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The virtual world is first introduced in ''[[The Matrix]]''. The ''[[The Animatrix|Animatrix]]'' short film "[[The Second Renaissance]]", and the film [http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/rl_middles1_wachdarrtframe.html "Bits and Pieces of Information"] show how the initial conflict between humans and machines came about, and how and why the Matrix was first developed. Its history and purpose are further explained in ''[[The Matrix Reloaded]]''.
The virtual world is first introduced in ''[[The Matrix]]''. The ''[[The Animatrix|Animatrix]]'' short film "[[The Second Renaissance]]", and the film [http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/rl_middles1_wachdarrtframe.html "Bits and Pieces of Information"] show how the initial conflict between humans and machines came about, and how and why the Matrix was first developed. Its history and purpose are further explained in ''[[The Matrix Reloaded]]''.


The films include numerous and varied references to literary, philosophical and religious works. Notable examples include references to the "White Rabbit" and the "Rabbit Hole", referencing Lewis Caroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" along with the use of a mirror as a portal to another world as explored in Carol's "Through the Looking Glass".
The films include numerous and varied references to literary, philosophical and religious works. Notable examples include references to the "White Rabbit" and the "Rabbit Hole", referencing Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" along with the use of a mirror as a portal to another world as explored in Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass".


Biblical and historical references are found in the names of places and vehicles in the Trilogy, such as the "hovercraft" named "Nebuchadnezzar". Though it is not clear whether this name refers to either of the Babylonian Kings of the same name, or merely shares the literal meaning "Nabu (god of wisdom), preserve/defend my firstborn son", which could refer to the ships role in the protection of "The One". Another notable name is the City of [[Zion_(disambiguation)|Zion]], often used as a [[synechdoche]] for the City of Jerusalem or the land of Israel in Abrahamic religious texts, or to refer to a "[[promised land]]" or [[utopia]].
Biblical and historical references are found in the names of places and vehicles in the Trilogy, such as the "hovercraft" named "Nebuchadnezzar". Though it is not clear whether this name refers to either of the Babylonian Kings of the same name, or merely shares the literal meaning "Nabu (god of wisdom), preserve/defend my firstborn son", which could refer to the ships role in the protection of "The One". Another notable name is the City of [[Zion_(disambiguation)|Zion]], often used as a [[synechdoche]] for the City of Jerusalem or the land of Israel in Abrahamic religious texts, or to refer to a "[[promised land]]" or [[utopia]].

Revision as of 14:06, 18 February 2010

The Matrix trilogy
Directed byAndy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski
Written byAndy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski
Produced byJoel Silver
StarringKeanu Reeves
Laurence Fishburne
Carrie-Anne Moss
Hugo Weaving
CinematographyBill Pope
Edited byZach Staenberg
Music byDon Davis
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
1999–2003 & 2010-present
CountryTemplate:FilmUS
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$ 300 million
Box officeUS$ 1.632 billion

The Matrix series primarily consists of a trilogy of science-fiction-action films written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and produced by Joel Silver. The first film The Matrix was released in March 1999; after its success, two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, were released in 2003. The characters and settings of the Matrix fictional universe are further explored in other media, including animation, comic books, and video games.

The series depicts a cyberpunk story incorporating numerous references to philosophical and religious ideas. Other influences include mythology, anime, and Hong Kong action films (particularly "heroic bloodshed" and martial arts movies).

Overview

In the dystopia the series depicts, Earth is dominated by sentient machines. Humans are grown in pods and are connected by cybernetic implants to an artificial reality called the Matrix, which keeps their minds under control while the machines use the bioelectricity and thermal energy of their bodies as an energy source.

The virtual reality world simulated by the Matrix resembles human civilization around the turn of the 21st century (this time period was chosen because it is supposedly the pinnacle of human civilization). The majority of the films and games of the Matrix franchise take place in a vast unnamed megacity, although it is not the only city within the Matrix, as other familiar locations are mentioned and visited by the characters during the trilogy and the Animatrix. As this environment is practically indistinguishable from reality, except when a slight green tinge appears (becoming more prominent as the series continues), the majority of humans connected to the Matrix are unaware of its true nature. Most of the central characters in the series know that it is not 'real' and as a result can partially bend the simulation's physical laws in order to perform superhuman feats within the simulation.

The virtual world is first introduced in The Matrix. The Animatrix short film "The Second Renaissance", and the film "Bits and Pieces of Information" show how the initial conflict between humans and machines came about, and how and why the Matrix was first developed. Its history and purpose are further explained in The Matrix Reloaded.

The films include numerous and varied references to literary, philosophical and religious works. Notable examples include references to the "White Rabbit" and the "Rabbit Hole", referencing Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" along with the use of a mirror as a portal to another world as explored in Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass".

Biblical and historical references are found in the names of places and vehicles in the Trilogy, such as the "hovercraft" named "Nebuchadnezzar". Though it is not clear whether this name refers to either of the Babylonian Kings of the same name, or merely shares the literal meaning "Nabu (god of wisdom), preserve/defend my firstborn son", which could refer to the ships role in the protection of "The One". Another notable name is the City of Zion, often used as a synechdoche for the City of Jerusalem or the land of Israel in Abrahamic religious texts, or to refer to a "promised land" or utopia.

Films

Main articles: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions

The series began with 1999's The Matrix. The film, directed by the Wachowski brothers and produced by Joel Silver, was highly successful, earning $460 million worldwide and beating Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace for the Academy Award for Visual Effects. In addition, by 2000, the DVD release of the film reached three million sales, the first DVD release in North America to do so.[1]

The film's mainstream success led to the making of two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. These were filmed simultaneously during one shoot, and released in two parts in 2003. The sequels were produced under the project codename "The Burly Man"[2] (which later led to the name of the Wachowski brothers' comic book production company, Burlyman Entertainment). The first film's introductory tale is succeeded by the story of the impending attack of the human enclave of Zion by a vast machine army. Neo also learns more about the history of the Matrix, his role as the One and the prophecy that he will end the war. The sequels also incorporate longer and more ambitious action scenes, as well as improvements in bullet time and other visual effects.

Additional media

Anime

Main article: The Animatrix

In acknowledgment of the strong influence of Japanese anime on the Matrix series, The Animatrix was produced in 2003. This is a collection of nine animated short films intended to further flesh out the concepts, history, characters and setting of the series. The objective of The Animatrix project was to give other writers and directors the opportunity to lend their voices and interpretation to the Matrix universe; the Wachowski brothers conceived of and oversaw the process, and they wrote four of the segments themselves, although they were given to other directors to execute. Many of the segments were produced by notable figures from the world of Japanese animation. Four of the films were originally released on the series' official website, one was shown in cinemas with Dreamcatcher, one was shown on MTV, MTV2, MTV3, and MTV4, and the others first appeared with the DVD release of all nine shorts shortly after the release of The Matrix Reloaded.

Video games

On May 15, 2003, the game Enter the Matrix was released in North America concurrently with The Matrix Reloaded. The first of three video games related to the films, it told a story running parallel to The Matrix Reloaded and featured scenes shot during the filming of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

Two more Matrix video games were released in 2005. The MMORPG The Matrix Online continued the story beyond The Matrix Revolutions, while The Matrix: Path of Neo allowed players to control the series' protagonist Neo in scenes from the film trilogy.

Comic books

In addition, several comic books and short stories based on the series – one written by the Wachowskis, the others by guest writers – were released on the official website. Many of these have since been collected in two printed volumes of The Matrix Comics.

DVD releases

Over a year after the cinematic release of the final film, Revolutions, Warner Home Video released The Ultimate Matrix Collection, a 10-Disc DVD set of the films. It included the three films, The Animatrix, and six discs of additional material. A Limited Edition of the collection encases the ten discs, as well as a resin bust of Neo, inside a Lucite box.

Reception

Box office

Film Release date Box office revenue Box office ranking Budget Reference
United States Foreign Worldwide All time domestic All time worldwide
The Matrix March 31, 1999 $171,479,930 $288,901,000 $463,517,383 #142 #83 $63,000,000 [3]
The Matrix Reloaded May 15, 2003 $281,576,462 $457,023,240 $742,128,461 #39
#102(A) 		#32 $150,000,000 [4]
The Matrix Revolutions November 5, 2003 $139,313,948 $285,674,263 $427,343,298 #220 #104 $150,000,000 [5]
Total $592,370,340 $1,031,597,503 $1,623,968,843 $363,000,000
List indicator(s)
  • (A) indicates the adjusted ranks based on current ticket prices (calculated by Box Office Mojo).

Critical reaction

While the first film was extremely successful, both critically and popularly, the quality of the sequels is still a matter of debate. Some fans and professional critics believe they exceed the quality and conceptual heights of the first film, while others found the later films disappointing.[6]

The Matrix Reloaded was well received by critics, though the reaction of some viewers has been mixed.

When The Matrix Revolutions was released, one complaint was that it did not give clear cut answers to the questions raised in Reloaded but rather raised new ones.[7]

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Yahoo! Movies
Overall Cream of the Crop
The Matrix 86% (123 reviews)[8] 68% (28 reviews)[9] 73% (35 reviews)[10] B+ (10 reviews) [11]
The Matrix Reloaded 73% (230 reviews)[12] 74% (42 reviews)[13] 63% (41 reviews)[14] B (15 reviews)[15]
The Matrix Revolutions 37% (203 reviews)[16] 28% (36 reviews)[17] 48% (35 reviews)[18] C+ (14 reviews)[19]
Average Ratings 65% 57% 61% B

Influences and interpretations

The Matrix is arguably the ultimate "cyberpunk" artifact.

William Gibson, 2003-01-28[20]

The Matrix makes numerous references to recent films and literature, and to historical myths and philosophy including Messianism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Existentialism, Nihilism, Vedanta, Advaita Hinduism, Yoga Vashishta Hinduism, and Sikhism. The film's premise resembles Plato's Allegory of the cave, René Descartes's evil daemon, Kant's reflections on the Phenomenon versus the Ding an sich, and the brain in a vat thought experiment, while Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation is featured in the film. There are similarities to cyberpunk works such as Neuromancer by William Gibson.[21]

Neo is an anagram of "One", significant because of the main character's journey and eventual realization of self.

Japanese director Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell was a strong influence. Producer Joel Silver has stated that the Wachowski brothers first described their intentions for The Matrix by showing him that anime and saying, "We wanna do that for real".[22][23] Mitsuhisa Ishikawa of Production I.G, which produced Ghost in the Shell, noted that the anime's high-quality visuals were a strong source of inspiration for the Wachowski brothers. He also commented, "... cyberpunk films are very difficult to describe to a third person. I'd imagine that The Matrix is the kind of film that was very difficult to draw up a written proposal for to take to film studios." He stated that since Ghost in the Shell had gained recognition in America, the Wachowski brothers used it as a "promotional tool".[24] Besides Ghost in the Shell, another Japanese anime which influenced The Matrix was the 1985 film Megazone 23, directed by Noboru Ishiguro and Shinji Aramaki.[25] An American adaptation of Megazone 23 was released in 1986 as Robotech: The Movie. There are also several more Japanese anime and manga that can be found as sources of influence.[26]

Reviewers have commented on similarities between The Matrix and other late-1990s films such as Strange Days, Dark City, and The Truman Show.[27][28][29] Comparisons have also been made to Grant Morrison's comic series The Invisibles; Morrison believes that the Wachowski brothers essentially plagiarized his work to create the film.[30] In addition, the similarity of the film's central concept to a device in the long running series Doctor Who has also been noted. As in the film, the Matrix of that series (introduced in the 1976 serial The Deadly Assassin) is a massive computer system which one enters using a device connecting to the head, allowing users to see representations of the real world and change its laws of physics; but if killed there, they will die in reality.[31] There is also a similar "Matrix" used by the Travellers in Paul Cornell's 1992 Doctor Who spin-off novel Love and War, in which a socket at the top of the spine is used to plug into the Matrix.

The film also shares many ideas with Grant Morrison's counter-culture comic book The Invisibles and Morrison states that the comic book could be found in the film's settings. However, most of the similarities between the two works can be, probably, explained by the common influence received from the works of Carlos Castaneda[32][33][34][35] that is fairly obvious and extensive in the first film and in the volume I of the comic book[36]. Morrison acknowledged the influence though he, indeed, believes in the debt of the Wachowski's brothers to his work. The "inheritance chain" here is a problem of difficult solution since the borrowings were, in both cases, quite literal and similar.

There are still numerous other influences from diverse sources such as Harlan Ellison (I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream)[37], Thomas Pynchon (The Crying of Lot 49),[38] and Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash).[citation needed]

Matrixism

The Matrix series has also inspired a new religious movement called Matrixism: The path of the One.[39][40][41][42][43] The religion was conceived by an anonymous group in mid-2004[44][45] and by November 2004 it claimed to have attracted upwards of 300 members.[46][41] Current reports indicate that there are now approximately 16,000 followers of Matrixism worldwide.[47] Even though Matrixism has grown substantially and its Geocities website (username: matrixism2069) has received significant attention in the media[48][49][50] some still debate whether Matrixists are serious about their beliefs.[39][45]

Books

Official

  • The Art of the Matrix by Spencer Lamm (Newmarket Press, 2000) ISBN 1-55704-405-8
  • The Matrix Comics by various (Titan Books, 2003) ISBN 1-84023-806-2
  • The Matrix Comics Volume 2 by various (Titan Books, 2005) ISBN 1-84576-021-2
  • The Matrix Shooting Script by Larry and Andy Wachowski (with introduction by William Gibson) (Newmarket Press, 2002) ISBN 1-55704-490-2
  • Enter The Matrix: Official Strategy Guide by Doug Walsh (Brady Games, 2003) ISBN 0-7440-0271-0
  • The Matrix Online: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Games, 2005) ISBN 0-7615-4943-9
  • The Matrix: Path of Neo Official Strategy Guide (Brady Games, 2005) ISBN 0-7440-0658-9

Unofficial

  • Jacking In to the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation by Matthew Kapell and William G. Doty (Continuum International, 2004) ISBN 0-8264-1587-3
  • Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in "The Matrix" by Glenn Yeffeth (Summersdale, 2003) ISBN 1-84024-377-5
  • Matrix Warrior: Being the One by Jake Horsley (Gollancz, 2003) ISBN 0-575-07527-9
  • The "Matrix" and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real by William Irwin (Open Court, 2002) ISBN 0-8126-9502-X
  • More Matrix and Philosophy by William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) ISBN 0-8126-9572-0
  • Like a Splinter in Your Mind: The Philosophy Behind the "Matrix" Trilogy by Matt Lawrence (Blackwell, 2004) ISBN 1-4051-2524-1
  • The Matrix (British Film Institute, 2004) ISBN 1-84457-045-2
  • Matrix Revelations: A Thinking Fan's Guide to the Matrix Trilogy by Steve Couch (Damaris, 2003) ISBN 1-904753-01-9
  • Beyond the Matrix: Revolutions and Revelations by Stephen Faller (Chalice Press, 2004) ISBN 0-8272-0235-0
  • The "Matrix" Trilogy: Cyberpunk Reloaded by Stacy Gillis (Wallflower Press, 2005) ISBN 1-904764-32-0
  • Exegesis of the Matrix by Peter B. Lloyd (Whole-Being Books, 2003) ISBN 1-902987-09-8
  • The Gospel Reloaded by Seay Garrett (Pinon Press, 2003) ISBN 1-57683-478-6
  • The "Matrix": What Does the Bible Say About... by D. Archer (Scripture Union, 2001) ISBN 1-85999-579-9
  • [Journey to the Source: Decoding Matrix Trilogy] by Pradheep Challiyil (Sakthi Books 2004) ISBN 0-9752586-0-5
  • Exploring the Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Present by Karen Haber (St. Martin's Press, 2003) ISBN 0-312-31358-6
  • Philosophers Explore The Matrix by Christopher Gray (Oxford University Press, 2005) ISBN 0-19-518107-7
  • The Matrix Cultural Revolution by Michel Marriot (Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003) ISBN 1-56025-574-9
  • The Matrix Reflections: Choosing between reality and illusion by Eddie Zacapa (Authorhouse, 2005) ISBN 1-42080-782-X
  • The One by A.J. Yager & Dean Vescera (Lifeforce Publishing, 2003) ISBN 0-97097-961-4
  • Matrix og ulydighedens evangelium (Danish for: "Matrix and the Evangelium of disobedients" by Rune Engelbreth Larsen (Bindslev, 2004) ISBN 87-91229-12-8

See also

References

  1. ^ "Press release - August 1, 2000 - The Matrix DVD: The first to sell 3 million". URL retrieved July 26, 2006.
  2. ^ Steve Silberman (May 2003). "Matrix2". Wired. Wired Digital/Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
  3. ^ "The Matrix (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  4. ^ "The Matrix Reloaded (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  5. ^ "The Matrix Revolutions (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  6. ^ Rotten tomatoes review of Matrix Revolutions
  7. ^ New York Metro review of Matrix Revolutions
  8. ^ "The Matrix Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  9. ^ "The Matrix (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  10. ^ "The Matrix (1999):Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  11. ^ "The Matrix – Yahoo! Movies". Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  12. ^ "The Matrix Reloaded Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  13. ^ "The Matrix Reloaded (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  14. ^ "The Matrix Reloaded (2003):Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  15. ^ "The Matrix Reloaded – Yahoo! Movies". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  16. ^ "The Matrix Revolutions Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  17. ^ "The Matrix Revolutions (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  18. ^ "The Matrix Revolutions (2003):Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  19. ^ "The Matrix Revolutions - Yahoo! Movies". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  20. ^ "THE MATRIX: FAIR COP", The William Gibson Blog
  21. ^ "The Matrix: Fair Cop". URL retrieved 7 July 2006.
  22. ^ Joel Silver, interviewed in "Scrolls to Screen: A Brief History of Anime" featurette on The Animatrix DVD.
  23. ^ Joel Silver, interviewed in "Making The Matrix" featurette on The Matrix DVD.
  24. ^ Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, interviewed in The South Bank Show, episode broadcast 19 February 2006 [1]
  25. ^ "Megazone 23". A.D. Vision. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  26. ^ Influenced pictures for Matrix from anime and manga: [2], [3]
  27. ^ Roger Ebert's review of The Matrix. URL retrieved 21 August 2006.
  28. ^ "The Matrix (1999) - Channel 4 Film review". URL retrieved 21 August 2006.
  29. ^ "Cinephobia reviews: The Matrix". URL retrieved 27 December 2006.
  30. ^ "Poor Mojo Newswire: Suicide Girls Interview with Grant Morrison". URL retrieved 31 July 2006.
  31. ^ Condon, Paul. The Matrix Unlocked. 2003. Contender. p.141-3. ISBN 1-84357-093-9
  32. ^ http://www.consciencia.org/castaneda/castaneda-matrix.html
  33. ^ http://www.barbelith.com/topic/7699
  34. ^ http://www.barbelith.com/bomb/1_2.htm
  35. ^ http://www.manwithoutfear.com/messageboard/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2223&view=previous&sid=78ca2f9aa26ea99f11b8c37ded719933
  36. ^ http://groups.google.com.br/group/rec.arts.comics.dc.vertigo/browse_thread/thread/dbb72191f2048789/50f9a3c7ac5a473d?hl=pt-BR&q=morrison+carlos+castaneda+invisibles
  37. ^ http://community.livejournal.com/theinferior4/466611.html
  38. ^ http://community.livejournal.com/theinferior4/466611.html
  39. ^ a b Jordison, Sam (2005). The Joy of Sects: An A-Z of Cults, Cranks and Religious Eccentrics: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sects But Were Afraid to Ask, pp 127-9, Robson Books. ISBN 1861059051
  40. ^ Bouma, Gary (2007). Australian Soul, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521673891
  41. ^ a b Morris, Linda (May 19, 2005). "They're all God Movies". NPR. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  42. ^ Moscaritolo, Maria (June 12, 2006). "Matter of faith". News Limited Australia. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
  43. ^ J. Gordon Melton (2007). "Perspective: New New Religions: Revisiting a Concept". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 10 (4). The Regents of the University of California: 103–112. doi:10.1525/nr.2007.10.4.103. ISSN 1092-6690.
  44. ^ Possamai, Adam (2005). "Religion and Popular Culture: A Hyper-Real Testament", Peter Lang Publishing Group. ISBN 90-5201-272-5 / US-ISBN 0-8204-6634-4 pb.
  45. ^ a b Jordison, Sam (April 8, 2006). "Everything you always wanted to know about sects". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2007-05-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  46. ^ Frishberg, Manny (November 26, 2004). "When movies inspire a religion". JTNews. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  47. ^ Kotelawala, Himal (June 14, 2008). "Behind Matrixism". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  48. ^ Kasriel, Alex (2006). "The joy of sects". The Sun. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
  49. ^ ""Nieuw geloof"". Esquire Magazine Netherlands. May 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-14. English translation: Because there is nothing more fun than discussing a film, 1400 fans of the film have set up a new religion, Matrixism (not to be confused with Marxism). Just like their hero Neo from The Matrix, they release themselves from The Matrix with a red pill. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  50. ^ "Matrixism -"The Path of the One"". Esquire Magazine UK. Zinio. January 19, 2007. The 1,400 worldwide "Matrixists", or "Pathists", cite the three Matrix films as their religious texts. Like Matrix hero Neo, they choose to free themselves from the Matrix
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