Upgrade from Blu-ray - Absolutely!
The Matrix, directed by the Wachowskis, became an immediate social phenomenon when it was released in 1999.
It holds up beautifully, almost two decades later, and WB’s new 4k rendering, with Dolby Atmos and HDR/Dolby Vision, is a wonderful way to view it.
A gorgeous representation of the film.
As I don’t care to reinvent the wheel, and when someone says what I probably would, best to save time and send you to another site, to read Michael Reuben’s review of the new disc, which includes comments from colorist Jan Yarbrough.
Image – 5
Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)
Upgrade from Blu-ray – Absolutely!
Pass / Fail – Pass
Highly Recommended
RAH
Published by
Can't wait to get this. Glad to hear that the matrix scenes are still green. For some reason a few people inaccurately claimed that there was no green in those scenes originally, people parroted that and it kind of got accepted as fact. It's great that the color timing on the UHD is exactly as intended and true to the original look.
David Wilkins
Supporting Actor
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Michael's review is outstanding. Glad to hear your reinforcing view, RAH. This one shall be mine.
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- Joel Henderson
Yeah its supposed to be Matrix Green Zion Blue. Bill Pope even mentioned as such on the old dvd commentary.
IIRC many people believed that the first DVD was representative of the color and that the subsequent DVD and Blu releases were a "revisionist" attempt to make the first film fit with the green cast seen on the sequel's home video releases.
It actually seems to be the case that the first DVD was heavily white balanced by whoever did the transfer, and the second transfer pumped up the green cast to a very pervasive level... this extended to the sequels* as well since the pre home video footage that is available (in trailers) shows a tone more in keeping with this new transfer supervised by Pope, with the green being present but not at the expense of color variety within the frame.
In any case, lovely to see this film get the TLC treatment from WB. I hope they do the same for the sequels and that Pope oversees those as well.
*note that the sequels didn't go through a DI before being printed (with the exception of the highway chase).
It actually seems to be the case that the first DVD was heavily white balanced by whoever did the transfer, and the second transfer pumped up the green cast to a very pervasive level... this extended to the sequels* as well since the pre home video footage that is available (in trailers) shows a tone more in keeping with this new transfer supervised by Pope, with the green being present but not at the expense of color variety within the frame.
In any case, lovely to see this film get the TLC treatment from WB. I hope they do the same for the sequels and that Pope oversees those as well.
*note that the sequels didn't go through a DI before being printed (with the exception of the highway chase).
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People griped about the green tint in 1999! It may've been heavier in subsequent DVDs but it was always there...
I'm looking forward to this one but no way am I spending $32 on catalog titles I already own 5x over.
I mean, they paid for not only a new 4K scan, but also paid for a new Dolby Vision HDR master, paid for Bill Pope to consult, and paid for a Dolby Atmos remix of the soundtrack. These things aren't cheap!
And yet other studios manage to release their catalog titles with these same features for a much lower price. Warner Brothers has been pricing their UHD catalog releases higher than just about everyone else since they got into the format.
I will consider picking this up when it gets below $20.
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- Robert Harris
Suggest you work those numbers backwards, and see how much stays with the IP owner, after Amazon, BB take their cut.
Basic replication costs are higher than Blu-rays.
At a certain point, physical media becomes a poor investment.
And that’s without the cost of new extras, and that slipcover, that some need.
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Are Warner Brothers costs higher than studios such as Fox or Universal? If every studio was charging that much I would be more likely to agree with you, Robert. But when WB is consistently higher priced than their competition, then I tend to believe they are just overpriced.
It's a free market, so each studio is free to charge whatever they want. But, as a consumer, I am also free to decide what I consider a fair price I am willing to pay for the product.
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You certainly have that right and each of us have different disposable income budgets.
Powell&Pressburger
Screenwriter
I got what I paid for for this 4K UHD.
Solid transfer that is as close to the theatrical color timing as you could hope for
The Dolby Atmos track makes Disneys Last Jedi Atmos track sound like expanded stereo.
This wasnt a quick cash grab 4K catalog title work was put into this. Image and Audio.
Warner Bros slayed!
Now lets see them do the same for Reloaded and Revolutions.
And WB please release SPEED RACER to UHD 4K with a great Atmos track!
Solid transfer that is as close to the theatrical color timing as you could hope for
The Dolby Atmos track makes Disneys Last Jedi Atmos track sound like expanded stereo.
This wasnt a quick cash grab 4K catalog title work was put into this. Image and Audio.
Warner Bros slayed!
Now lets see them do the same for Reloaded and Revolutions.
And WB please release SPEED RACER to UHD 4K with a great Atmos track!
brap
Stunt Coordinator
I myself am not up to 4K yet, but they say that the included SDR blu is sourced from this new master and is a vast improvement on the old 2007 master. Has anyone checked out that disc yet?
I may pick this up tonight if so. Future-proofing for the eventual upgrade to 4K and a great new SDR transfer to watch in the meantime. Can't pass it up.
I may pick this up tonight if so. Future-proofing for the eventual upgrade to 4K and a great new SDR transfer to watch in the meantime. Can't pass it up.
I'm with Scott on this one, and will wait until the price drops to a more reasonable point before buying.
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FTR, the old "manipulated" transfer from 2004 was also supervised by The Wachowskis and Bill Pope.
George_W_K
Screenwriter
I almost was going to balk at the price, but I really want to see this in 4k and hear it in Atmos. Alas, no store near me has this in stock. Guess I should've ordered online. Damn.
sleroi
Second Unit
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The price is certainly within my budget, it just means I only buy one disc this week instead of the usual 2-3. And I appreciate Mr. Harris' points and also want to support such care and quality.
But psychologically, when Die Hard could be had a week earlier for under $20, it becomes a perceived value issue. I would think the Matrix is a big enough title that it could move a lot of units. And $32.99 doesn't seem the best price point to accomplish this, especially compared to other studios output.
But we'll find out shortly.
But psychologically, when Die Hard could be had a week earlier for under $20, it becomes a perceived value issue. I would think the Matrix is a big enough title that it could move a lot of units. And $32.99 doesn't seem the best price point to accomplish this, especially compared to other studios output.
But we'll find out shortly.
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I agree the price is too high, but I enjoyed this film so much I bought it. For the sequels, if they don't come in at a much lower price, no sale.
