The Prince Charles Cinema’s review published on Letterboxd:
Want to see THE MATRIX the way it was seen in 1999? Don't miss the iconic sci-fi classic showing from an original 35mm print, with the original colour grade, on Saturday 2nd March!
Step into The Matrix and celebrate 25 Years of this masterpiece!
In 1999, THE MATRIX became a sensation. From the unbounded imagination of sisters Lana and Lilly Wachowski, the film drew inspiration from legendary films that came before it (Ghost In The Shell, Blade Runner, Akira, and 2001: A Space Odyssey), and would inspire a generation to follow (Inception, Kill Bill, Watchmen, Charlie's Angels, and John Wick).
The film revolutionised the action film landscape, featuring amazing special effects and a mind-bending plot. The story follows Neo (Keanu Reeves), a lackadaisical computer programmer living in a dystopian metropolis. After he starts receiving cryptic messages on his computer, he is contacted by mysterious hacker Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), who leads him into an underworld where he meets Morpheus, and learns his reality will never be the same.
For better or worse, the film has made its indelible mark on culture. It created Bullet Time, paved the way for unconventional heroes, opened the doors to more comic book adaptations, spawned the virtual reality bonanza, inspired cyberpunk fashions, gave transgender people more visibility, had people pondering simulation theory, created the term "a glitch in the matrix", gave us the term "red-pilling" (we did say "or worse"), and most importantly made Keanu Reeves a superstar.
Now, this March, we invite you to revisit THE MATRIX, as it was originally seen in release in 1999, with an original 35mm print!
Many people may associate the colour green with The Matrix, as much as they would associate bullet time and the trench coats. What if we told you the film didn't look as green until close to ten years after its original release?
While the scenes in the "the matrix" vs the "real world" in the film had a greener tint, the overall look of the film was warmer, with more yellows and blues in 1999 and subsequent home releases. After the success of The Matrix, the Wachowski's released two sequels in 2003 that would change the original look of the film in later releases. The sequels were graded with a more noticeable green tint, and when it came time to remaster the trilogy for the Blu-ray, the original 1999 film got a ridiculous amount of green added in grading. The 4K remaster from a few years ago fixed this a bit, marrying the original look of the film with the green tint that the filmmakers may have envisioned. However, it still looks a bit different from the original 35mm prints, as you can see from this screen grab from Reddit.
We know some people will prefer the green grading, others will want to see the film how it was originally released, and some people won't care at all and just want to see the movie. No matter your dog in the fight, we think it's pretty cool that you can take a trip back in time to see how the original film looked when it mesmerised audiences in 1999.
Don't miss The Wachowski's THE MATRIX, as we present it from a 35mm print on Saturday 2nd March. Celebrate 25 years of this landmark sci-fi classic! Tickets are now on sale!!!