National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2012
“A visionary and complex film, the science-fiction epic "The Matrix" employed state-of-the-art special effects, production design and computer-generated animation to tell a story—steeped in mythological, literary, and philosophical references—about a revolt against a conspiratorial regime.”
Selected for preservation as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
Directed by
Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Studio
Warner Bros. Entertainment · Village Roadshow Pictures · Silver Pictures · 136 min
Box office
$467.2M worldwide on a $63M budget
Honors
Academy Awards — 4 wins, 4 nominationsBritish Academy Film Awards — 2 winsSaturn Award — 2 winsAll 8 wins · 4 nominations on record
Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing
Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects
Academy Awards: Best Film Editing
Academy Awards: Best Sound
British Academy Film Awards: Best Sound
British Academy Film Awards: Best Special Visual Effects
Saturn Award: Best Director
Saturn Award: Best Science Fiction Film
Scholarship
Named in the title of 1 peer-reviewed work
Examples
Biofilms: the matrix revisited — Trends in Microbiology, 2004
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
The Matrix arrived from Warner Bros. in 1999, written and directed by the Wachowskis, and reshaped what a mainstream action film could look like. Blending cyberpunk philosophy with groundbreaking visual effects, it became a cultural touchstone, spawning sequels, imitators, and a lasting vocabulary for questioning reality. Its success proved audiences would embrace dense ideas inside a blockbuster frame, and it remains one of the defining studio releases of its decade.
This cell centers on Neo, the film's protagonist, whose arc from anonymous programmer to awakened figure drives the entire narrative. Collectors seek him out because his journey is the emotional spine of the story. The moment named here, the call, marks the inciting contact that pulls Neo toward the truth he has not yet chosen to face. As a single 35mm frame, it preserves a threshold instant, the kind of narrative hinge that print collectors prize for its quiet significance rather than spectacle.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of The Matrix (1999).
Gauge
35mm; the strip holds three frames, each showing four perforations per frame on the visible top edge.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no torn edges visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual variable-area (bilateral) waveform pattern.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture; no legible key numbers, manufacturer text, or SAFETY FILM legend can be read at this resolution.
Base & colour
The base shows a cool, slightly blue-tinted cast consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears neutral with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with a release print of The Matrix (1999).
Era check
The bilateral variable-area optical track, colour positive print stock, and blue-tinted base are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063828
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
