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The Matrix franchise comprises three science-fiction/adventure films written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and produced by Joel Silver. The first film The Matrix was released in March, 1999. After the film's success, two sequels were greenlighted, titled The Matrix Reloaded (May 2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (November 2003). The characters and settings of the Matrix fictional universe are further explored in other media, including animation, comics, and video games.

The series depicts a complex science fiction story incorporating many philosophical elements. Other influences include cyberpunk, mythology, anime, Hong Kong action films (particularly "heroic bloodshed" and martial arts movies), simulated reality and philosophy of mind. Though not directly, key concepts of several beliefs are touched upon, including Buddhism, Christianity, Gnosticism, Hinduism, Judaism, Jainism, Islam, and Atheism.

Contents 1 The Matrix 2 Sequels 3 Box office performance 4 Additional media 5 Reputation and influence 6 Books 6.1 Official 6.2 Unofficial 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

The Matrix

Main article: The Matrix

The series began with 1999's The Matrix. The film, directed by the Wachowski brothers and produced by Joel Silver, was highly successful, earning $460 million worldwide and beating Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace for the Academy Award for Visual Effects. In addition, by 2000, the DVD release of the film reached three million sales, the first DVD release in the United States to do so.¹

Sequels

Main articles: The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Animatrix

The movie's mainstream success led to the greenlighting of the next two films of the trilogy, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. It took a number of years and several iterations of scripts before the final films were approved. The two sequels, which tell a continuous story rather than being stand-alone episodes, were filmed simultaneously and released six months apart. The trilogy is known as The Matrix Trilogy.

In acknowledgment of the strong influence of Japanese anime on the Matrix series, The Animatrix was produced in 2003. This is a collection of nine animated short films intended to further flesh out the concepts, history, characters and setting of the series. The Animatrix project was overseen by the Wachowski brothers, but they wrote only four of the segments themselves and did not direct any of them. Many of the segments were produced by notable figures from the world of Japanese animation. Four of the films were originally released on the series' official website, one was shown in cinemas with Dreamcatcher, one was shown on MTV, MTV2, MTV3, and MTV4, and the others first appeared with the DVD release of all nine shorts shortly after the release of The Matrix Reloaded.

Box office performance

Film	Release date	Box office revenue			Box office ranking		Reference
		United States	Foreign	Worldwide	All-time domestic	All-time worldwide
The Matrix	March 31, 1999	$171,479,930	$288,901,000	$460,379,930	#125	#70
The Matrix Reloaded	May 15, 2003	$281,576,462	$457,023,240	$738,599,701	#33	#27
The Matrix Revolutions	November 5, 2003	$139,313,948	$285,674,263	$424,988,211	#191	#88
The Matrix film series	1999–2003	$592,370,340	$1,031,597,503	$1,623,967,842		#7

Additional media

On 15 May, 2003, the game Enter the Matrix was released in the United States concurrently with The Matrix Reloaded. The first of three video games related to the films, it told a story running parallel to The Matrix Reloaded and featured scenes shot during the filming of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. But the plot was specifically intended for the game.

Over a year after the cinematic release of the final film, Revolutions, Warner Home Video released The Ultimate Matrix Collection, a 10-Disc DVD set of the films. It included the three films, The Animatrix, and six discs of additional material. A Limited Edition of the collection encases the ten discs, as well as a resin bust of Neo, inside a Lucite box.

Two more Matrix video games were released in 2005. The MMORPG The Matrix Online continues the story beyond Revolutions, while The Matrix: Path of Neo allows players to control the series' protagonist Neo in scenes from the film trilogy.

In addition, several comics and short stories based on the series – one written by the Wachowskis, the others by guest writers – were released on the official website. Many of these have since been collected in two printed volumes of The Matrix Comics.

Reputation and influence

The movies are said to be influenced by the Japanese Animation, Ghost in the Shell. While the first movie was extremely successful, both critically and popularly, the quality of the sequels is still a matter of debate. Some fans and professional critics believe they exceed the quality and conceptual heights of the first film, while others found the later films disappointing.² The Matrix Reloaded was well received by critics, currently holding an average rating of 73% (Certified Fresh) on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the reaction of some fans to this sequel has been mixed. When The Matrix Revolutions was released, one complaint was that it did not give clear cut answers to the questions raised in Reloaded but rather raised new ones.³

The Matrix series has also inspired a new religious movement called Matrixism: The path of the One.⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸ The religion was conceived by an anonymous group in mid-2004⁹¹⁰ and by November 2004 it claimed to have attracted upwards of 300 members.¹¹⁶ Current reports indicate that there are now approximately 16,000 followers of Matrixism worldwide.¹² Even though Matrixism has grown substantially and its Geocities website (username: matrixism2069) has received significant attention in the media¹³¹⁴¹⁵ some still debate whether Matrixists are serious about their beliefs.⁴¹⁰

Books

Official

• The Art of the Matrix by Spencer Lamm (Newmarket Press, 2000) ISBN 1-55704-405-8
• The Matrix Comics by various (Titan Books, 2003) ISBN 1-84023-806-2
• The Matrix Comics Volume 2 by various (Titan Books, 2005) ISBN 1-84576-021-2
• The Matrix Shooting Script by Larry and Andy Wachowski (with introduction by William Gibson) (Newmarket Press, 2002) ISBN 1-55704-490-2
• Enter The Matrix: Official Strategy Guide by Doug Walsh (Brady Games, 2003) ISBN 0-7440-0271-0
• The Matrix Online: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Games, 2005) ISBN 0-7615-4943-9
• The Matrix: Path of Neo Official Strategy Guide (Brady Games, 2005) ISBN 0-7440-0658-9
• Matrix og ulydighedens evangelium (Danish for: "Matrix and the Evangelium of disobedients" by Rune Engelbreth Larsen (Bindslev, 2004) ISBN 87-91229-12-8

Unofficial

• Jacking In to the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation by Matthew Kapell and William G. Doty (Continuum International, 2004) ISBN 0-8264-1587-3
• Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in "The Matrix" by Glenn Yeffeth (Summersdale, 2003) ISBN 1-84024-377-5
• Matrix Warrior: Being the One by Jake Horsley (Gollancz, 2003) ISBN 0-575-07527-9
• The "Matrix" and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real by William Irwin (Open Court, 2002) ISBN 0-8126-9502-X
• More Matrix and Philosophy by William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) ISBN 0-8126-9572-0
• Like a Splinter in Your Mind: The Philosophy Behind the "Matrix" Trilogy by Matt Lawrence (Blackwell, 2004) ISBN 1-4051-2524-1
• The Matrix (British Film Institute, 2004) ISBN 1-84457-045-2
• Matrix Revelations: A Thinking Fan's Guide to the Matrix Trilogy by Steve Couch (Damaris, 2003) ISBN 1-904753-01-9
• Beyond the Matrix: Revolutions and Revelations by Stephen Faller (Chalice Press, 2004) ISBN 0-8272-0235-0
• The "Matrix" Trilogy: Cyberpunk Reloaded by Stacy Gillis (Wallflower Press, 2005) ISBN 1-904764-32-0
• Exegesis of the Matrix by Peter B. Lloyd (Whole-Being Books, 2003) ISBN 1-902987-09-8
• The Gospel Reloaded by Seay Garrett (Pinon Press, 2003) ISBN 1-57683-478-6
• The "Matrix": What Does the Bible Say About... by D. Archer (Scripture Union, 2001) ISBN 1-85999-579-9
• Journey to the Source: Decoding Matrix Trilogy by Pradheep Challiyil (Sakthi Books 2004) ISBN 0-9752586-0-5
• Exploring the Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Present by Karen Haber (St. Martin's Press, 2003) ISBN 0-312-31358-6
• Philosophers Explore The Matrix by Christopher Grau (Oxford University Press, 2005) ISBN 0-19-518107-7
• The Matrix Cultural Revolution by Michel Marriot (Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003) ISBN 1-56025-574-9
• The Matrix Reflections: Choosing between reality and illusion by Eddie Zacapa (Authorhouse, 2005) ISBN 1-42080-782-X
• The One by A.J. Yager & Dean Vescera (Lifeforce Publishing, 2003) ISBN 0-97097-961-4

See also

• The Matrix
• The Matrix Revolutions
• The Animatrix
• Collective Unconscious
• Cyberpunk fashion
• Lucid Dreaming
• The Meatrix
• Religion and the Internet
• Subconscious mind
• Simulated reality

References

External links

• Official site for the series
• The Matrix multiple screenplays by Andy & Larry Wachowski
• The Matrix Reloaded October 27, 2001 draft screenplay by Andy & Larry Wachowski
• The Matrix Revolutions October 27, 2000 draft screenplay by Andy & Larry Wachowski
• Categorized directory of links at the Open Directory Project
• The Many Meanings of The Matrix, Larry Wachowski in a dialogue with Ken Wilber.
• The Matrix Narrative Chronology
• Matrixism: The path of the One (official website)

v • d • e The Matrix series The Matrix • The Matrix Reloaded • The Matrix Revolutions Soundtracks The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture • The Matrix: Original Motion Picture Score • The Matrix Reloaded: The Album • The Matrix Revolutions: Music from the Motion Picture • The Animatrix: The Album • Enter the Matrix: Original Soundtrack from the Videogame • The Matrix: Path of Neo - Music from the Video Game Video games Enter the Matrix • The Matrix Online • The Matrix: Path of Neo Characters Neo • Trinity • Morpheus • Agent Smith • Agents • Oracle • Architect • Niobe • Merovingian • Persephone • Seraph • Twins • The Matrix major character names • The Matrix minor character names • Programs and machines Locations The Matrix universe • Mega City • Zion • Ships from The Matrix series Cast/crew Wachowski brothers • Keanu Reeves • Laurence Fishburne • Carrie-Anne Moss • Hugo Weaving • Jada Pinkett Smith • Joel Silver • Owen Paterson • John Gaeta • Geof Darrow • Steve Skroce • Gina Torres Other topics The Animatrix • The Matrix Comics • Matrix digital rain • The Matrix Revisited • The Zion Archive • The Ultimate Matrix Collection • Matrix cell phone • Redpill Related articles Bullet time • Cyberpunk • Digitalism • The Hero's Journey  • Martial arts film • Simulated reality • Virtual reality • The Official Matrix Exhibit • Cadillac CTS

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• This page was last modified on 4 December 2008, at 15:52.

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