DVD : The Matrix [1999]

Rating: - Not That Original After All
I had always enjoyed watching this movie for all the reasons stated in other reviews, but last night I sat through an hour and fifty odd minutes of the director's cut of "Dark City" - released in 1998 and totally ignored by the majority of critics and film goers. In fact, The Director's Cut copy I had was given to me by a friend and, as far as I know, is not available in this country. The plot of this film is about a populace trapped in a perpetually dark city, which is closed down and re-tuned by the controllers. Memories are altered, people put into other slots in the society, and the entire landscape altered as part of the experiment. Essentially it's The Matrix, but without all the silly Kung Fu, shouting and shooting and the pseudo religious clap trap that proliferates in The Matrix. It is a dark and gripping movie that predates this hocum and will blow you away with its visually stunning photography and thought provoking plotline. So, do yourselves a favour. If you don't want all the guns and silliness, but want the alien controlled reality then watch Dark City instead...Anyone know the way to Shell Beach? Everyone thinks they do until they try to give you directions.....

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Rating: - The Matrix [1999]
Buy the "The Matrix/Matrix Revisited if you are an avid Matrix fan who did not like the sequels enough to buy the ten or three disc editions. Also if you just want Film one and any bonuses for The first Matrix film then the two disc version is probably the way to go. While the original realise is justifiably a very good DVD considering it came out in 1999 the re-release has what appears to be a comprehensive documentary which sounds like quite a coup for fans of the first Matrix. I actually steered clear of this film for a long time but having seen it a couple of days ago was not really that surprised. I expected a very good film and I certainly got it. Problem for me is nine years on everyone virtually has seen this, made their minds up or knows the jest of it. I could write about what an entertaining visually stunning, exciting, and surprisingly fresh feeling, re-watchable viewing this was but chances are you have heard that review a million times over. So I will restrict my comments to the DVD.

Given that it was released in 1999 I wouldn't have expected anything in the way of bonus features but there are two decent features available, one that has maybe 18 minutes of supplemented material along with a twenty five-minute look into the making of the film by HBO. The first feature is follow the white rabbit, chose this feature and a white rabbit icon will appear clicking on it will enable you to see a two to three minute look at the making of a big special effect sequence in the film. There are about five or six of these and to be honest the fact the way they go from the scene in the film to the clip behind the scenes isn't that good. No commentary just actual process of making the scene compressed into a two-minute segment, which would have been a bit better, had there been actual input from the filmmakers. No matter, for a very early DVD release this is better than most one- disc editions available today, the HBO first look is a moderately interesting advert for the film, which as you would expect doesn't go too deep into anything as it was made prior to the films release and therefore gives very little away. There is also a five-minute "take the red pill feature" that explains the bullet-time effect.

Like I said most one-disc editions nowadays might have a trailer but nothing more, but this copy for under Five pounds gives you one of the most celebrated movies of the last decade, this copy is still selling well enough on Amazon to be in the top two hundred(at the time I ordered it) which given its nine years old says something. I write this not as a die hard Matrix fan but someone who just recently bought an excellent DVD for pennies, so whether you like Science Fiction or not I strongly recommend picking this up as it is not only good value but a feature that when you strip away the pop culture mythology, is still a hugely entertaining film that works on whatever level you want it too, however serious or just plain entertaining you believe it too be, it works either way. Most already know this but I bought this without having seen this and enjoyed so much I initially regretted not getting the two-disc edition so its definitely worth looking into. I feel awfully tempted to actual discuss the movie, but lets face it two hundred and thirty-five people on this page alone have done that not to mention reviewer sites across the internet, but if for whatever reason you haven't seen this excellent Film, I highly recommend it, but do thing the two-disc edition is worth getting, though there isn't an official price on Amazon at the minute but settling for the original is certainly no problem for me.

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Rating: - Great Movie, Alot of Symbolism
Last night, I have watched one of my favorite movies, "The Matrix" as I have seen it many times. I would highly recommend this movie, and I am not talking about just the full trilogy. I am talking about the very first one, this one. There is alot of symbolism in this movie and certainly several aspects that would drive one mad and utter turns to disbelief if it were to be true. What if our reality is the Matrix? Don't start looking for the holes on your arms...yet.

Also, there was alot of dailogues between Neo and Morpheus that is memorable, including this one:

"The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it. Were you listening to me, Neo? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?"

The woman in the red dress is what we would consider to be temptation. There are those who tasted temptation, lived for it, and will die for it...even though it is a lie. Interesting, eh?

Go out and see this movie. It is surely a must see and there's a good deal to learn from it. But, if you're not into symbolism of the movie, the actions and fights were "awesome," as my inner child would say.

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Rating: - Am i gonna be unpopular now?
I know this may annoy Matrix buffs but over the course of the past few years the more i watch this film the more it irritates me to the point of cringing. This is all the more strange as i used to love it.

It is quite difficult to pinpoint why i dislike the film so much but there is an underlying element of cheesiness about this film which i never originally noticed and as such it has decended into a two star b movie. Agent Smith is excellent whenever i see this film but the rest of the cast appear to be sleeping their way through.

This was a seminal film at release but the longer time goes on i can see it becoming a bit of a chore to watch especially when special effects are continuing to advance. All in all not the worst film i have ever seen but falls short by a long distance im afraid to say and only adds to the public impression that Keanu Reeves cannot act.

For his one excellent performance seek out Devils Advocate because he is brilliant!

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Rating: - Awesome Sci-fi carrying a powerful metaphor
The Matrix Trilogy, and especially the first installment, must be one of the most significant films of our time, and is likely to go down as an all time sci-fi classic along with the likes of Blade Runner. It is obviously laden with symbology fished from a variety of sources, but I wonder if the Watchowski brothers realised just exactly how powerful a metaphor for our reality they were creating.

The central premise that our lives are not 'real' but are steeped in illusion in order that our life force may be fed upon whilst we are enfenced unwittingly like cattle - this is a relevant and powerful message on many levels. It can easily be seen that this is true on a superficial level, with the rampant rise of ultra-aggressive capitalist consumerism, whereby everyone is 'sold a dream' in order to siphon off all income to profit the few, but it goes deeper than that, and can be used to catch a glimpse of some ideas on the true nature of reality. The overlap with material such as Castaneda is remarkable, with stories about the archetypal predator who is invisible, and feeds on us because he has 'given us his mind'. In all, it is a striking metaphor for the human condition.

Of course the great thing is that, even if you don't want to explore things to those levels, taken at surface value as a piece of entertainment, the Matrix is still a fantastic sci-fi/action film, with colourful characters, awesome visuals, and a solid original plotline. Taken as a trilogy, this is a fantastic piece of film-making artwork, but the first episode definitely has the lead for sheer impact and originality. Recommended to all!