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(More customer reviews)If you've seen The Matrix you know why the film community heralds it as a benchmark achievement in filmmaking. Just as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars set the bar for film special effects, The Matrix came along and made us re-examine everything we thought a movie could do. Revolutionary, groundbreaking, mindblowing - these are all terms people use to describe The Matrix. It's certainly all true, but up until now, what I'd appreciated most about The Matrix was this: it packaged a Philosophy 101 course into a digestible Sci-Fi flick with a raging techno/rock/orchestral score and jaw-dropping action sequences. The Blu-ray release of The Matrix turns this scale on its head bringing the action scenes to the level they were always meant to reach - now the film is superb all the way around.
Andy and Larry Wachowski invited us to follow the white rabbit down the hole into an exploration of perception versus reality. If the entire world we live in - the air, the terrain and the other people - is nothing but a computer program, what is our reality? Do we consider the magenta-hued egg which sustains us while sapping our bioelectricity to be our reality? Or is the manufactured existence within a computer the truest one? Neo chooses the red pill and plunges into the terrifying truth of what reality has become. Amidst a group of ragtag survivors in c. 2199, Neo (Keanu Reeves) discovers the truth behind the Matrix under the guidance of Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss).
Despite The Matrix being stuffed with heaping spoonfuls of rudimentary philosophical musings, the plot is remarkably simple in structure. The entire second and third acts stem from Neo's attempting to verify his place in his new reality. He does so by diving back into the fictional world of the Matrix to confront the Oracle and in the process Morpheus is taken captive and the remaining members of the team mount a plan to rescue him. That's The Matrix at its most barebones level. What that description fails to impart are all the aspects that make The Matrix so memorable. Attached to that frame is a traitorous monad who longs to once again lose himself in the Matrix (Joe Pantoliano), a tireless Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) seeking to end Neo and the omnipresent question of whether a true reality or an altered perception thereof is preferable. The latter might make you comfortable, but are you really living?
But I already own The Matrix on DVD, should I double dip? Is it worth the second purchase? There are two types of movies where high-definition makes a difference. The first is animation: the colors are crisper, the edges smoother and everything has vibrancy unparalleled in the DVD format. The second is balls to the wall action films with special effects that break all the rules: like The Matrix. Watching a helicopter spiral out of control and plummet into the side of a skyscraper which then ripples like a puddle is cool. Watching it in high-definition - it's like seeing the face of a special effects god for the first time. Yes, it's worth the second purchase. Buy it on Blu-ray, give your DVD copy to a friend...and just laugh at what they're missing.
Blu-Ray Extra Features:
Normally, I just plow through the trailers and audio commentary section, but in the case of The Matrix on Blu-ray special consideration is deserved. Your first audio commentary choice is a virtual Philosophy 101 lecture about the ideas presented in The Matrix taught by Dr. Cornel West and Ken Wilber - it's really interesting for newcomers but not quite meaty enough for anyone more versed in deep thinking. The second commentary comes from film critics Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David Thomson - this is somewhat obnoxious. It's an audio track of them praising The Matrix with a few snippets of legitimate criticism thrown in as if to validate their presence in commentary form. Thirdly, a cast and crew commentary features Carrie-Anne Moss, Zach Staenberg (editor) and John Gaeta (visual effects supervisor) discussing all the usual facets: working with the big names in the cast, the stunt work, the direction, etc. Finally, not so much a commentary but audio track, there's the option to play the film with no sound (diagetic or non) besides the score. It's a surreal experience and one of my favorite ways to watch the action sequences.
Finally, there's another commentary of sorts which is the "In-Movie Experience" which is really the icing on the commentary cake. Featuring a picture-in-picture box in the lower corners, virtually everyone involved in the film gets their moment in the sun talking about every conceivable part of the film from auditions, to stunt work, to personal relationships and what they took away from the film. Brilliantly laid in, it's worth your time.
As was offered previously, "The Matrix Revisited", a feature-length documentary on the making of the original film, comes with the main feature. Definitely interesting for fans and film geeks who want to understand every technological wonder that made this landmark film possible; but for non-Matrix enthusiasts you'll probably find yourself distracted after 20 to 30 minutes. It's interesting as all get out, but you do need to have the initial level of interest to commit to the two hour duration.
We have a healthy smattering of production diary featurettes chronicling things like the injuries suffered by Hugo Weaving while filming and Keanu's obsession over physical motion in specific scenes. Fun to watch and these are essentially the more palatable versions of "The Matrix Revisited" for the less devoted among us.
The last batch of features is a virtual jukebox of the music from The Matrix and includes a music video of Marilyn Manson's "Rock is Dead". The Music Revisited is a terrific addition and helps track down some of the great tracks from the film that you might not have known the names of.
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