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'''The Matrix''' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving. It was first released in the USA on March 31, 1999, and is the first entry in ''The Matrix'' series of films, comics, video games and animation.
The film describes a future in which the world we know is actually the Matrix, a simulated reality created by sentient machines in order to pacify and subdue the human population while their body heat is used as an energy source. It contains numerous references to the cyberpunk and hacker subcultures; philosophical and religious ideas; and homages to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', Hong Kong action movies, Spaghetti Westerns and Japanese animation.
Production
''The Matrix'' was a co-production of Warner Bros. Studios and Australian Village Roadshow Pictures, and all but a few scenes were filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, and the city itself. Recognisable landmarks were not included in order to maintain the setting of a generic American city. Nevertheless, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Martin Place and a Commonwealth Bank branch are visible in some shots. Subtle nods were included to Chicago, Illinois, the home city of the directors, through place names, city maps, and a subtly placed picture of the Sears Tower.
The rooftop set that Trinity uses to escape from Agent Jones early in the film was left over from the production of ''Dark City'', which has been remarked upon due to the thematic similarities of the films.[1] According to ''The Art of the Matrix'', at least one filmed scene and a variety of short pieces of action were omitted from the final cut, and have (to date) not been published.
The Wachowski Brothers were keen that all involved understood the thematic background of the movie. For example the book used to conceal disks early in the movie, ''Simulacra and Simulation'' by the French Philosopher Jean Baudrillard, was required reading for most of the principal cast and crew.
Production design
In the film, the code that comprises the Matrix itself is frequently represented as downward-flowing green characters. This code includes mirror images of half-width kana characters and Western Latin letters and numerals. In one scene, the pattern of trickling rain on a window being cleaned resembles this code. More generally, the film's production design placed a bias towards its distinctive green color for scenes set within the Matrix, whereas there is an emphasis on the color blue during the scenes set in the real world. In addition, grid-patterns were incorporated into the sets for scenes inside the Matrix, intended to convey the cold, logical, artificial nature of that environment.Costume designer Kym Barret, production designer Owen Paterson and cinematographer Bill Pope, interviewed in ''The Matrix Revisited'' (Chapter 7).
The "digital rain" is strongly reminiscent of similar computer code in the film ''Ghost in the Shell'', an acknowledged influence on the ''Matrix'' series (see below). The linking of the color green to computers may have been intended to evoke the green tint of old monochrome computer monitors.
Visual effects
The film is known for developing and popularizing the use of a visual effect known as "bullet time", which allows the viewer to explore a moment progressing in slow-motion as the camera appears to orbit around the scene at normal speed.
One proposed technique for creating these effects involved accelerating a high-frame-rate motion picture camera along a fixed track at a high speed to capture the action as it occurred. However, this was discarded as unfeasible, as the destruction of the camera in the attempt was all but inevitable. Instead, the method used was a technically expanded version of an old art photography technique known as time-slice photography, in which a large number of cameras are placed around an object and fired simultaneously. When the sequence of shots is viewed as a movie, the viewer sees what is in effect two-dimensional "slices" of a three-dimensional moment. Watching such a "time slice" movie is akin to the real-life experience of walking around a statue to see how it looks at different angles.
Some scenes in ''The Matrix'' feature the "time-slice" effect with completely frozen characters and objects. Interpolation techniques improved the fluidity of the apparent "camera motion". The effect was further expanded upon by the Wachowski brothers and visual effects supervisor John Gaeta to create "bullet time", which incorporates temporal motion, so that rather than being totally frozen the scene progresses in slow and variable motion. Engineers at Manex Visual Effects pioneered 3D visualization planning methods to move beyond mechanically fixed views towards complex camera paths and flexibly moving interest points. There is also an improved fluidity through the use of non-linear interpolation, digital compositing and the introduction of computer generated "virtual" scenery.
The objective of bullet time shots in ''The Matrix'' was to creatively illustrate "mind over matter" type events as captured by a "virtual camera". However, the original technical approach was physically bound to pre-determined perspectives, and the resulting effect only suggested the capabilities of a true virtual camera.
The evolution of photogrametric and image based CGI background approaches in ''The Matrix''
This film upset the juggernaut release of '' by winning the Academy Award for Visual Effects.
Music
The film's score was composed by Don Davis. He noted that mirrors appear frequently in the movie: reflections of the blue and red pills are seen in Morpheus's glasses; Neo's capture by Agents is viewed through the rear-view mirror of Trinity's motorcycle; Neo observes a broken mirror mending itself; reflections warp as a spoon is bent; the reflection of a helicopter is visible as it approaches a skyscraper. (The film also frequently references the book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', which has a sequel entitled ''Through the Looking-Glass''.) Davis focused on this theme of reflections when creating his score, alternating between sections of the orchestra and attempting to incorporate contrapuntal ideas.Don Davis, interviewed in ''The Matrix Revisited'' (Chapter 28). A transcript of his comments may be found online: [1]
In addition to Davis's score, ''The Matrix''
Plot
Computer programmer Thomas A. Anderson leads a secret life as a hacker under the alias "Neo". He wishes to learn the answer to the question: "What is the Matrix?" Cryptic messages appearing on his computer monitor and an encounter with several sinister agents lead him to a group led by the mysterious Morpheus, a man who offers him the chance to learn the truth about the Matrix.
Neo accepts. Swallowing a red pill, he abruptly wakes up naked in a liquid-filled chamber, his body connected by wires to a vast mechanical tower covered with identical pods. The connections are severed and he is rescued by Morpheus and taken aboard his hovercraft, the ''Nebuchadnezzar''. Neo's neglected physical body is restored, and Morpheus explains the situation. The year is estimated to be around 2199, and humanity is fighting a war against intelligent machines created in the early 21st century. The sky is covered in thick black clouds created by the humans in an attempt to cut off the machines' supply of solar power. The machines responded by using human beings as their energy source, growing countless people in pods and harvesting their bioelectrical energy and body heat. The world which Neo has inhabited since birth is the Matrix, an illusory simulated reality construct of the world of 1999, developed by the machines to keep the human population docile. Morpheus and his crew are a group of free humans who "unplug" others from the Matrix and recruit them to their resistance against the machines. Within the Matrix they are able to use their understanding of its nature to bend the laws of physics within the simulation, giving them superhuman abilities. Morpheus believes that Neo is "the One", a man prophesied to end the war through his limitless control over the Matrix.
Neo is trained to become a member of the group. A socket in the back of Neo's skull, formerly used to connect him to the Matrix, allows knowledge to be uploaded directly into his mind. He learns numerous martial arts disciplines, and demonstrates his kung fu skills by sparring with Morpheus in a virtual reality "construct" environment similar to the Matrix, impressing the crew with his speed. Further training introduces Neo to the key dangers in the Matrix itself. Injuries suffered there are reflected in the real world; if he is killed in the Matrix, his physical body will also die. He is warned of the presence of Agents, powerful and fast sentient programs with the ability to take over the body of anyone still connected to the system, whose purpose is to seek out and eliminate any threats to the simulation. Yet Morpheus predicts that, once Neo fully understands his own abilities as "the One", they will be no match for him.
The group enters the Matrix and takes Neo to the apartment of the Oracle, the woman who predicted the eventual emergence of the One. She tells Neo that he has "the gift", but that he is waiting for something, perhaps the next life. Neo interprets from this that he is not "the One". She adds that Morpheus believes in Neo so blindly that he will sacrifice his life to save him. Returning to the hacked telephone line which serves as a safe "exit" from the Matrix, the group is ambushed by Agents and police officers, and Morpheus is captured in an attempt to save Neo. The group was betrayed by one crew-member, Cypher, who preferred his old life in ignorance of the real world's hardships, and made a deal with the Agents to give them Morpheus in exchange for a permanent return to the Matrix. The betrayal leads to the deaths of all crew-members except Neo, Trinity, Tank and Morpheus, who is imprisoned in a government building within the Matrix. The Agents attempt to gain information from him regarding access codes to the mainframe of Zion, the humans’ last refuge deep underground. Neo and Trinity return to the Matrix and storm the building, rescuing their leader. Neo becomes more confident and familiar with manipulating the Matrix, ultimately dodging bullets fired at him by an Agent. Morpheus and Trinity use a subway station telephone to exit the Matrix, but before Neo can leave, he is ambushed by Agent Smith. He stands his ground and eventually defeats Smith, but flees when the Agent possesses another body.
As Neo runs through the city pursued by the Agents, "Sentinel" machines converge on the ''Nebuchadnezzar's position in the real world. Neo reaches an exit, but he is shot dead by the waiting Agent Smith. Trinity whispers to Neo that she was told by the Oracle that she would fall in love with "the One" and had then fallen in love with Neo. She refuses to accept his death and kisses him. Neo's heart beats again, and within the Matrix he stands up; the Agents shoot at him, but he raises his palm and stops their bullets in mid-air. Neo sees the Matrix as it really is, lines of streaming green code: he finally becomes "the One". Agent Smith makes a final attempt to physically attack him, but his punches are effortlessly blocked, and Neo destroys him. The other two Agents flee, and Neo returns to the real world just in time for the ship's EMP weapon to destroy the Sentinels that had already breached the hull of the ship. A short epilogue shows Neo back in the Matrix, making a telephone call promising that he will demonstrate to the people imprisoned in the Matrix that "anything is possible." He hangs up the phone and flies into the sky above the city.
Release
''The Matrix'' was first released in the U.S. on 31 March 1999, less than two months before the highly anticipated sci-fi film ''. It earned $171 million in the U.S. and $460 million worldwide,[2] and later became the first DVD to sell more than three million copies in the U.S.[3] The Ultimate Matrix Collection was released on HD DVD on May 22 2007.[4]
Critical reception
The combination of special-effects-laden action and philosophical meandering was considered fresh and exciting. "Positive review of The Matrix" Philip Strick commented in ''Sight & Sound'', "if the Wachowskis claim no originality of message, they are startling innovators of method", praising the film's details and its "broadside of astonishing images".[5] Roger Ebert praised the film's visuals and premise, but disliked the third act's focus on action. Similarly, ''Time Out'' praised the "entertainingly ingenious" switches between different realities, Hugo Weaving's "engagingly odd" performance, and the film's cinematography and production design, but concluded, "the promising premise is steadily wasted as the film turns into a fairly routine action pic… yet another slice of overlong, high concept hokum".[6] Other reviewers criticised the comparative humorlessness and self-indulgence of the movie. "Critical review of The Matrix" "Negative review of The Matrix"
In 2001, ''The Matrix'' was placed 66th in the American Film Institute's "100 Years... 100 Thrills" list. In 2007, ''Entertainment Weekly'' called ''The Matrix'' the best science-fiction piece of media for the past 25 years.[7]
Several science fiction creators commented on the film. Author William Gibson, a key figure in cyberpunk fiction, called the film "an innocent delight I hadn't felt in a long time", and stated, "Neo is my favourite-ever science fiction hero, absolutely".[8] Joss Whedon called the film "my number one" and praised its storytelling, structure and depth, concluding, "It works on whatever level you want to bring to it."[9] Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky commented,Darren Aronofsky, quoted in the article "The Outsider", ''Wired''. November 2006 issue (pp. 224) "I walked out of ''The Matrix'' [...] and I was thinking, 'What kind of science fiction movie can people make now?' The Wachowskis basically took all the great sci-fi ideas of the 20th century and rolled them into a delicious pop culture sandwich that everyone on the planet devoured."
Awards and nominations
''The Matrix'' received Oscars for film editing, sound effects editing, visual effects, and sound. Academy Awards® Database — Search page The Wachowski Brothers In 1999, it won Saturn Awards for 'Best Science Fiction Film' and 'Best Direction'.[10] ''The Matrix'' also received BAFTA awards for 'Best Sound' and 'Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects', in addition to nominations in the cinematography, production design and editing categories. BAFTA Film Winners 1990 – 1999
Cast and characters
★ 'Keanu Reeves' as 'Thomas A. Anderson / Neo': A computer programmer who moonlights as the hacker Neo, later to realise he is the One when trying to rescue Morpheus from the Agents.
★ 'Laurence Fishburne' as 'Morpheus': A human freed from the Matrix, captain of the Nebuchadnezzar. He was the one who found Neo.
★ 'Carrie-Anne Moss' as 'Trinity': Freed by Morpheus, crewman of the Nebuchadnezzar and Neo's romantic interest.
★ 'Hugo Weaving' as 'Agent Smith': A sentient "Agent" program of the Matrix whose purpose is to destroy Zion and stop humans from getting out of the Matrix.
★ 'Joe Pantoliano' as 'Cypher': Another freed by Morpheus, he betrays the Nebuchadnezzar's crew to the Agents to ensure his return to the Matrix because "Ignorance is bliss."
★ 'Julian Arahanga' as 'Apoc': A freed human and crew member on the Nebuchadnezzar.
★ 'Anthony Ray Parker' as 'Dozer': A “natural” human, with no plugs for the Matrix, and pilot of the Nebuchadnezzar.
★ 'Marcus Chong' as 'Tank': Dozer's brother, operates the training simulation, also a "natural" human and operator of the Nebuchadnezzar.
★ 'Matt Doran' as 'Mouse': A freed human and programmer on the Nebuchadnezzar.
★ 'Gloria Foster' as 'the Oracle': Exiled program who still resides in the Matrix, helping the freed humans with her foresight and wisdom.
★ 'Belinda McClory' as 'Switch': A human freed by Morpheus and crew member of the Nebuchadnezzar.
★ 'Paul Goddard' as 'Agent Brown': One of two sentient "Agent" programs in the Matrix who work with Agent Smith to destroy Zion and stop humans escaping the system.
★ 'Robert Taylor' as 'Agent Jones': Second sentient "Agent" program.
Actor Will Smith turned down the role of Neo. He later stated that, if given the role at that time, he "would have messed it up".[11] His wife Jada Pinkett-Smith later played Niobe in the two ''Matrix'' sequels.
Carrie Anne Moss had co-starred in a fantasy television series entitled ''Matrix'' several years before production of ''The Matrix''. That series ran for only 13 episodes but was rebroadcast in several countries after ''The Matrix'' became a hit.
Influences and interpretations
''The Matrix'' makes numerous references to recent films and literature, and to historical myths and philosophy including Messianism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Christianity, Existentialism, Nihilism, Vedanta, Advaita Hinduism, Yoga Vashishta Hinduism and Sikhism. The film's premise resembles Plato's Allegory of the cave, René Descartes's evil genius, Kant's reflections on the Phenomenon versus the Ding an sich, and the brain in a vat thought experiment, while Jean Baudrillard's ''Simulacra and Simulation'' is featured in the film. There are similarities to cyberpunk works such as ''Neuromancer'' by William Gibson.[12]
Neo is an anagram for "One", significant because of the main character's journey and eventual realization of self.
Japanese director Mamoru Oshii's ''Ghost in the Shell'' was a strong influence. Producer Joel Silver has stated that the Wachowski brothers first described their intentions for ''The Matrix'' by showing him that anime and saying, "We wanna do that for real".[13]Joel Silver, interviewed in "Making ''The Matrix''" featurette on ''The Matrix'' DVD. Mitsuhisa Ishikawa of Production I.G., which produced ''Ghost in the Shell'', noted that the anime's high-quality visuals were a strong source of inspiration for the Wachowski brothers. He also commented, "... cyberpunk films are very difficult to describe to a third person. I'd imagine that ''The Matrix'' is the kind of film that was very difficult to draw up a written proposal for to take to film studios." He stated that since ''Ghost in the Shell'' had gained recognition in America, the Wachowski brothers used it as a "promotional tool".[14]
The whole Matrix series can also be interpreted as the story of Jesus, with Neo, Trinity and Morpheus representing the Holy Trinity. Neo represents Jesus (the Son), Trinity represents the Holy Spirit and Morpheus represents the Father. Neo also has extraordinary powers and dies before being brought back to life. Adding credence to this idea is the fact that "Anderson" means "Son of Man."
Reviewers have commented on similarities between ''The Matrix'' and other late-1990s films such as ''Strange Days'', ''Dark City'', and ''The Truman Show''.[15][16][17] Comparisons have also been made to Grant Morrison's comic series ''The Invisibles''; Morrison believes that the Wachowski brothers essentially plagiarized his work to create the film.[18] In addition, the similarity of the film's central concept to a device in the long running series ''Doctor Who'' has also been noted. As in the film, the Matrix of that series (introduced in the 1976 serial ''The Deadly Assassin'') is a massive computer system which one enters using a device connecting to the head, allowing users to see representations of the real world and change its laws of physics; but if killed there, they will die in reality.[19] There is also a similar "Matrix" used by the Travellers in Paul Cornell's 1992 ''Doctor Who'' spin-off novel Love and War, in which a socket at the top of the spine is used to plug into the Matrix.
Influence on filmmaking
''The Matrix'' has had a strong effect on action film-making in Hollywood. It upped the ante for cinematic fight scenes by hiring acclaimed choreographers (such as Yuen Woo-ping) from the Hong Kong action cinema scene, well-known for its production of martial arts films. The success of ''The Matrix'' put those choreographers in high demand by other filmmakers who wanted fights of similar sophistication: for example, Yuen Woo-ping's brother Yuen Cheung-Yan was choreographer on ''Daredevil'' (2003). There was a surge in movies, commercials and pop videos copying "the ''Matrix'' look", usually without the training and attention to detail that made it successful in the first place.
Following ''The Matrix'', films made abundant use of slow-motion, spinning cameras, and, often, the famed bullet time effect of a character freezing or slowing down and the camera panning around them. The bullet time effect has also been parodied numerous times, in comedy films such as ''Scary Movie'', '', ''Shrek'' and ''; in TV series such as ''The Simpsons'' and ''Family Guy''; in the OVA series ''FLCL''; and in video games such as ''Conker's Bad Fur Day''.
In 2005 a feature-length parody of the ''Matrix'' series called ''The Helix...Loaded'' starring Scott Levy as the Neo character and Vanilla Ice was released.
The ''Matrix'' series
Main articles: The Matrix (series)
The film's mainstream success led to the greenlighting of the next two films of what was conceived as a trilogy, ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions''. These were filmed simultaneously during one shoot and released in two parts in 2003.
The first film's introductory tale is replaced by a story centered on the impending attack of the human enclave of Zion by a vast machine army. Neo also learns more about the history of the Matrix, his role as the One and the prophecy that he will end the war. The sequels also incorporate longer and more ambitious action scenes, as well as improvements in bullet time and other visual effects.
Also released was ''The Animatrix'', a collection of nine animated short films, many of which were created in the same Japanese animation style that was a strong influence on the live trilogy. ''The Animatrix'' was overseen and approved by the Wachowski brothers but they only wrote four of the segments themselves and did not direct any of them; much of the project was created by notable figures from the world of anime. Four of the films were originally released on the series' official website; one was shown in cinemas with the Warner Bros movie ''Dreamcatcher''; the others first appeared with the DVD release of all nine shorts. Several of the films were shown first on UK television prior to their DVD release.
The franchise contains three video games: ''Enter the Matrix'' (2003), which contains footage shot specifically for the game and chronicles events taking place before and during ''The Matrix Reloaded''; ''The Matrix Online'' (2004), a MMORPG which continues the story beyond ''The Matrix Revolutions''; and '', which was released 8 November 2005 and focuses on situations based on Neo's journey through the trilogy of films.
Available on the official website are a number of free comics set in the world of ''The Matrix'', written and illustrated by figures from the comics industry.''The Matrix Comics'' at the official ''Matrix'' website Some of these comics are also available in two printed volumes.
Notes and references
1. Great Movies: Dark City
2. Box Office Mojo: The Matrix. URL retrieved 8 March 2006.
3. ''"Press release - August 1, 2000 - The Matrix DVD: The first to sell 3 million". URL retrieved 26 July 2006.
4. The Matrix is Coming to HD DVD
5. ''Sight & Sound'' review of ''The Matrix''
6.
"Time Out Film Review - The Matrix"
7. The Sci-Fi 25
8. ''The Art of the Matrix'', p.451
9. The 201 Greatest Movies of all Time
10. Saturn Awards
11. I, Robocop
12. "The Matrix: Fair Cop". URL retrieved 7 July 2006.
13. Joel Silver, interviewed in "Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime" featurette on ''The Animatrix'' DVD.
14. Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, interviewed in ''The South Bank Show'', episode broadcast 19 February 2006 [2]
15. Roger Ebert's review of ''The Matrix''. URL retrieved 21 August 2006.
16. "The Matrix (1999) - Channel 4 Film review". URL retrieved 21 August 2006.
17. "Cinephobia reviews: The Matrix". URL retrieved 27 December 2006.
18. "Poor Mojo Newswire: Suicide Girls Interview with Grant Morrison". URL retrieved 31 July 2006.
19. Condon, Paul. ''The Matrix Unlocked''. 2003. Contender. p.141-3. ISBN 1-84357-093-9
★ The Art of the Matrix, , , Spencer Lamm (editor), Titan, , ISBN 1-84023-173-4
★
External links
★
★
★ Official website
★ The Matrix multiple scripts by Andy & Larry Wachowski
★ Complete list of actors who were considered for roles
★ Unplugging The Matrix, an article on Slate.
★ Alternative Buddhist interpretation of The Matrix
★ Technology - The Shadow of the Matrix
★ Synchronistic Linguistics in The Matrix
★ Return of the Matrix: Music from The Matrix Franchise at Tracksounds
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