"Free your mind" Morpheus
The Matrix (1999) put the final nail on 35mm prints coffin and ushered in the digital film making age.
Directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski.
Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving among many others.
I remember going to the theater early in the morning to see The Matrix when it first opened.
I was so amazed at the visuals that as soon as it finished I went back to the box office and saw it again. I did this one more time. The film still has that visual impact when I saw it again recently.
The Wachowski brothers freed my mind to the limitless possibilities that exist within our imagination. The opening scenes with Carrie-Anne and the bullet dodging scenes throughout the film forever changed the way movies are made. Andy and Lana also helped me to visually understand the mental freeing process that The Actors Studio MFA program had been helping me to attain. Whether we are in a Matrix or not, is not as important to me as having the freedom to explore the world we are in and who we really are. Most of the philosophical dialogue went over my head, but the visuals explained everything to me. The Matrix visually reminds me of Michelangelo Antonioni's, L 'Avventura (1960). Andy and Lana like Michelangelo prefer to tell a story visually. The story and dialogue only further the visuals impact.
Hugo's acting is superb throughout the film. Weaving's slow, methodical, menacing and humorous line delivery was a joy to watch. I compare Hugo's vocal delivery to Merly Streep. Both actors use their voice's to bring out the subtext that the dialogue alludes to. The scene below illustrates Hugo's masterful vocal delivery to bring out a deeper understanding of the character that the story lacks. Enjoy!
Trivia - Metacortex, the name of the company Neo works for means, "transcending the boundaries of the brain." Meta, transcending; Cortex, the grey outer part of the brain.
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