The Wachowski Brothers' The Matrix took the well-worn science
fiction idea of virtual reality, added supercharged Hollywood gloss and a
striking visual style and stole The Phantom Menace's thunder as the must-see movie of the summer of 1999. Laced with Star Wars-like Eastern mysticism, and featuring thrilling martial arts action choreographed by Hong Kong action director Yuen Woo Ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), The Matrix restored Keanu Reeves to genre stardom following virtual reality dud Johnny Mnemonic (1995), and made a star of Carrie-Anne Moss, who followed this with the challenging perception twister Memento (2000). Helping the film stand out from rivals Dark City (1998) and The Thirteenth Floor
(1999) was the introduction of the celebrated "bullet time" visual
effects, though otherwise the war-against-the-machines story,
hard-hitting style and kinetic set-pieces such as the corporate lobby
shoot-out lean heavily on Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Elsewhere the influence of John Woo, from the ultra-cool near real-world SF of Face/Off (1997) to the raincoats and sunglasses look of bullet-ballet A Better Tomorrow,
is clearly in evidence. The set-up isn't without its absurdities,
though--quite why super-intelligent machines bother to use humans as
batteries instead of something more docile like cows, for example, is
never explained, nor is how they expect these living batteries to
produce more energy than it takes to maintain them. The Matrix is
nevertheless exhilarating high-octane entertainment, although as the
first part of a trilogy it perhaps inevitably doesn't have a proper
ending.
On the DVD: the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is virtually flawless, exhibiting only the grain present in the theatrical print, while the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is demonstration quality, showing off the high-impact sound effects and Don Davis' fine score to great effect. Special features are "data files" on the main stars, producer and director and "Follow the White Rabbit", which if selected while viewing the movie offers behind the scenes footage. This is interesting, but gimmicky, requires switching back from widescreen to 4:3 each time, and would be better if it could be accessed directly from one menu. There is also a standard 25-minute TV promo film which is as superficial as these things usually are.
DVD RegionsDVD Regions | Region 1 DVDs sold by our Marketplace sellers | Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE) | Global DVD region countries | Blu-ray Discs Region Encoding | High-Density (HD) Discs Region Encoding DVD RegionsThe DVD region code identifies a DVD's compatibility with the players typically sold in a particular region. The following graphic shows the approximate location of each region Region 0 (or "region free") is compatible with DVD players from any region, depending on relevant hardware. Region 0 titles can be either NTSC (generally if they originate from the US) or PAL format (originating from within the EU). |
This is not a definitive list and is intended only as a guide.
DVD regions country list | ||
Region | Area | Breakdown of countries |
0 | Multiple Areas | Titles can be either NTSC (generally if they originate from the US) or PAL format (EU). |
1 | US, US territories and Canada | American Samoa, Canada, Guam, Palau, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Puerto Rico, Micronesia, United States, U.S. Virgin Islands |
2 | UK, Europe, Japan, South Africa and Middle East | Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican City, Yemen, Yugoslavia |
3 | Southeast and East Asia | Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam |
4 | Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America | Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, New Guinea, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, Tobago, Uruguay |
5 | Former Soviet Union, Indian sub-continent, Africa, North Korea and Mongolia | Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
6 | China | China |
7 | Reserved for future use | |
8 | International Territories (ships, planes etc) |
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