Product Details

• Actors: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Gloria Foster
• Directors: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
• Writers: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
• Producers: Andy Wachowski, Andrew Mason, Barrie M. Osborne, Bruce Berman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Original recording reissued, Special Edition, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: December 7, 1999
• Run Time: 136 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,985 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000K2SC
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,139 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #3 in	Video > Action & Adventure > Action Stars > Keanu Reeves
  #23 in	Video > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Futuristic
  #50 in	Video > Action & Adventure > Sci-Fi Action

• This is item 1 in The Matrix Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

By following up their debut thriller Bound with the 1999 box-office smash The Matrix, the codirecting Wachowski brothers--Andy and Larry--annihilated any suggestion of a sophomore jinx, crafting one of the most exhilarating sci-fi/action movies of the 1990s. Set in the not too distant future in an insipid, characterless city, we find a young man named Neo (Keanu Reeves). A software techie by day and a computer hacker by night, he sits alone at home by his monitor, waiting for a sign, a signal--from what or whom he doesn't know--until one night, a mysterious woman named Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) seeks him out and introduces him to that faceless character he has been waiting for: Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). A messiah of sorts, Morpheus presents Neo with the truth about his world by shedding light on the dark secrets that have troubled him for so long: "You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad." Ultimately, Morpheus illustrates to Neo what the Matrix is--a reality beyond reality that controls all of their lives, in a way that Neo can barely comprehend.

Neo thus embarks on an adventure that is both terrifying and enthralling. Pitted against an enemy that transcends human concepts of evil, Morpheus and his team must train Neo to believe that he is the chosen champion of their fight. With mind-boggling, technically innovative special effects and a thought-provoking script that owes a debt of inspiration to the legacy of cyberpunk fiction, this is much more than an out-and-out action yarn; it's a thinking man's journey into the realm of futuristic fantasy, a dreamscape full of eye candy that will satisfy sci-fi, kung fu, action, and adventure fans alike. Although the film is headlined by Reeves and Fishburne--who both turn in fine performances--much of the fun and excitement should be attributed to Moss, who flawlessly mixes vulnerability with immense strength, making other contemporary female heroines look timid by comparison. And if we were going to cast a vote for most dastardly movie villain of 1999, it would have to go to Hugo Weaving, who plays the feckless, semipsychotic Agent Smith with panache and edginess. As the film's box-office profits soared, the Wachowski brothers announced that The Matrix is merely the first chapter in a cinematically dazzling franchise--a chapter that is arguably superior to the other sci-fi smash of 1999 (you know... the one starring Jar Jar Binks). --Jeremy Storey

Product Description

Set in the 22nd century, "Matrix" tells of a computer hacker (Reeves) who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth. The computers are powered by human beings...

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

278 of 301 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Movie's Great...This Package, Not So, December 8, 2000

By	D. Bailey "[e-mail]" (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Matrix - Platinum Limited Edition DVD Collector's Set (DVD)

The Matrix is an excellent movie that combines science fiction, shoot-em-up action, and philosophical questions about the nature of Reality. If you are plugged in to a computer, and that computer presents you with a reality that is completely indistinguishable from your own, is it any less real?

This movie has exceptional special effects, beautiful cinematography, an excellent soundtrack, well-crafted dialogue, and respectable acting. Keanu Reeves may be a lousy actor, but I think that the Matrix is probably his best performance to date.

The Platinum Limited Edition isn't really worth the extra money unless you're an absolute, die-hard, take the red pill, freak. I wish I had known that before ordering this product. It comes in a box about as thick as an encyclopedia, and is fairly large, so it won't fit on the shelf with the rest of your DVDs. Opening it up, I was rather disappointed -- most of the volume is filled with a cheap plastic tray that contains a celluloid clip of the film with a blown-up photo (decent, but nothing fantastic), a few postcard-sized stills from the movie, and a copy of the normal DVD in a normal case. Nothing fantastic. For this money, I was expecting a DVD with DTS sound, alternate angles, deleted scenes, etc., but just got the same old Matrix disc. A major drag.

Do yourself a favor. Buy the basic copy.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect DVD of perfect movie, December 2, 1999

By	Nandor Klatsmanyi (Sydney, Australia - The Home of The Matrix) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Matrix (DVD)

I bought Matrix a week age, but I have seen it 4 times already. Picture & sound quality are perfect ! If you have a good sound system, turn it up and you will feel yourself in the Matrix too ! The "Follow the White Rabbit" is excellent ! As well as the introduction to the Bullet-time technique. There is no multi-angle view on the DVD, but the movie itself is full of mult-angle views anyway. Unfortunately nobody can be told how good the Matrix DVD is, you have to see it for yourself !

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, Thought-Provoking, Compelling, November 25, 1999

By	Jack Frosch (St. Louis, MO, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Matrix (DVD)

Synopsis: A premiere sci-fi film with a lot of action and a thought-provoking premise

Overall Entertainment Value: Excellent

Violence: Abundant, but not gory

Plot: Thought provoking, but not high brow or preachy

Special Effects: Well Done and Visually Compelling

Suitable For Age: Mature 16

Few movies compel me to watch them more than once. Fewer still can completely hold my interest a second time. This is one of the rare movies that I can enjoy every few months.

Like Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even Star Trek/Star Trek NG, The Matrix invites you to examine your notions of what being "alive" means.

Ironically, the special effects that draw you into accepting the reality of The Matrix ultimately support a plot that forces you to challenge any notion you may have about objective reality. How do you *know* your reality is *the* reality?

No, it's not some high brow intellectual art film; and yes, its violence, while not gory, is abundant. This is not a movie for early teens!

Nonetheless, if you come away from it without wondering about the relationship between perception and reality (or whether objective reality can be proven at all!), then you'll have missed the point. If so, just go back to watching reruns of Seinfeld - and other shows that are proudly about nothing at all.

For the rest of you, buy this on DVD because I suspect a VHS tape will wear out before your interest in this movie.