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 as a genre-defining event, blending cyberpunk philosophy with groundbreaking visual effects that reshaped action cinema for a generation. Directed by the Wachowskis, it turned bullet time and green code into cultural shorthand, launching a franchise and cementing itself as one of the most influential science fiction films of its era. Its blend of martial arts, noir aesthetics, and simulation theory struck a chord that endures decades later, making any physical artifact from its production line a touchstone of late nineties filmmaking.
This cell centers on Neo, the story's reluctant messiah figure, at the moment the nature of his reality is laid bare to him. This is the film's philosophical hinge, where the Matrix itself becomes explicit as subject rather than backdrop. Collectors prize Neo cells for his centrality to the narrative and iconography, and a frame tied to this explanatory beat holds particular weight, marking the exposition that reframes everything preceding it. As a 35mm cell, it preserves a literal frame of release printing, a physical fragment of the film's theatrical run.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Matrix (1999).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with an analog stereo print; Dolby Digital pixel blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint typical of modern safety stock; the dye image reads as neutral with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light vertical 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 consecutive frames from a single continuous shot and the content is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a dual analog variable-area optical track with Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks and a blue-tinted polyester base is consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s, matching the 1999 release date on record.
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 000063832
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
