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
Released by Warner Bros. in 1999, The Matrix redefined action cinema for a generation. The Wachowskis' cyberpunk vision combined groundbreaking visual effects with philosophical inquiry, introducing bullet time and a visual language that countless films would later imitate. It arrived at the close of the millennium, tapping into anxieties about technology and reality that resonated far beyond genre audiences, and it launched a franchise, a merchandising empire, and a permanent place in cinematic vocabulary.
This cell preserves a frame of Trinity, the character whose combination of skill, loyalty, and quiet intensity made her one of the most enduring figures to emerge from the film. Collectors seek her out because she represents the human core beneath the mythology, the one who anchors Neo to the world he is learning to see. A cell like this one, drawn directly from the theatrical print, offers a physical fragment of that moment as it existed on release, a tangible piece of the film's original run through projectors.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Matrix (1999).
Gauge
35mm; the strip holds three frames, each showing four perforations per frame on both edges.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a second modulated line consistent with a two-track or Dolby SR optical format; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; the dye image shows full colour saturation with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light surface lines consistent with projection are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of The Matrix (1999).
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a dual variable-area optical track is consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1999 release date of the film 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 000063833
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
