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 in 1999 from Warner Bros., a Wachowski production that fused cyberpunk philosophy with a new grammar of action cinema. Its bullet-time effects and green-tinted digital dystopia reshaped how studios approached science fiction spectacle for a decade after. The film became a cultural touchstone, its questions about reality and simulation entering mainstream conversation well beyond genre audiences, and its box office success proved that dense ideas could thrive inside a blockbuster frame.
This cell centers on Neo, the reluctant messiah played by Keanu Reeves, whose arc from office drone to liberator anchors the entire trilogy's mythology. A machine gun moment situates him within the film's escalating confrontations against agents and machine-world enforcers, the sort of sequence collectors prize for its connection to the character's transformation into a weaponized figure of resistance. As a single 35mm frame, it preserves a fragment of that turning point, a physical remnant from the reel that once ran through theaters delivering this exact instant to audiences.
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, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block pattern in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly cool; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or significant scratches are visible; the print shows no evidence of heavy projection use at this size.
Picture
Positive colour image; all 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 a variable-area optical track with apparent Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks 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 000063839
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
