, Road Warrior, and well, Beyond Thunderdome doesn’t dwarf Road Warrior. In the case of Toy Story, the third one is just magnificent. It’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. If you’ve seen the other two then it’s just devastating. But the thing is, three years later, or something, they did a fourth. And I have no desire to see it. You lilterally ended the story as perfect as you could! So no, I don’t care if it’s good. I’m done! It can still be good, but I’m done!
Of course, history is lined with trilogies whose sequels simply got worse: The Matrix, Back to the Future, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Though the latter, in our opinion, is more of a U shape.
Maher perfectly capped the convo with, “So this is why there’s no Kill Bill 3?” to which Quentin quipped, “No, I did, I KILLED Bill!”
To catch the full episode, visit the Club Random Tarantino epsiode on Youtube.
Do you agree with Tarantino’s comments? What’s your favorite trilogy? Comment below or on our Instagram @cockatooinn!
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