25 years of "The Matrix": Celebrating the movie with the red pill
DVD collector's boxes with movie characters and screensavers were "a thing" in the 1990s.
(Bild: Nico Ernst)
Humanity is trapped in a simulation while machines rule the world: 25 years ago, "The Matrix" hit theaters and became a milestone in popular culture.
A woman in paint and leather jumps from a skyscraper across a busy street. Mercury flows up the arm of a startled Keanu Reeves. Grim-faced men in black suits smash concrete pillars with their bare fists. Green letters drip down the screen like rain. Kung-fu fights in slow motion. And: "Guns, lots of guns."
The trailer for "The Matrix" lured viewers with spectacular images and ended with a promising sentence: "Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself." That is, of course, pure nonsense.
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25 years later, even people who have never seen the movie can explain what the Matrix is: The plot has seeped into pop culture as deeply as "Star Wars". The script cleverly mixes common paranoia fodder such as mass surveillance and the manipulation of public perception into a sinister sci-fi cocktail.
Traditional story, revolutionary effects
"The Matrix" follows a fairly familiar structure: A doubting young man meets an older mentor and learns supernatural skills to stand up to an overpowering opponent. This form of heroic epic was already old hat when "Star Wars" came out in 1977.
And yet "The Matrix" set new standards – both in terms of effects and plot. Back in 1999, "bullet time" was the effect which made the biggest splash: The camera circles around the actors with breathtaking speed as they fight each other in slow motion. Another unusual wrinkle was the combination of martial arts stunts with the use of firearms.
The Matrix – Most memorable moments (0 Bilder) [2]
Many viewers were particularly fascinated by the idea that they themselves might be living in an illusory world. Variations of this idea can be found in Buddhism, Plato's Allegory of the Cave, and Descartes. "The Matrix" added a sci-fi twist: Not only does a wise child in the movie say, "There is no spoon." Outside the simulation, the only cutlery to be seen are sporks, a mixture of fork and spoon.
Have a brief look at your kitchen drawer: Does this mean that we – you and me, perhaps even your cat – are living in an illusion? To this day, the question is a rewarding topic for feature articles, scientific papers, and stoner conversations.
(Incidentally, the fact that the Nokia 8110 cell phones featured in the movie have a spring-loaded snap mechanism speaks against the theory. In the real world, you have to push the 8110 open by hand; only the distinctly different looking 7110 snaps open as shown in the movie. Should this paragraph disappear, it was just a glitch in the matrix).
A bumpy road
The idea for "The Matrix" came to the Wachowskis after they had sold their first screenplay, "Assassins" (1995) [4]. What was supposed to be their first triumph turned out to be a bitter experience: The result diverged so far from the original script that they tried to have their names removed from the credits. To prevent a similar situation with "The Matrix", the Wachowskis insisted on directing it themselves – something the studio initially refused.
First, however, the Wachowski sisters wrote and shot the thriller "Bound" (1996) [5], with a small cast and few effects. Matrix producer Joel Silver liked to say that the Wachowskis shot "Bound" to prove to film studio Warner Bros that they could also make "The Matrix". As a work sample, so to speak.
Lana Wachowski later denied this story. [6] However, various people involved in "Bound" were carried over to "The Matrix", including cinematographer Bill Pope, composer Don Davis and actor Joe Pantoliano.
After the Wachowskis had created sophisticated designs and comprehensive storyboards with comic artists Geoff Darrow and Steve Skroce, Warner Bros finally gave the go-ahead. To get the most out of the tight 60 million US dollar budget, the majority of the film was shot in Sydney, Australia.
Career-defining roles
It took a while to assemble the cast. It was particularly hard to find the right actor for the lead role of "Neo": The Wachowskis wanted Johnny Depp, then Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio both said yes and then no; Will Smith decided to shoot "Wild Wild West" (1999) instead. Looking back, Keanu Reeves is the perfect casting for the doubting Thomas [7] A. Anderson, who gradually transcends his limitations and becomes the superhuman Neo.
Laurence Fishburne, with his sublime bearing and sonorous voice, is also ideal as the wise mentor Morpheus. If Will Smith had said yes to Neo, Fishburn’s role might instead have been played by Val Kilmer or even Arnold Schwarzenegger. [8]
The Matrix – The actors (19 Bilder) [9]
(Bild: Warner Bros / Village Roadshow Pictures)
The role of the hacker Trinity was offered to Janet Jackson, Salma Hayek and Sandra Bullock, among others. After "The Matrix" came out, Carrie-Anne Moss was so strongly identified with her role that she could not wear sunglasses in public without being recognized.
Hugo Weaving developed a deliberately neutral pronunciation for his fearsome agent Smith, sounding neither like a machine nor any particular nationality. As a native Australian, Weaving was one of the few actors who did not have to relocate for filming.
It was originally intended that Switch, played by Belinda McClory, would be a woman within the Matrix, and a man in the real world. This was rejected by the studio, and all that remained of the idea was the name – and that she is dressed in white in the Matrix, while the others wear black.
Scheduling problems in Australia
The ambitious action sequences demanded hard training: Martial arts choreographers from Hong Kong spent six months teaching the lead actors the complex movements. For jumps and somersaults, the stars were suspended from steel ropes ("wire fu") – a long-established practice in Hong Kong cinema, but a novelty for Western productions.
The actors were also given various books to help them understand the philosophical foundations of the film. One of them even appears in the movie: Neo uses a hollowed-out copy of "Simulacres et Simulation" [11] by Jean Baudrillard to store his hacking programs. The philosopher later complained in interviews that the Wachowski's had misunderstood [12] his ideas.
Although the actors' tough stunt training paid off, it was not without consequences: Keanu Reeves had to have an operation because two vertebrae had grown together. On the second day of shooting, Hugo Weaving injured his leg and had to undergo hip surgery. During a rehearsal for the lobby scene, Carrie-Anne Moss twisted her ankle and was therefore unable to perform some stunts.
The Matrix – Visual Effects and Stunts (8 Bilder) [13]
(Bild: Warner Bros / Village Roadshow Pictures)
Due to these injuries, the original shooting schedule had to be reshuffled and all action scenes with Reeves and Weaving were moved to the end of the shoot. The delays understandably made the studio a little nervous..
To calm things down, the Wachowskis assembled a rough cut of the first ten minutes: Trinity's nocturnal escape from the Matrix agents over the rooftops, including stunt shots and the first bullet-time sequence. This had the desired effect: Warner Bros was reassured of their crew’s competence and quickly came to terms with the fact that the shooting time increased from 90 to 118 days.
When time freezes
Meanwhile, the special effects studio "Manex Visual Effects" under the direction of John Gaeta perfected the famous bullet-time effect. The basic idea was not new: in the 1980s, British artist Tim Macmillan carried out his first experiments [15] by exposing filmstrips in parallel, something he christened "time slices".
In 1985, the metal band "Accept" had themselves filmed simultaneously by 13 cameras for the music video "Midnight Mover" [16], with dizzying results. In 1995, Michel Gondry morphed individual images shot side by side at short intervals into one another for the Rolling Stones cover of "Like A Rolling Stone" [17], thus achieving smoother transitions.
Slow-flying bullets had also been shown before "The Matrix": As early as 1981, the hero of the South African martial arts film "Kill and Kill Again [18]" blocks a bullet in extreme slow motion [19]. In the 1998 comic adaptation "Blade", a vampire dodges a bullet trailing a vortex of air [20].
John Gaeta wanted to combine the approaches of Tim Macmillan and Michel Gondry to create something new. He used computer simulations to set up a circle of up to 120 SLR cameras positioned in ascending order within a green screen studio. These still cameras used uniformly calibrated lenses; with film cameras mounted at the beginning and end of the circle.
The camera shutters were triggered within millisecond intervals so that each captured a minimally shifted instant of the action. It should be noted that all cameras were analog and had to be positioned, rotated and triggered by hand following the specifications set by the simulation. To smooth and extend the slow-motion effect, the actors moved slightly faster [21] than normal.
Next, Manex Visual Effects scanned the footage, interpolated additional frames via morphing and placed the result in a computer-generated background composed of photos from the location. If you look closely at the famous bullet time sequence on the skyscraper roof [22], you will notice how the pistols Neo has previously thrown away disappear from the ground, only to suddenly reappear.
Since then, "bullet time" has been imitated and parodied countless times, not only in films such as "Charlie’s Angels" (2000) and "Scary Movie" (2000), but also in TV series such as "Hustle" (2004-2012), computer games such as "Max Payne" (2001) and even graphics benchmarks [23]. By now, the effect has degenerated into a cliché [24].
Blue, green, red and orange
Another hugely influential element was the movie’s color scheme. "The Matrix" consistently used different shades for the virtual and real worlds. The Matrix is green like its code; the color of the code is an allusion to early computer monitors. The real world, on the other hand, is filmed in cold shades of blue to emphasize the loss of sunlight. In addition, Neo and Morpheus train in a virtual dojo in which warm tones dominate – because it is not part of the Matrix.
The set and costume designers had already paid attention to these color accents. Behind-the-scenes footage shows that the suits of the agents generated by the Matrix are dark green and that the high-rise lobby walls were painted in greenish tones. Red was avoided wherever possible to emphasize the color in two crucial scenes. (Are you still reading this or are you thinking about the woman in the red dress [25]?)
When "The Matrix" hit theaters, the greens and blues were much less prominent than in the versions that have since been released on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming services. When "The Matrix" was made, digital color grading wasn’t quite there yet; thus the colors were enhanced photochemically. As a result, the green/blue differences were more subtle in the cinema, only to become more pronounced with each digital release. This changed in 2018 with the Ultra HD Blu-ray, for which the original negative was rescanned. The current Blu-ray edition also uses the new scan. However, some streaming services still show the older master.
Various comparisons of the color shifts in the Matrix releases can be found on YouTube. Even the better [26] attempts should be taken with a pinch of salt: When converting HDR material to the SDR color space, some color shifts are inevitable.
References, allusions and interpretations
The Wachowskis made no secret of the inspirations for their story: "The Matrix" is peppered with quotes and allusions. Some are obvious, such as direct references to the Alice books by Lewis Carroll and "The Wizard of Oz". Others are more subtle, such as the aforementioned Baudrillard book. TV sets in the background show the giant rabbits attack from "Night of the Lepus" (1972) and a shot from the paranoia series "The Prisoner" (1967).
Other sequences quote visuals from Japanese anime films: The infamous lobby scene was obviously inspired by "Ghost In The Shell" (1995); the scene in the oracle's antechamber has parallels to "Akira" (1988).
The Matrix – Allusions and quotes (7 Bilder) [27]
(Bild: Warner Bros / Village Roadshow Pictures)
Some elements of the film leave room for different interpretations: Trinity and 303 can be associated with synthesizers by Korg and Roland, but can also refer to each other. Or should the name be an allusion to the Christian Trinity, possibly represented by Morpheus, Neo and Trinity? Neo lives in apartment number 101, which could just as easily refer to the anagram "One" as to a key scene in George Orwell's novel "1984".
Fans began to speculate about these allusions shortly after the film's original release. Discussion forums offered lots of theories – some plausible, others off-kilter. The Wachowskis offered no help: To this day, they steadfastly refuse to explain their work.
At least they have explained why they don't want to explain themselves: "We discovered that whenever we explained what the films meant to us, other people became less likely to offer their own interpretation." (from the Wachowki's introduction to the DVD box set "Ultimate Matrix Collection")
The Wachowskis merely comment when misinterpretations become too prevalent. For example, it was once reported that Lilly Wachowski had claimed that the entire film was a metaphor for transsexuality. This turned out to be a poor edit in an interview. Years later, Wachowski clarified that she had merely referred to the original intention [29] for the dual casting of the Switch role.
To this day, "The Matrix" keeps getting re-interpreted, always in the context of the current zeitgeist. The red pill – in the film, a crucial step to free one's consciousness from the machine-generated fantasy world – has become an enduring metaphor, although interpretations vary widely [30]. Matrix fans have a lot in common with Star Wars fans, especially the combativeness.
The wide scope for interpretation frequently leads to explanations that are seldomly labeled as subjective interpretations, instead being presented as absolute certainties. Various YouTube channels deal exclusively with such Matrix "explanations". The actual videos are often less entertaining than the comments below them about why the creator is utterly wrong.
Occasionally, multiple truths exist, for example when it comes to quotations. Does Smith contemptuously state "Human beings are a disease. You're a cancer of this planet. And we are the cure" or "Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague, and we are the cure"? Both are correct: The first version is spoken from the trailer, the second quote is from the movie.
After the Matrix
There are fans of "The Matrix" who have been stubbornly burying their heads in the sand for 25 years, claiming that it is such a good thing that the movie was never continued. Should you belong to this group: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You skip the rest of the article, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.
If you read on, you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the franchise hole goes. Because when "The Matrix" did not only outperform box office expectations, but also broke all DVD sales records, it was clear that a continuation was all but inevitable. It still came as a surprise when not one sequel was announced, but two.
Before the sequels, various comics and nine short films were released that expanded and developed the plot. The nine-minute CGI short "The Last Flight Of The Osiris" [31] was even shown in cinemas as a lead-in for "Dreamcatcher" (2023).
On May 22, 2003, "The Matrix Reloaded" was released in cinemas, followed six months later by "The Matrix Revolutions". The video game "Enter The Matrix" was released together with the first sequel. It ran parallel to the movie plot and contained additional scenes featuring the original actors.
"The Matrix Reloaded" broke various box office records, but reactions were divided – not least due to its open ending. Ultimately, the sequels turned out to be one story, told in two parts.
When "The Matrix Revolutions" was finally released in cinemas, the audience reaction continued to be polarized: Some found it courageous how the Wachowskis had defied expectations. Others were furious about what the sequels did to characters they had grown fond of. Fans who previously had an insatiable appetite for all things Matrix, angrily turned their backs on the franchise.
Films hamper the games
This reaction was bad news for the video games "The Matrix: Path of Neo" for PC, PS2 and Xbox and "The Matrix Online" for PCs. In "Path of Neo", players replayed action scenes from the films as Neo – with one major difference at the end.
The multi-player game "The Matrix Online" continued the plot of the films in real time, with the blessing of the Wachowskis. Reviews for both titles were mixed; the MMORPG's servers were closed in 2009 due to a lack of players.
For a few years, the franchise went dormant. The studio repeatedly expressed keen interest in a sequel, and the Wachowskis repeatedly declared that they were done with the Matrix. Everything changed in 2019, when Lana Wachowski came up with an idea on how to continue the story. The Matrix Resurrections was released in cinemas on December 17, 2021, giving the saga a new ending.
Heirs and premonitions of the Matrix
Books and films with gigantic conspiracies are nothing new. Virtual worlds were also used in cinema and television before "The Matrix". Examples include "World on a Wire" (Welt am Draht) from 1973, "Tron" from 1982, "Brainstorm" from 1983, "Total Recall" from 1990, "The Lawnmower Man" from 1992, "Wild Palms" from 1993 and "Strange Days" from 1995. In terms of its thematic proximity to "The Matrix", the German two-parter "World on a Wire [32]" is highly recommended.
At the turn of the millennium, the idea of illusory worlds must have hung particularly heavily in the air. "Dark City" [33] was released a year before "The Matrix", with a plot that shows some astonishing parallels. One month after "The Matrix", moviegoers were treated to "eXistenZ" [34], which played with the theme of levels of reality. This was followed at the end of May 1999 by "The 13th Floor" [35], another science fiction thriller with virtual reality elements.
Of all of its cousins and siblings, "The Matrix" left the deepest mark on pop culture. 25 years later, the themes of Man as the scourge of the planet and losing oneself in virtual worlds are still as relevant as they were on March 31, 1999, when the green letters of "The Matrix" trickled down the screen for the first time. (vza [36])
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