October 1999

The Matrix
Reviewed by Doug Schneider
DVD Format

Overall Enjoyment:
Picture Quality:
Sound Quality:
Packaged Extras:

Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Directed by The Wachowski Brothers

Theatrical Release: 1999
DVD Release: 1999
Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen

What if everything you see, hear and taste is not real? What if instead, your mind simply tells you it’s real and you believe it to the extent that this fantasy becomes your reality? This is the premise to The Matrix, an extravagant science fiction/action movie that takes place a couple of centuries in the future in an age when computers use people for energy--keeping them alive and happy by feeding their minds an artificial reality. And what does this reality look like? It looks just like Sydney, Australia in 1999, the place where this film was shot. Given a choice, I’m not sure I’d choose Sydney for an artificial reality. Sure, it’s a nice place but I’d rather choose a world that offers endless beaches full of replicas of Cindy Crawford, Jill Kelly and Pamela Anderson. Likewise, I’m sure many women would want their fantasy worlds to include Brad Pitt, Richard Gere and perhaps Antonio Banderas. No matter, that’s just me. Sydney is what it is in The Matrix, so Sydney is what we get.

Keanu Reeves plays Neo, a computer programmer for a large firm. He’s introduced as just another face in a cubicle. We should have guessed at this point that he’s in a fantasy world because he’s a computer nerd that hot women seem to like. Does this really happen today? However, what we find out is that Neo is really "the One." He is the "chosen One" who will save mankind from the tyranny of the computers. His quest begins when he follows a young woman’s white rabbit tattoo. Eventually she leads him to a dance club where he is then confronted by Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), a sexy heroine with a penchant for latex and leather outfits. Trinity confirms Neo’s suspicions that all he sees is not real. After agreeing to find out what is really real, Neo is snatched from his fantasy life and introduced to a very bleak reality by a team of rebels led by Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne). By zipping in and out of the Matrix (that’s what they call the computer program that creates this world) this team of humans attempts to defeat the computers in order to regain their world.

To create this futuristic epic the filmmakers went all out. As a result, the special effects for The Matrix are astonishing. Although the much ballyhooed Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace boasted of next generation special effects, The Matrix is the real winner in 1999. In comparison to the slick and very real look of The Matrix many parts of The Phantom Menace look like cartoons on steroids. The Matrix is an incredible blend of digital animation and traditional film-effects. This combination creates an incredible illusion on screen. Furthermore, the inventive use of these special effects combined with the martial arts action sequences make the film a thrill to watch.

Although the video transfer to DVD is good, the image is diminished in quality a tad compared to film. For instance, while the famous slow motion bullet shots, the John Woo inspired gunfight and the leaps between buildings are all good on the small screen, they were incredible with an almost glossy look on the big screen. Also the wet look achieved by the characters’ leather outfits which helped to give the film its modern look was successful in the theater, but the picture on DVD is a bit softer looking and the outfits lose their luster. On the other hand, the sound is extremely good and I’m sure those with good theater systems will achieve sound equal in quality (or perhaps better) than what they heard in even an excellent theater. The sound is clean with an abundance of detail and a wonderful multi-channel spread. Dialogue, in particular, is very easy to discern and there is a wealth of detail in the soundstage. Subtle nuances like the clink of the bullets, are rendered with excellent clarity. Rear channel effects are also put to really good use. Watch the helicopter scene where Neo shoots up the building and listen for the detailed, enveloping sound. In this regard it is one of the best DVD discs on the market.

The DVD offers good extras which include features for your DVD player and DVD-ROM drive (take note that DVD-ROM extras will not work in your player). The extras include an abundance of commentary, storyboards, biographies, filmographies, etc. With all of this one might think that there is little more to ask for. Well, I for one, wanted that little more. In the part that described the making of the film, I found that it didn’t contain enough information. I would like to have seen a more detailed, behind-the-scenes look at the production—one which would have detailed how they mixed very slow motion photography with digital animation to create some of the unbelievable effects. The effects in The Matrix are so revolutionary that I’m sure many people would be interested in knowing exactly how they were accomplished.

While not quite up to the standard of films like Blade Runner or Alien, (which are in my opinion two the very best science-fiction films ever made), The Matrix is still a thoroughly entertaining, well-crafted movie. Like the best of the films in this genre, it creates an artificial world that is completely convincing. Although it fails slightly with a couple of plot inconsistencies that are hard to overlook and it mixes a little too much style at the expense of substance, it is still very good and definitely one of the best film releases of 1999. All summed up, this DVD is well-worth owning.

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