Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The title says it all., December 31, 2000
The Art of the Matrix is exactly that, an ART book. The storyboards are incredibly detailed and look fantastic. The majority of the drawings are done in black and white but there are some in color and color picture stills from the movie as well. The artist comments are fun to read and provide some insight as to what they and the directors were thinking. The only thing this book lacked was an interview or essay done with the Wachowski's themselves. Other than that I'm completely happy with this book. If you're looking for more info on the production and visual effects check out the following magazines, Cinefex #79, and American Cinematographer April 1999.
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30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful., February 25, 2001
Undoubtedly this is the most lavish publication of a screenplay in the brief history of published screenplays, and it's hard to imagine it being topped any time soon. The title makes the book's priorities clear, this is a book about the art behind the film, and how it was used to bring the Wachowski Brothers' vision to life. In reading the book, it's made abundantly clear that The Matrix was a film with a vision first, and then a script. And, like it or not, the storyboards did more to tell and sell the vision to the money men and get the movie made, than the script could ever have hoped to. This is a lesson that those in the screenwriting community would do well to file away in the back of their brains. Sometimes (albeit very, very rarely) the story in your head simply can't be fully communicated in screenplay form to those who count, you might have to look to simple storyboarding to tell/sell the whole story. It should be noted that in the case of The Matrix, these were high-end storyboards by professional comic book artists. From the Wachowski Brothers's stick figures, to 700 scene-by-scene storyboards, to conceptual art, it's all in here, including scenes that were never filmed for safety or budgetary reasons, as well as the shooting script and ten pages of script notes and deleted scenes from the script. The one major flaw is the absence of any commentary from the Wachowskis themselves. And naturally, there is a bit of filler near the end, but on the whole, the book's deisgn reflects the attention to detail and high quality of the film-and repeatedly reminds you that there are two more Matrixes to come. Thankfully, unlike "Making of" film books, the emphasis is on the storyboards and script, and thus the story, rather than the technical effects wizardry that makes it all happen onscreen. This makes it much more appealing to a general audience, rather than simply to those entranced by effects. Sadly, the book is quite expensive and there is no paperback edition in sight, so you might want to wait for next Christmas.
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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Book for the true Matrix Fan., August 21, 2001
This book is definitely a must-have for any matrix fan. This book goes in depth about each scene in the 1999 Blockbuster hit movie. It includes mostly black and white illustrations and some colored ones of each and every scene. It's as if you're watching the movie in a book. Along with the illustrations are many commentaries to let you know what the Wachowski brothers were trying to accomplish. If this isn't enough, even the Wachowski brothers have commentaries in this book. There are also illustrations in this book that are NOT in the movie. Commentaries will tell you why these scenes were omitted. This book is pulling out all the stops to the movie, so why not add more? If illustrations and commentaries aren't enough for you, there's the ENTIRE script of the movie. It includes omitted dialogue. Still not enough for you? Well then I'll go on. There's the full credit listing for this awesome movie. There's also a page for the Academy nominations and awards this movie has received...including the acceptance speeches. Okay okay, so these things aren't such a big deal, but I can only show you the door...you have to walk through it (Read on). So you've decided to read more? Well, besides the illustrations, commentaries, unedited script, script commentaries, full cast and credits, awards page, there's 27 FULL PAGES of COLOR photos taken directly from the movie. There's the movie cover taking up a full page to start off with. Trinity, Neo, Morpheus and the Agents all have pages too. Let's not forget the Morpheus and Agent Smith fight scene, Tank, Cypher, Dozer, Apoc and Switch...they're in here too. There's the shootout scene, the rooftop scene and more all in this book. These are beautiful, high quality color photos taken from the movie and put into this book for your enjoyment. To see these pictures, go to the official site and go to the photo gallery. MORE THAN HALF all of those pictures are here. And the last page is a note about the upcoming matrix sequels. There is nothing more left to tell you. I have told you what this book contains. True matrix fans will adore this book. It makes a great gift to any matrix devotee out there. So go ahead and get plugged into the Matrix and buy this book!
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