The Matrix
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DVD details
Actor: Carrie-Anne Moss, Gloria Foster, Hugo Weaving, Keanu Reeves, Laurence FishburneBrand: Warner Home Vide
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Published), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 136 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-09-21
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- TESTED OK
- 1999 DATE ON THIS DVD
DVD Reviews of The Matrix
DVD Review: Spiritually and philosophically intriguing!
Summary: 4 Stars
Few films have intrigued me as much as The Matrix, especially on intellectual, philosophical and religious levels. The setting is a futuristic world, although viewers are not privy to this fact at the onset. Only later does it become evident that what we have first thought was reality, is in fact purely a collective consciousness and an artificial world perceived only in the mind, and the product of a central computer system called the Matrix into which everyone is plugged in. Like the characters themselves, there is a critical turning point where we are startled to discover that the world we thought was real is only an illusion (a similar plot device was used to great effect in 2001's A Beautiful Mind).
An instant hit when it was first released in 1999, it has to be admitted that the film works on the level of story alone. The main character is Thomas Anderson, a computer hacker with the handle Neo. Under the guidance of the mysterious Morpheus, Neo comes to discover what the Matrix is, and escapes its grip by swallowing a red pill, which enables him to reject the false reality of the Matrix in exchange for the real world. Neo becomes "the One", but with the help of Trinity and Morpheus, can he liberate humanity from the power of the machines, the Matrix, and the multiple incarnations of Agent Smith? Computer animation and a multitude of special effects open the way for stunning action sequences (justifying the R rating) and a fast-paced plot that few could forget.
But it is the concept of an artificial world in the mind created by the Matrix that occupies the most interest for me. It immediately raises a host of philosophical questions about what constitutes reality and what is true knowledge. This is evident from the dialogue itself, when Morpheus asks: "Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?" Questions like these are precisely the ones that are at the heart of the philosophical discipline of epistemology. In the words of Morpheus: "What is "real"? How do you define "real"? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply, electrical signals interpreted by your brain." Neo himself reflects: "You ever have that feeling where you're not sure if you're awake or still dreaming?" At times, these philosophical questions become the subject of amusement and humor, such as when Cypher chooses the pleasures of the artificial world rather than the real one, simply because of the material pleasures of a good meal it offers: "You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss."
To a Christian, such epistemological questions have an important contemporary application, in view of Bible passages such as 2 Corinthians 5:7 "We walk by faith, not by sight", Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen" and John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The fact is that reality isn't just the world we see, and through faith we know that there is more to life than appearances. It takes faith to perceive the true reality of an ongoing spiritual warfare that involves angels and demons, and the rule of Jesus Christ. In that sense the story of the Matrix can be used as a parable of coming to faith, and how through the Word our eyes are opened and we learn to "see" the "real" world for the first time. The imagery of being plugged into the false world of the Matrix also bears rich parallels with the appeal of slavery to sin, as Morpheus notes: "That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind." Elsewhere he states that "these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it." Little wonder that Cypher makes his choice to remain a slave to the Matrix: "All I do is what he tells me to do. If I had to choose between that and the Matrix, I'd choose the Matrix." How true this is of bondage to sin for all of us!
But although these might serve as useful spiritual illustrations, it is doubtful that this is the point of the movie, even despite the fact that Neo is clearly portrayed as a Messianic Christ-like figure who redeems mankind from slavery. Neo even dies and is raised again, bringing about the victory of "Zion". Another instance of this Messianic imagery is when Choi says to him: "Hallelujah. You're my savior, man. My own personal Jesus Christ." But that doesn't make the Matrix a Christian allegory. I agree with those who insist that it does not succeed as such. In general, any tale that tries to retell the gospel in a different form is going to fail miserably (e.g. the sense of growing Messianic consciousness has no Biblical justification), and the Matrix is no exception. But I'm not convinced that a spiritual allegory is what The Matrix is undertaking to be in the first place.
Despite appearances, the abundance of Biblical symbolism throughout the film doesn't mean that The Matrix is offering a Christian message, because in actual fact it draws not just on Christianity, but a multitude of other themes. It is widely agreed that there are allusions not just to Christianity, but also Eastern mysticism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Gnosticism, Socratic, Cartesian and Platonic idealism, modern culture, and even light hearted references to the absurdity of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", eg "Follow the white rabbit ... You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes." Despite the copious amounts of religious symbolism, it is entirely doubtful that The Matrix is intended to be an allegory of the gospel, since it merely draws on Christian imagery and symbolism in the same way as it draws on philosophy and a plethora of thinking from other religions as well. Both those who want to criticize The Matrix as blasphemy and those who want to applaud it as a new gospel are mistaken, because both interpretations seem incorrect.
But if The Matrix is not trying to be an allegory, does that mean that the Christian symbolism is legitimate or is it blasphemous? Great literature throughout the ages has drawn on Christian symbolism to make stories more powerful, and that seems to be what is also happening in this movie. Granted, it's doubtful that the author of the script intend to glorify God in borrowing Christian symbolism - does this make it blasphemous? I'm not sure. Those symbols have power in themselves, because they are true, and as a Christian watching the movie I am affirmed in my own belief system and can find it powerful that way. Could it perhaps be argued that the movie is in itself not inherently blasphemous in that respect, but it depends on the intention of the author of the script, and the intention of the viewer? In that respect it could be blasphemous for those who reject the underlying truths behind this imagery, because if script-writers who employ these powerful Christian images deny their truth, they do so to their own peril for these images themselves are inherently true. It is dangerous to play with serious and powerful truths, not realizing just how serious and how powerful they really are. Much more can be said on this issue, and these are just tentative reflections.
Complete books have been written about the theological and philosophical questions raised by The Matrix. It's questions like these, along with the special effects and fast-paced action, that have combined to make the Matrix the wild success it was. In the end, I'm of the conviction that this film comes across being more serious than what it really is. The spiritual depth is in fact somewhat of an illusion - The Matrix primarily aims to tell a good story, but just throws on a philosophical and theological coat to make the story more impressive. As others before me have contended: it's pseudo-intellectual. This isn't a criticism of the film, but a criticism of a wrong understanding of the film. To me, the philosophical window-dressing remains one of the film's attractions, and makes The Matrix much more interesting than the average cinema experience. But I don't think it is primarily intended as a philosophical work, but as entertainment, and needs to be analyzed in that light. As such it succeeds. It might not answer all the deep philosophical and theological questions it raises, but it has value in raising them, and gives us a good story besides. - GODLY GADFLY
Description of The Matrix
Set in the 22nd century, The 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...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
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