The Ultimate Matrix Collection (Warner Bros. Blu-ray)
Picture:
A- Sound: A- Extras: A- Films:
Matrix: B
Matrix Reloaded: C+
Matrix Revolution: C+
Animatrix: B
Unlike
the 2007 HD DVD release of the Matrix films;
Warner Bros. has smartly opted to only release The Ultimate Matrix Collection on Blu-ray and not reissue the The Complete Matrix Trilogy, which
featured much less material. The best
way to dive into this massive and impressive Blu-ray set is by giving a general
overview and then going disc by disc.
The set comes with a nice booklet that has an introduction by the
Wachowski Brothers and then breaks down each discs contents individually. The Wachowski Brothers had an unexpected hit
on their hands when The Matrix hit
theaters and only grew bigger by word of mouth and home video
distribution. The Matrix was fun, full of action, smart, and had all the makings
of a classic science fiction film. When
word came out that sequels were on the way, fans were ecstatic; but when Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions came to fruition,
they failed to pack the punch of their innovative predecessor. Matrix
Reloaded and Revolutions were
surprisingly different than The Matrix;
whereas The Matrix was smart and
well written, its sequels shoved pretentiously, nonsolid philosophical
reasoning down the moviegoers’ throats.
No longer were the films fun, they were tedious ventures of self
indulgence by the Wachowski Brothers as they unsuccessfully balanced a huge
Hollywood budget with a once admirable artistic film vision.
Whereas
the storyline of the main film and its two sequels have been discussed
elsewhere on this site; this review will focus on the Blu-ray’s disc by disc
breakdown as well as The Animatrix,
which was not featured in the HD-DVD The
Complete Matrix Trilogy set.
To read
more about The Complete Matrix Trilogy backstory,
please refer to the link below:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5463/The+Complete+Matrix+Trilogy
The Matrix embraced so many different
elements that when the film hit theaters in 1999 it was almost too much to
comprehend. With a combination of
impressive martial arts, jam-packed action, and body swirling camera work; The Matrix had changed the world of
big-budget action films forever. It
wasn’t a nerdy sci-fi film or a meathead action flick; there was something more
there that embraced a sophisticated and mentally stimulating vision that had never
been seen before. Sure films like the
classic Blade Runner and Dark City used the gritty, grimy
cityscape to take their artistic vision to the next level, but The Matrix brought its own
individuality to the table. The film
turned out to be a blockbuster smash that made over $500 million and fans
across the board salivated at the thought of a sequel and in the end they wound
up with two. But those sequels did not
fair as well as the inspirational original.
The Matrix Reloaded opened humungous, but with that
large opening came even larger expectations.
In the end, Reloaded fell
extremely short of the brilliance of the first film by rehashing what fans had
already seen and adding a jumbled mess of philosophical banter with gluttonous
action sequences. Six months later when Matrix Revolutions hit the big screen
it was obvious that fans’ expectations had been crushed and the less than
stellar box office take even furthered that conclusion. On an overall scale The Matrix Trilogy is fun film series that offered a ton for future
films and directors to build off of. On
an individual basis, however, The Matrix
is solid gold, but its sequels are just a shell of what they could have
been.
On a more
positive note, the fantastic Animatrix is
also included in this set; and this time in High Definition! After the success of the original Matrix film the Wachowski Brothers set
out to do something a little different for the fans prior to releasing the two
sequels. Enlisting the help of anime
artists the Wachowski’s managed to bring the Matrix to life in a whole new
light. A series of 9 anime films were
created, each with their own unique style.
From deep inky blacks to blindingly bright, the entire spectrum of art
was used. In many ways the Animatrix stands alone from The Matrix films with its unique art
direction and the way each film never seems to quite connect. The short films are powerful, interesting,
and gave us hope that The Matrix had
many more hidden gems to offer us.
Now into
this fantastically presented Blu-ray set.
The
technical features on this 7-Disc Blu-ray set are fantastic. The picture on The Matrix, Matrix Reloaded, and Matrix Revolutions is amazing in its 1080p/VC-1 transfers as each
is projected in 2.40 X 1 Widescreen. After fans for years (besides the HD-DVD
release) suffering through lackluster release, after lackluster release on VHS
and DVD, Warner Bros. has finally got the picture quality right. Each of the three films as well as The Animatrix looks astonishing with no
film out staging the other. The films
embody deep solid blacks, balanced colors, crisp lines, great contrast, and an
almost incomparable texture. The images
pop from the screen and no longer do you have the problem of black on black or
black on green meshing together into a visual mess. Needless to say I was very impressed with the
picture presentation on all 4 films presented in this set. The sound is presented in a Dolby True HD 5.1
track (48 kHz/16-bit) that highlights the solid dialogue and lets every action
sequence ‘boom’ with the presence it deserves.
The surrounds have an aggressive presence, but a smooth directionality
at the same time allowing for a wonderful film experience. My floor rumbled from the bass and it felt
like I was right there in the film. The Matrix is a complex film both
picture and sound wise and now in Blu-ray that complexity shines through with
its pristine image and encompassing soundstage.
The extra
features found on this set are out of this world. There is so much to dig through it is almost
impossible to describe. Everything and
anything about The Matrix can be
found on this set. The over inundation
of audio commentaries, deleted scenes, interviews, behind the scenes looks, and
featurette after featurette could intimidate even the biggest Matrix fan. Sadly most of the special features are
presented in a standard definition 480p/i/MPEG-2.
Disc 1 (+
a Digital Copy Disc): The Matrix
- 4 Commentaries with a Written
Introduction by the Wachowski Brothers
- The four commentaries are
split between The Philosophers, The
Critics, Cast/Crew, and Composer
- The Music Revisited
- 41 Track Audio only
selection of nearly 3 hours of music
- Behind the Matrix Featurettes
(over 1.5 hours of footage)
- Making the Matrix
- The Dance of the Master:
Yeun Wo Ping’s Blocking Tapes
- The Bathroom Fight and Wet
Wall
- The Code of the Red Dress
- The Old Exit: Wabash and
Lake
- Agent Down
- And a ton more…
- Take the Red Pill Featurettes
- What is the Bullet Time?
- What is the Concept?
- Follow the White Rabbit
Featurettes
- Trinity Escape, Pod, Kung
Fu, The Wall, Bathroom Fight, Government Lobby, Government Roof,
Helicopter, and Subway
Disc 2:
Matrix Reloaded
- 2 Commentaries with a Written
Introduction by the Wachowski Brothers
- One commentary features The Philosophers and the other The Critics
- Behind the Matrix Featurettes
- The Matrix Unfolds
- Pre-Load
- Get Me an Exit
- The MTV Movie Awards
Reloaded
- Car Chase Featurettes
- The Freeway Chase
- Oakland Streets and Freeway:
Unseen Material
- Tour of the Merovingian’s
Car Garage
- Queen of the Road
- Arteries of the Mega-City:
The Visual Effects of the Freeway Chase
- Foresight: Preplanning the
Mayhem
- Freeway Truck Crash: Anatomy
of a Shot
- Fate of the Freeway
- Freeway Action Match
- Teahouse Fight Featurettes
- Two Equals Clash
- Guardian of the Oracle:
Collin Chow
- Unplugged Featurettes
- Creating the Burly Brawl
- A Conversation with Master
Wo Ping
- Chad Stahelski: The Other
Neo
- Burly Brawl Action Match
- Spiraling Virtual Shot:
Anatomy of a Shot
- I’ll Handle Them Featurettes
- The Great Hall
- Building the Merovingian’s
Lair
- Tiger Style: A Day in the
Life of Chen Hu
- Heavy Metal: Weapons of the
Great Hall
- The Exiles Featurettes
- The Exiles
- Big Brother is Watching: The
Architects Office
- Enter the Matrix: The Game
- Enter the Matrix
- View the 23 Live Action
Scenes shot for the Video Game that plug into the action of the Matrix
Reloaded.
Disc 3:
The Matrix Revolutions
- 2 Commentaries with a Written
Introduction by the Wachowski Brothers
- One commentary features The Philosophers and the other The Critics
- Behind the Matrix Featurettes
- Revolutions Recalibrated
- Neo Realism: The Evolution
of Bullet Time
- CG Revolution
- Super Big Mini Models
- Double Agent Smith
- Mind Over Matter: The
Physicality of The Matrix
- And much, much more…
- Crew Featurettes
- Owen’s Army: The Australian
Art Department
- 2nd Unit: A World
of Their Own
- Bill Pope: Cinematographer of
The Matrix
- Masters of Light and Shadow
- HEL Featurettes
- Coat Check
- Upsidedown Under
- Fast Break
- Exploding Man
- Gun Club
- The Extras of Club HEL
- New Blue World Featurettes:
- Geography of Zion
- The Ships
- Tour of the Neb
- Matrix TV
- Logos Fight Expansion
- Siege Featurettes
- Dig This
- The Siege Action Match
- The Anatomy of the Shot:
Mifune’s Last Stand
- Building APU
- Product of Zion
- Aftermath Featurettes
- Revolutionary Composition
- The Glue
- Dane Tracks
- Cause and Effects
Disc 4:
The Animatrix
- Audio Commentaries
- Scrolls to Screen: The
History and Culture of Anime
- Making of Documentaries on
each Animatrix short film
Disc 5:
Roots of The Matrix (yes…there is more folks)
- Return to Source: Philosophy
& The Matrix
- Scholars, Philosophers and
Theorists deconstruct the intellectual underpinnings of the trilogy. It is interesting to see these guys
pull out all kinds of crazy source material; from Socrates to Old
Testament of the Bible it is all there.
Though some things they suggested just never sat right with me.
- The Hard Problem: The Science
Behind the Fiction
- Is the notion of a real
Matrix plausible? An investigation
of the technologies that inspire the metaphor of The Matrix Trilogy. Though it seems the documentary talks
more about man’s reliance on technology rather than ‘is The Matrix
plausible?’
Disc 6:
Burly Man Chronicles/The Zion Archives
- The Burly Man Chronicles
- Profiles the society of
craftspeople, actors and filmmakers who devoted years to the movie
trilogy and the Enter the Matrix console game.
- The Zion Archive
- The Media of The Matrix
- The Matrix – 2 Trailers, 8
TV Spots, and Marilyn Manson Rock
is Dead Music Video
- The Matrix Reloaded – 2
Trailers, 8 TV Spots, and POD Sleeping
Awake Music Video
- The Matrix Revolutions –
Theatrical Trailer, 6 TV Spots
- Rave Reel (an assortment of
clips from the 3 films)
- The Matrix Online (an
outdated look at The Matrix Online Game)
Did all
of those extras sound exhausting? Well
they were. These extras are like what
they say about New York, if you can’t find it here then you can’t find it
anywhere. Granted some extras are better
than others, but with the plethora of options to choose from this reviewer is
not complaining.
In the
end, this is one of the best sets to show off the picture and sound quality
that Blu-ray has to offer. Whereas the
films may not have shaped up to what fans expected; it is undeniable that the
trilogy had a significant impact on the film world. This reviewer loved sifting through the
immense amount of supplemental material and seeing how these films aged after
years of not viewing them. Overall, the
films aged well and the magnificently imaginative world that the Wachowski
brothers created is as fresh as ever.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
