The Matrix (1999)

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Directors:

Andy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski

Writers (WGA):

Andy Wachowski (written by) &
Larry Wachowski (written by)

Release Date:

31 March 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

In a world of 1s and 0s...are you a zero, or The One?

Plot:

A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against the controllers of it.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Hacker | The Matrix | Reality | Truth

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 28 wins & 36 nominations

Cast

Keanu Reeves	...	Neo
Laurence Fishburne	...	Morpheus
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Trinity
Hugo Weaving	...	Agent Smith
Gloria Foster	...	Oracle
Joe Pantoliano	...	Cypher
Marcus Chong	...	Tank
Julian Arahanga	...	Apoc
Matt Doran	...	Mouse
Belinda McClory	...	Switch
Anthony Ray Parker	...	Dozer
Paul Goddard	...	Agent Brown
Robert Taylor	...	Agent Jones
David Aston	...	Rhineheart
Marc Aden	...	Choi (as Marc Gray)

MPAA:

Rated R for sci-fi violence and brief language.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36569) | Iceland:16 | Ireland:15 (re-rating) | Malaysia:18SG | UK:15 (re-rating) (2006) (uncut) | Philippines:PG-13 | France:U (with warning) | Brazil:12 | India:A | South Africa:10V | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 (cut) | Israel:PG | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 (cut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba)

Filming Locations:

AON Tower, Kent Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Groucho II Film Partnership

Trivia:

When Neo is meeting with the Oracle, the music playing in the background in her apartment is Django Reinhardt's "Minor Swing".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the fight scene between Neo and Agent Smith in the subway station, after Neo incapacitates the agent and flips out of the way of the oncoming train, you can see where the wire harness connects to his back. You can also see one of the wires visible by his wrist.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[phone rings]
Cypher: Yeah.
Trinity: Is everything in place?
Cypher: You weren't supposed to relieve me.
Trinity: I know, but I felt like taking a shift.
Cypher: You like him, don't you? You like watching him.
Trinity: Don't be ridiculous.
Cypher: We're gonna kill him. You understand that?
Trinity: Morpheus believes he is the one.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Fairly OddParents: The Big Problem!/Power Mad! (#1.1)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Rock is Dead

The Matrix has Buddhist themes

A large part of the appeal of 'The Matrix' for me was the special effects and action-packed scenes. But, on reflection, part of the appeal is also its philosophical and religious underpinnings...

When asked whether Buddhist ideas influenced them, the Wachowski brothers offered an unqualified "Yes!" and at a very basic level, the movie portrays two levels of reality: our everyday existence and a deeper, more significant, underlying reality (the matrix). This is very much like the Two Truths in Buddhism: relative truth, in which everything is perception, and ultimate truth which is the way things really are (objective reality).

Because of our ignorance, we mistake the everyday world for something real and objective, and this is the cause of our suffering. As in 'The Matrix', breaking through relative truth to direct contact with ultimate truth represents a high spiritual attainment, some would say enlightenment, an awakening. (Remember the message on Neo's computer screen: "Wake up, Neo!")

Mahayana Buddhism suggests that there are great spiritual warriors (like Neo?) who are walking the path from ignorance to enlightenment, and who can in turn guide us on the path.