The Matrix (1999)

December 31, 2022 Kevin Lyons Film, Science Fiction 0

USA, Australia,
136m
35mm film, colour, 2.35:1
Dolby Digital, DTS Digital, SDDS, English

An American/Australian science fiction film directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski using the collective name The Wachowski Brothers.

Plot Summary

Software programmer and sometime hacker Thomas ‘Neo' Anderson finds his world turned upside down when he learns the truth about ‘reality' – it's all an illusion, an elaborate artificial reality known as The Matrix. Anderson teams up with an resistance movement dedicated to liberating humanity from the thrall of the machines and learns that he may be The One, the saviour who will overthrow the and their deadly agents.

Credits

Crew
Directed by: The Wachowski Brothers [real names: Lilly and Lana Wachoswki]
This motion picture © 1999 Warner Bros. – U.S., Canada, Bahamas & Bermuda, © 1999 Village Roadshow Films (BVI) Limited – all other territories
Story and screenplay © 1999 Warner Bros. – U.S., Canada, Bahamas & Bermuda, © 1999 Village Roadshow Films (BVI) Limited – all other territories
Original Score © 1999 Warner Bros. – U.S., Canada, Bahamas & Bermuda, © 1999 Village Roadshow Films (BVI) Limited – all other territories
Warner Bros. presents in association with Village Roadshow Pictures-Groucho II Film Partnership a Silver Pictures production. Distributed by Warner Bros., a Time Warner Entertainment company
Executive Producers: Barrie Osborne, Andrew Mason, Andy Wachowski [real name: Lilly Wachowski], Larry Wachowski [real name: Lana Wachowski], Erwin Stoff, Bruce Berman
Produced by: Joel Silver
Written by: The Wachowski Brothers [real names: Lilly and Lana Wachoswki]
Director of Photography: Bill Pope
Editor: Zach Staenberg
Music by: Don Davis
Sound Recordist: David Lee
Costume Designer: Kym Barrett
Key Makeup Artist: Nikki Gooley
Hairdresser: Cheryl Williams
Visual Effects: Manex Visual Effects, LLC; DFilm Services; Animal Logic Film; Amalgamated Pixels
Production Designer: Owen Paterson

Cast
Keanu Reeves (Neo)
Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus)
Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity)
Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith)
Joe Pantoliano (Cypher)
Gloria Foster (Oracle)
Marcus Chong (Tank)
Julian Arahanga (Apoc)
Matt Doran (Mouse)
Belinda McClory (Switch)
Anthony Ray Parker (Dozer)
Paul Goddard (Agent Brown)
Robert Taylor (Agent Jones)
David Aston (Rhineheart)
Marc Gray (Choi)
Ada Nicodemou (Dujour)
Deni Gordon (priestess)
Rowan Witt (spoon boy)
Elenor Witt, Tamara Brown, Janaya Pender, Adryn White, Natalie Tjen (potentials)
Bill Young (lieutenant)

Links

Sequels
The Matrix Reloaded (2002)
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

See also
The Animatrix (2003)

Press

1999
Shivers no.68 (August 1999) p.47
The basic Science Fiction concept is quite compelling, if hardly original. Reminiscent of They Live (the planet taken over unbeknownst to us earthlings) and Soylent Green (humans being used for dreadful purposes), it is garnished with layers of à la eXistenz. Unfortunately the ideas get lost in the tedious scenes of Keanu Reeves performing anti-gravitational tricks in an attempt to thwart the Earth's mechanical masters. […] Reeves' questionable acting talents are well-documented – suffice to say, the special effects steal the show and even they aren't particularly memorable. […] Characterization is non-existent and when Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) declares her love for Neo, one assumes that the attraction is the fact that he can jump further than anyone else in the gang. Fishburne does his best to exude quiet confidence and power, trying to make his mysterious lines sound meaningful while balancing his strange little pince-nez sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. My advice is, if you really are intent on seeing The Matrix, see it on a big screen with Dolby stereo and with your brain switched to ‘off'. – from an illustrated review by Josephine Botting

TV Guide vol.47 no.38 (18 September 1999) p.48
With a story that rockets along in a rip-roaring fashion and startling special effects The Matrix […] is a kick-butt action-thriller cartoon. […] It doesn't matter that the characters are paper-thin and the violence gratuitous. The Matrix is a hyperdrive thrill ride. – from a review (Out of this world by Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)

2000
Empire no.130 (April 2000) pp.140-141
Movies will never be the same again. Takes the action flick from the staple formula set by Bond into a punchier, braver new world. This is (figuratively, people) the Brothers in Arms of the DVD revolution; everyone will own one. – author not credited

References

Periodicals

  • 24 Images no.122 (Summer 2005) pp.13-31 (France) – illustrated article (Les cinémas nationaux face à la mondialisation by Gérard Grugeau and André Roy)
  • American Cinematographer vol.80 no.4 (April 1999) pp.32-44; 46-55 – illustrated article (Welcome to the machine by Christopher Probst); illustrated article (Techno babel by Ron Magid)
  • Art Monthly no.250 (October 2001) pp.36-38 – illustrated article (Exhibitions: Total object complete with missing parts by Elisabeth Mahoney)
  • Australian Cinematographer no.18 (June 2003) pp.11-16 (Australia) – illustrated interview with Bill Pope (The Matrix Reloaded by Velinda Wardell and Peter Borosh)
  • Black Filmmaker vol.5 no.22 (Winter 2003) pp.8-9 – illustrated article (Matrix muddle by Marsha Prescod)
  • Black Filmmaker vol.7 no.28 (January/February 2005) pp.16-18 – illustrated article (The mother of the Matrix by Cassam Looch)
  • Black Filmmaker vol.8 no.29 (March/April 2005) pp.19-20 – illustrated note (Sophia puts Fox in the dock by Bruce Banter)
  • Black Filmmaker vol.8 no.32 (September/October 2005) p.18 – illustrated article (The Mother of All Rewards by Dayna Ambris)
  • Black Filmmaker vol.9 no.35 (March/April 2006) pp.20-21 – illustrated article (Slaying Giants: The Matrix Saga by Deborah King)
  • Broadcast 31 March 2000 p.8 – note (News in brief:The Matrix wins CFC's Jon Thum an Oscar)
  • Canadian Journal of Film Studies vol.9 no.2 (Autumn 2000) pp.43-54 (Canada) – illustrated article (Re-writing “reality”: reading The Matrix by Russell J.A. Kilbourn)
  • CineAction! no.51 (February 2000) pp.10-16 (Canada) – illustrated article (Space Invaders – Speculations on the politics of post-modern by Jamie Clarke)
  • Cinefantastique vol.31 no.4 (April 1999) pp.18-23 – illustrated article (Matrix by Dennis Fischer)
  • Cinefantastique vol.31 no.5 (May 1999) pp.16-27 – illustrated article (The making of the Matrix by Dennis Fischer)
  • Cinefantastique vol.37 no.1 (February/March 2005) pp.6; 62 – illustrated article (CFQ Update: Matrix Matters by David E. Williams); illustrated review (In Review: DVD in Brief by David E. Williams)
  • Cinefex no.79 (October 1999) pp.66-89 – illustrated article (Jacking into the Matrix by Kevin H. Martin)
  • Cinefex no.88 (January 2002) pp.47, 48-50, 55-58, 63-64 – illustrated article (Jowly green giant by Joe Fordham)
  • CinémAction no.112 (2004) pp.266-270 (France) – illustrated article (Le surhomme virtuel: à la recherche de l'homme perdu by Réjane Hamus-Vallée)
  • Continuum vol.19 no.4 (December 2005) pp.559-569 – illustrated article (Lock and Load(up): The Action Body in The Matrix by Christina Lee)
  • Creative Screenwriting vol.7 no.2 (March/April 2000) pp.18-19 – illustrated article (Script comments: why The Matrix works: theme by David S. Freeman)
  • Empire no.116 (February 1999) p.111 – illustrated article (Preview of the year 1999 by Caroline Westbrook)
  • Empire no.119 (May 1999) p.46 – note (Future films)
  • Empire no.121 (July 1999) pp.16-17; 78-84; 132 – illustrated review (New films by Ian Nathan); illustrated interviews with Keanu Reeves, Joel Silver, Laurence Fishburne and John Gaeta (Reality bites by Adam Smith, Bob McCabe, Jeff Dawson and Kevin Murphy); illustrated soundtrack review (Soundtracks)
  • Empire no.127 (January 2000) p.142 – illustrated review (Videos to buy by Caroline Westbrook)
  • Empire no.128 (February 2000) p.120 – illustrated review (DVD to buy by Adam Smith)
  • Empire no.130 (April 2000) pp.140-141 – illustrated review (DVD: sci-fi)
  • Empire no.137 (November 2000) pp.10-15 – illustrated interview with Joel Silver (Public access by Adam Jones)
  • Empire no.167 (May 2003) pp.18-19 – illustrated article (Front row: marketing the Matrix by Ian Nathan)
  • Empire no.168 (June 2003) pp.70-77 – illustrated article (The Matrix revolution by Colin Kennedy)
  • Empire no.164 (February 2003) p.154 – illustrated article (Classic scene)
  • Empire no.180 (June 2004) p.122 – illustrated article (The 15 most influential films of our lifetime by Ian Freer et al)
  • Empire no.188 (February 2005) p.151 – illustrated review (RWD: The Ultimate Matrix Collection by James Dyer)
  • Empire no.198 (December 2005) pp.143-146, 149-151 – illustrated article (Decade Deathmatch: The 90s)
  • Empire no.201 (March 2006) pp.77-88,90-101 – illustrated article (201 Greatest movies of all time)
  • Empire no.208 (October 2006) pp.66-67 – illustrated article (The top 10 movie mentors by Dan Jolin)
  • Empire no.209 (November 2006) supplement p.16 – illustrated article (Empire Film School: Part three: Genre by Ian Freer)
  • Empire no.228 (June 2008) pp.94-101 – illustrated article (True originals by Simon Crook et al)
  • Empire no.230 (August 2008) pp.34 – illustrated interview with Paul Goddard (News etc.: Where are they now?)
  • Empire no.232 (October 2008) pp.124-125 – illustrated article (Apocalypse Now reduced! by Simon Crook)
  • Empire Special: Sci-Fi June 2003 – illustrated article (The ten most influential sci-fi films ever made by Ian Freer et al)
  • Entertainment Weekly no.471 (12 February 1999) p.35 – illustrated article (The A list)
  • Entertainment Weekly no.480 (9 April 1999) pp.26-32; 45-46 – illustrated article (Reality bytes by Rebecca Ascher-Walsh); illustrated review (Techno prisoners by Lisa Schwarzbaum)
  • Entertainment Weekly no.485 (14 May 1999) pp.40-41 – illustrated article (Matrix mania by Andrew Essex)
  • Fangoria no.222 (May 2003) pp.34-37 – illustrated interview with Hugo Weaving (Weaving a spell by Ian Spelling)
  • Feminist Media Studies vol.5 no.1 (March 2005) pp.90-93 – illustrated article (Big mamma: an icon of abundance by Andrea Shaw)
  • Film Criticism vol.27 no.3 (Spring 2003) pp.2-17 – illustrated article (Mastering the real: Trinity as the “real” hero of The Matrix by G. Christopher Williams)
  • Film-Echo/Filmwoche no.14 (10 April 1999) p.44 – illustrated review (Matrix by Andreas Fuchs)
  • Film-Echo/Filmwoche no.24 (19 June 1999) p.15 – illustrated article (“Matrix” – Premiere mit Keanu Reeves)
  • Film-Echo/Filmwoche no.34 (28 August 1999) p.5 – illustrated article (Zwei Sequels zu “Matrix” by AFu)
  • Film Ireland no.71 (June/July 1999) p.39 – illustrated review (Reviews by Harvey O'Brien)
  • Film Quarterly vol.59 no.4 (Summer 2006) pp.23-34 – illustrated article (Tales of Upward Mobility – The New Verticality and Digital Special Effects by Kristen Whissel)
  • Film Review (July 1999) pp.20-21; pp.52-57 – illustrated review (The Matrix by Neil Corry); illustrated interview with Keanu Reeves (Magic ‘Trix by Roald Rynning)
  • Film Review no.654 (March 2005) pp.90-91 – illustrated review (The Ultimate Matrix Collection by Owen Booth)
  • Film Review Special no.27 Summer Blockbusters '99 pp.36-37 – illustrated article (This world is not enough by David Richardson)
  • Film Review Special no.33 Preview 2000-01 p.88 – illustrated DVD note (The Essential DVD Collection)
  • Film Review Special no.53: Alien v Predator pp.48-63 – illustrated article (Top 10 sci-fi babes by Tom Fox)
  • Film Score Monthly vol.4 no.6 (July 1999) p.43 – illustrated soundtrack review (Score: reviews of current releases on CD by Jeff Bond)
  • Film Score Monthly vol.8 no.9 (October/November 2003) pp.16-20 – illustrated article (The Matrix conclusions by Doug Adams)
  • Film Tutti i Film della Stagione vol.6 no.40 (July/August 1999) pp.26-28 – illustrated review
  • Heat 24 April 1999 pp.44-45 – illustrated article (Partly like it's 1999 by Lesley O'Toole)
  • The Hollywood Reporter vol.352 no.2 (7 April 1998) pp.24 – credits
  • The Hollywood Reporter vol.352 no.6 (14 April 1998) pp.28 – credits, note
  • In the Picture no.46 (April 2003) pp.8-11 – illustrated article (The sound and fury of signifiers: analysing the action … by Nick Lacey and Roy Stafford)
  • The Independent Film and Video Monthly vol.28 no.6 (July/August 2005) pp.10-12 – illustrated note (News: Did 20th Century Fox Pull a Milli Vanilli?)
  • Inside Film no.69 (September 2004) pp.18-19 – illustrated article (Designing woman by Wendy Cork)
  • Interview April 2001 p.50 – illustrated interview with Wo-Ping Yuen (Hiieeyah! The man behind the action heroes – and heroines by Elizabeth Weitzman)
  • Interzone no.147 (September 1999) p.36 – review (by Nick Lowe)
  • Journal of Popular Film & Television vol.28 no.4 (Winter 2001) pp.150-157 – illustrated article (From cinespace to : zionists and agents, realists and gamers in The Matrix and eXistenZ by David Lavery)
  • Journal of Popular Film & Television vol.35 no.4 (Winter 2008) pp.146-153 – illustrated article (The Feminine Nature of Masculine Desire in the Age of Cinematic Techno-Transcendence by Jeanne Hamming)
  • Literature/Film Quarterly vol.35 no.4 (2007) pp.265-273 – illustrated article (The Matrix Trilogy and the Revolutionary Drive through the Desert of the Real by Alex E. Blazer)
  • Metro no.138 (2003) pp.168-172 – illustrated article (The Matrix exploded by Paul Vigo and Vanessa Murray)
  • Metro no.143 (2004) pp.114-116 – illustrated article (Title deeds by Drew Turney)
  • Movieline vol.11 no.2 (October 1999) p.90 – illustrated review (by Michael Atkinson)
  • Music from the Movies no.24 (Summer 1999) p.6-15; 29 – illustrated interview with Don Davis (Don Davis: downloading into The Matrix by Rudy Koppl); illustrated soundtrack review (Film music review: new films by Paul Place)
  • Music from the Movies no.44 (2005) p.66 – illustrated review (DVD Review: The Plight of the Mega-Trilogies by Mark Richard Hasan)
  • Music from the Movies Special no.39: The Matrix – illustrated article (Music from the Matrix by Rudy Koppl)
  • Positif no.461/462 (July/August 1999) pp.138-139 – illustrated review (Matrix: le regne de l'hyperréalité by Yannick Dahan)
  • Post Script vol.28 no.2 (Winter/Spring 2009) pp.28-37 – illustrated article (Visual Across the Pacific: The Influence of Anime and on US Film Media by Kukhee Choo)
  • Première no.268 (July 1999) p.48 – illustrated review (Matrix by Eric Libiot)
  • Première no.315 (May 2003) pp.84-86 – illustrated interview with John Gaeta (Bullet man by Christian Jauberty)
  • Premiere vol.12 no.9 (May 1999) pp.50-51 – illustrated article (Come fly with me by Nisha Gopalan)
  • Premiere vol.16 no.11 (July/August 2003) p.34 – illustrated interview with Joe Pantoliano (Scene stealer by Oliver Jones)
  • Premiere vol.17 no.2 (October 2003) p.46 – illustrated article (Costumes that changed the world: The Matrix by Al Weisel)
  • Quarterly Review of Film and Video vol.26 no.2 (2009) pp.155-166 – article (R is for race, not rocket: black representation in American Science Fiction Cinema by Adilifu Nama)
  • Radio Times 1 August 2009 p.43 – illustrated review (Barry Norman's Greatest Hits by Barry Norman)
  • Science Fiction Film and Television vol.1 no.1 (Spring 2008) pp.15-23 – illustrated article (Dialectics of the fable by Alain Badiou)
  • Science Fiction Film and Television vol.1 no.2 (2008) pp.249-273 – illustrated article (When more is less: CGI, spectacle and the capitalist sublime by Greg Tuck)
  • Score Filmmuziek Magazine no.112 (September 1999) p.15 – illustrated article (The Matrix by Peter S.)
  • Screen vol.43 no.4 (Winter 2002) pp.370-386 – illustrated article (Timespaces in spectacular cinema: crossing the great divide of spectacle versus narrative by Aylish Wood)
  • Screen vol.47 no.2 (Summer 2006) pp.233-249 – illustrated article (Baudrillard reloaded: interrelating philosophy and film via The Matrix trilogy by Catherine Constable)
  • Screen International no.1153 (10 April 1998) p.17 – note
  • Screen International no.1165 (3 July 1998) p.15 – credits
  • Screen International no.1204 (16 April 1999) p.15 – illustrated review (The Matrix by John Hazelton)
  • Screen International no.1213 (18 June 1999) p.42 – illustrated article (In the post: The Matrix by Patricia Dobson)
  • Screen International no.1239 (17 December 1999-6 January 2000) p.6 – illustrated article (Matrix DVD kicks off by Leo Barraclough)
  • Screen International no.1415 (8 August 2003) p.8 – note (Strength in numbers by Colin Brown)
  • Screen International no.1436 (16 January 2004) p.3 – note (This week's top stories: Oz scrap over Matrix cash)
  • Shivers no.68 (August 1999) p.47 – illustrated review (by Josephine Botting)
  • Sight & Sound vol.9 no.6 (June 1999) pp.8-9 – illustrated article (Rubber reality by Kim Newman)
  • Sight & Sound vol.9 no.7 (July 1999) pp.46-47 – illustrated review (Reviews by Philip Strick)
  • Sight & Sound vol.10 no.1 (January 2000) p.65 – review (Video reviews: retail by Geoffrey Macnab)
  • Sight & Sound vol.13 no.5 (May 2003) p.6 – illustrated article (The browser: all summer long by Charles Whitehouse)
  • Sight & Sound vol.13 no.7 (July 2003) pp.24-27 – illustrated article (Everywhere and nowhere by Jonathan Romney)
  • Skrien no.236 (September 1999) pp.20-21 (Netherlands) – illustrated review (The matrix: een revolutionaire film by André Waardenburg)
  • Soundtrack! The Collector's Quarterly vol.18 no.69 (Spring 1999) pp.4-6 – illustrated article (Scoring session: Don Davis in The Matrix by Randall Larson)
  • Starburst no.249 (May 1999) pp.56-59 – illustrated article (Matrix tricks by Richard Moore)
  • Starburst no.251 (July 1999) pp.34-49 – illustrated interviews with cast and crew (Inside the Matrix)
  • Starburst no.257 (January 2000) p.8 – illustrated article (Matrix Master)
  • Starburst no.283 (March 2002) p.68 – illustrated review (The Matrix Revisited by Ian Atkins
  • Starburst no.307 (February 2004) pp.18-30 – illustrated article (Top 50 sci-fi movies, books and tv series ever!)
  • Starburst no.319 (February 2005) p.99 – illustrated review (DVD Reviews by David Richardson)
  • Starburst no.350 (June 2007) pp.68-76 – illustrated article (30 Defining Moments)
  • Starburst no.353 (August 2007) pp.90-95 – illustrated article (Sci-Fi Lover's Guide to YouTube by Jason Caro)
  • Starburst no.359 (February 2008) pp.114 – illustrated article (In Numbers)
  • Starburst no.361 April (2008) pp.12 – illustrated article (Hall of Shame: The Greatest Villains in the Universe)
  • Starburst Special no.38 Yearbook 1998/1999 p.95 – illustrated preview (12 months into the future by Brian Barratt)
  • Starburst Special no.40 Summer Special 1999 pp.24-28 – illustrated article (Harsh realms by Richard Moore)
  • Starburst Special no.42 Yearbook '99/'00 pp.26-29 – illustrated interviews with cast and crew (Star Bytes by Judy Sloane)
  • Starburst Special no.44 pp.104-108, 110-120, 122-130 – illustrated article (The future is shiny by David Richardson)
  • Télérama no.2580 (23 June 1999) p.46 – illustrated review (Matrix by Aurélien Ferenczi)
  • Third Text no.65 (December 2003) pp.389-394 – illustrated article (Run, Matrix, Run by Vadim Rudnev)
  • Time Out London 16-22 July 2019 p.56 – note (The ten best pop-ups and festivals this week)
  • Total Film no.27 (April 1999) pp.12-13 – illustrated article (Trailers by Charlie Bird)
  • Total Film no.30 (July 1999) pp.60-65; 80 – illustrated article (Reality Inc. by Cam Winstanley); illustrated review (New films by Dan Jolin)
  • Total Film no.41 (June 2000) p.140 – illustrated article (The Reel Stuff: Filmshop 101: To storyboard, or not to storyboard by Cam Winstanley)
  • TV Guide vol.47 no.38 (18 September 1999) pp.48 – illustrated review (On video: Out of this world by Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
  • Variety 29 March 1999 pp.67, 74 – illustrated review (Film reviews by Todd McCarthy)

Books

  • Terror Tracks: Music, Sound and Horror Cinema by Philip Hayward (ed) pp.11, 200, 205

Other Sources

  • BFI Southbank Guide August 2019 p.32 – illustrated listing

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