Neo (Reeves)-mild-mannered software author by day, feared hacker by night-is recruited into a cell of cyber-rebels, led by Morpheus (Fishburne) and the warrior Trinity (Moss). They have made a fundamental discovery about the world: It does not exist. It is only a seedy utopia where humanity is preserved, protected, and endlessly recycled by a mega-computer. Cypher (Pantoliano) turns traitorous for access to comforts unmatched by the drab post-apocalyptic real world, while Agent Smith (Weaving) dismisses humans as "a plague"--For which non-organic life is "the cure."
MPAA rating: R for sci-fi violence and brief language.|||adult
Village Roadshow Productions ; Groucho II Film Partnership ; Silver Pictures ; produced by Joel Silver ; written and directed by the Wachowski brothers.
Originally produced as a motion picture in 1999.
Special features: Cast and crew [text feature] ; The dream world: Commentary [track] by Carrie-Anne Moss, visual effects supervisor editor John Gaeta and editor Zach Staenberg ; Making "The Matrix" [making-of documentary], (25 min.) ; What is Bullet Time? [special effects documentary (red pill on the menu)] (6 min.) ; Music-only track with commentary by composer Don Davis ; Follow the white rabbit [option to play movie with viewable hidden special effects footage] ; DVD-ROM features include Matrix events ; The one ; Alternate realities ; Programmed realities ; Original theatrical website ; links to various sites [requires Windows 95 or better, DVD-ROM drive].
Keanu Reeves (Neo), Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus), Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity), Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith), Gloria Foster (Oracle), Joe Pantoliano (Cypher).
DVD, NTSC, Region 1, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, anamorphic widescreen presentation, aspect ratio 2.35:1, dual-layer format.
In English with optional English subtitles; closed-captioned in English for the hearing impaired.
Cinematographer, Bill Pope; visual effects, John Gaeta; production designer, Owen Paterson; editor, Zach Staenberg ; music, Don Davis ; kung fu choreographer, Yuen Wo Ping.
Academy Award, 2000: Best editing; Best effects, sound effects editing; Best effects, visual effects; Best sound.
Licensed for private home use only.
