Making "The Matrix"

The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction–action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. The first installment in the Matrix film series, it stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. The film follows a disillusioned computer hacker Neo (Reeves) who discovers that the life he knows is an elaborate deception created by intelligent machines. He is recruited by underground insurgents Morpheus (Fishburne) and Trinity (Moss), to join the rebellion against the machines. Following the success of the Wachowskis' 1996 film Bound, Warner Bros. gave the directing duo the go-ahead to make The Matrix. The film's action scenes were influenced by anime and martial arts films, particularly fight choreography and wire fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema. Other influences include Plato's cave, 1990's Telnet hacker communities, and William Gibson's cyberpunk novel Neuromancer. The Matrix popularized terms such as the red pill, as well as a novel visual effect known as "bullet time" in which a character's heightened perception is represented by allowing the action within a shot to progress in slow motion while the camera appears to move through the scene at normal speed. The Matrix was released in theaters in the United States on March 31, 1999, to widespread critical acclaim. Critics praised its innovative visual effects, action sequences, cinematography, and entertainment value. The film was a box office success, grossing over $460 million on a $63 million budget. It became the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film of 1999 and the fourth-highest-grossing film of that year. The Matrix received Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing. It was also the recipient of numerous other accolades, including Best Sound and Best Special Visual Effects at the 53rd British Academy Film Awards. The Wachowskis were awarded Best Director and Best Science Fiction Film at the 26th Saturn Awards. The Matrix is considered to be among the greatest science fiction films of all time. In 2012, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant". The film's success led to two sequels by the Wachowskis, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003. The Matrix franchise was further expanded through the production of comic books, video games, and an animated anthology film, The Animatrix. The franchise has also inspired books and theories expanding on some of the religious and philosophical ideas alluded to in the films. A fourth film, The Matrix Resurrections, was directed by Lana Wachowski and was released in 2021.