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
Warner Bros. released The Matrix in 1999, a production that reshaped action cinema and science fiction alike. Directed by the Wachowskis, it married philosophical inquiry with groundbreaking visual effects, introducing audiences to a layered reality where machines had subjugated humanity within a simulated world. The film's success launched a franchise and cemented its place as a touchstone of turn-of-the-millennium filmmaking, influencing countless productions that followed.
This cell preserves a frame of Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, tied to the bullet time sequence that became the film's defining signature. Neo is the story's central figure, a reluctant hero awakening to his role within the Matrix, and collectors seek him out as the character who anchors the entire narrative. Bullet time itself stands as shorthand for the film's technical innovation, the moment audiences point to when describing what made The Matrix distinct. A 35mm cell from this passage holds a piece of that legacy in physical form.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Matrix (1999).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or deformation.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as two bilateral variable-area lines; a band of dense digital data blocks consistent with a Dolby Digital track is also visible between the optical track and the lower perforation row.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows rich colour saturation with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible running through the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with an action sequence from The Matrix (1999).
Era check
The combination of a bilateral variable-area optical track alongside a Dolby Digital data block strip is consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1990s, 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 000063841
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
