The Matrix / Matrix Reloaded / Matrix Revolutions
from 96 reviews
RRP £39.99
£14.99
Saving you £25!
Released:24/11/2008
More Details
Studio:Warner Home Video
Director:Andy Wachowski
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Mary Alice
Running Time:457 minutes
Product Description
Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe PantolianoDirector: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Tags
Action/Adventure, General, Science Fiction, Blu-ray, Thriller, Drama, Box set
Reviews
A word about the Blu-Ray quality first. There are some very strange rumours on these pages such as saying that these films are just upscaled DVDs. I don't know where people get these ideas from, but it is simply not true. For a 10 year old film "The Matrix" is very close to the top of the Blu-Ray tree. The close-ups, particularly of Neo and Morpheus, are stunning reference level examples of depth and plasticity. I watched this projected c. 3m wide, and just gawped at the detail in Fishburne's pock-marked face: it was more like having a giant statue of his head on the wall than looking at a flat TV-like image.
What some people are looking at and not liking is probably either (a) the occasional use of green colour filtration which is a clever cinematic trick conveying the irreality of The Matrix or (b) the crushed blacks which are a stylistic choice by the film's makers. Yes, the black levels on "The Spirit" make a mockery of these, but that's the look they've gone with. It is also true that not all scenes have reference level sharpness and HD image quality. But very few films 'pop' constantly as it gets boring, and with the aesthetic choices made the film has a very good share of stupendous image quality
Audio quality is very good (5.1 True HD) with dialogue and effects well balanced, although some late scenes are significantly louder than earlier ones (and I mean comparing action scenes with action scenes); again, a directorial choice no doubt.
In "The Matrix Reloaded" the picture quality is maybe slightly better, the audio a touch more forceful (although the actual music is not as good as in "The Matrix". For me, "Revolutions" is on the same BD level as Part II. But on balance, the boxset is a very good HD release at a crazily cheap price, and it does not deserve the false criticism of its supposedly sub BD-level standard.
The films themselves were interesting to see again after what, for me, was quite a long term. The original is magnificent as ever, and I found the second installment much less disappointing than back at the time of release. If you mentally prepare in advance for the wilfully tedious scenes with "The Merovingian" and "The Architect" then you realise that the film is actually a pretty good sequel, and not the disaster it seemed back then. The party scene in Zion is also fairly dull and overlong, but otherwise much better than I remembered. And even if the ending of "Revolutions" is not very satisfying, it remains my second favourite Matrix film, and as Mr Anderson loved to say, perhaps the way it is was "inevitable".
For just over a fiver a disc, you cannot go wrong. These are not upscaled DVDs, they are very good BD transfers. Free your mind!
Note : same audio / subtitles on the 3 blu-ray.
Audio :
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Dolby Digital 5.1 : English, French, Italian
Stereo : Brazilian Portuguese, Latin Spanish
Subtitles :
English, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, French, Italian, Latin Spanish
Pour les francophones / For french dudes :
Ce sont bien les voix "françaises" (pas canadiennes quoi) et au final, en dehors des jaquettes en anglais, ce sont exactement les mêmes blu-ray que ceux vendus en France / Belgique. Aucun soucis sur ma PS3 belge.
[I've added a photo to the item page for each disc showing the back of the Blu-ray box which details the disc specification and content. Note that I believe these discs have been re-issued after earlier specification inaccuracies printed on the box insert - my photos are of the latest editions...]
I have written individual Amazon reviews for the Blu-ray disc of each film in the trilogy, please refer to them for in-depth information of each film/disc (easier done by selecting the 'See all my reviews link' near the top of this review entry), but here are the links to the individual Blu-rays anyway :
The Matrix [Blu-ray] [1999]
The Matrix Reloaded [Blu-ray] [2003]
Matrix Revolutions [Blu-ray] [2003]
'The Matrix' trilogy of films were written, directed and produced by the Wachowski brothers. Although dating from the 1990s to the early 2000s, they will continue to stand as a benchmark for the use of special-effects in films for many years to come....
They are arguably THE series of films which should be watched first on any new Hi-Definition video format to fully appreciate it and the films; Blu-ray is no exception to this 'rule' and I can confirm that they are simply astounding to watch (and listen to !) in this format.
Each film stands on it's own as a story, but the plot progresses through the 3 films and all need to be watched to get the whole picture and, of course, see the ultimate ending.
This boxset is simply a printed cardboard outer to hold the individual Blu-ray box for each disc of the film (ie they are EXACTLY the same box/discs as what you would get if you bought each individual disc).
The Blu-ray image on these issues is flawless/superbly detailed and the sound quality is an improvement over the DVD format. The extras on the discs are copious, including including a 'Picture-in-Picture' narrative inserted into the film, feature-length commentaries and loads of very interesting 'featurettes'; see the photos I've added to the item page showing the back of the Blu-ray box for each film/disc which details the disc specification and content.
*** A final notable aspect of 'The Matrix' disc is that the film is uncut with no change to the viewing classification; all previous UK versions (including that in the 'Ultimate' DVD boxset) had head-butting scenes from 2 of the main fight sequences removed....
Anyone who either already knows about, or wants to experience for the first time, this ground-breaking trilogy of films really should see them in Blu-ray format - they will blow you away !
Came to about $8/film after currency conversion. Delivered to east coast USA in 6 days. Plays fine in US blu ray player (Sony BDP-S370). 2nd and 3rd films look better for obvious reasons, but all look and sound great. Extremely happy with this purchase and with amazon.uk in general. Will probably buy Harry Potter blu ray set soon. :)
I was quite surprised at how impressive the quality of this Blu Ray film set was considering the age of the original film. Closeups (facial features etc.) were stunning and far surpassed any of the DVDs I have seen of this same film. It appears to have been remastered with original digital footage.
