The Matrix Reloaded Revisited (2004) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Documentary |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Enter The Matrix Featurette-The Great Hall, Building Merovingian's Lair Featurette-Tiger Style: A Day In The Life Of Chen Hu Featurette-Heavy Metal: Weapons Of The Great Hall Featurette-Oakland Streets And Freeway: Unseen Footage Featurette-Tour Of The Merovingian's Garage, Queen Of The Road Featurette-Arteries Of The Mega-City:Visual Effects OfThe Freeway Chase Featurette-Foresight: Preplanning The Mayhem Featurette-Freeway Truck Crash: Anatomy Of A Shot Featurette-Fate Of The Freeway, Freeway Action Match Featurette-Two Equals Clash, Guardian of The Oracle: Collin Chou Featurette-Creating The Burly Brawl Featurette-A Conversation With Master Wo Ping Featurette-Chad Stahelski: The Other Neo, Burly Brawl Action Match Featurette-Spiraling Virtual Shot: Anatomy Of A Shot Featurette-The Exiles Featurette-Big Brother Is Watching: The Architect's Office DVD-ROM Extras |
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Rating | ? | ||
Year Of Production | 2004 | ||
Running Time | 178:51 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Josh Orech |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Keanu Reeves Laurence Fishburne Carrie-Anne Moss Hugo Weaving Yuen Wo Ping Joel Silver John Gaeta Chad Stahelski Collin Chou Mary Alice Monica Bellucci Chen Hu Debbie Evans |
Case | ? | ||
RPI | Box | Music | Various |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Full Frame | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | None | ||
16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | Varies | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | Yes | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Again, I cannot stress enough the foresight of Warner Bros. and the Wachowski Bros. in making this package a supplementary one, meaning that you should keep the original discs from the initial release as this new package is a supplement, not a replacement. Almost nothing in this collection is duplicated from the original releases, save the three film themselves, much of The Matrix Revisited and The Animatrix. As this disc is basically an extras disc, I'll skip the lengthy synopsis and get right into it.
The video is presented 1.33:1 (full frame) for the most part. There is some 2.35:1 content, but this is all in the 4x3 domain and without 16x9 enhancement. In an age of 16x9, I would have liked to see this content exclusively in the widescreen format, but this was obviously not thought about by the producers. Still, this is interesting and watchable material.
If you've see The Matrix Revisited, then you'll know what to expect in terms of video quality. It's pretty much all over the shop, from crystal clear to handy-cam fuzzy, depending on what equipment was used to capture the video. With that in mind, it's understandable that sharpness would vary in quality from extra to extra. For the most part, what we have on offer is watchable and except for the lack of 16x9 enhancement and an overabundance of full frame material what we get is okay. Shadow detail depends on what we have presented and from what source. It's fine for this documentary material, but not of cinema or reference quality. There is the occasional evidence of low level noise.
Colour is presented in a natural fashion, with the colour palate being a bit washed out in comparison to the feature films. Still, it is serviceable and acceptable due to this disc's supplementary role.
The image quality here is good, and I didn't have any real problems with MPEG artefacts during the material. The disc is transferred with an average bitrate of around 4.50 Mb/s, which is enough to present the material in a watchable fashion. There are various video artefacts visible throughout the programme, such as aliasing, chroma noise and cross colorization, but as much of the content is from standard video cameras this is expected.
There is only one subtitle option here, that being an English one. It is reasonably accurate but at times abbreviated. Still, it's fine if you are hard of hearing and it will get you in the ballpark.
This disc is formatted dual layer, but the layer change takes place between segments so a layer change is not noticeable during the programme.
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Overall |
Dialogue is understandable throughout the various features and I had no problems with its clarity. Sync is reasonable as well with no major issues of note.
Music for this disc comes from several sources, such as Brainclaw, Fingertwister, John Gladwell, Mica, Monstrum Sepsis and Paul Cooper among others. As with The Matrix Revisited, it suits the various featurettes well.
The audio here is only in Dolby Digital 2.0, and at a fairly low bitrate at that (192 Kb/s). You will have to rely on your surround sound processor to derive any surround activity from this soundtrack, which will probably be a minimal atmospheric presence at most. There isn't a whole lot of LFE here.
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Overall |
Enter the Matrix - 41:02 (Total Running Time)
These 23 short scenes are taken from the video game Enter the Matrix, which was released at the time that The Matrix Reloaded was released theatrically. Some of the scenes here flesh out some of the movie's storyline, whilst others are simply replications of scenes and scenarios that were in the film. There was some initial talk that the Wachowski Bros. would edit some or all of the material here into The Matrix Reloaded for this Ultimate Collection. This isn't the case, and seeing these short scenes shows why. Too many of the scenes are just repeats of original scenes from the film redone to make the gamer feel more like they're part of the film's action. A couple of scenes are original and could have been inserted into the film, but they for the most part would have just added length to the film without imparting enough information to justify their inclusion. Thankfully, this is why the Extras disc was invented; to give us a look at things that we might never have seen before. These scenes (and those throughout this extras disc) can be watched individually or one after another by using the Play All icon. All these scenes are presented in 2.35:1 without 16x9 enhancement.
1. Niobe & Ghost Jack In - 2:28
Niobe and Ghost jack into the Matrix.
2. Last Transmission of the Osiris - 2:07
The last broadcast from the Osiris shows that things are worse than expected.
3. 72 Hours - 3:35
The various ships' captains meet to discuss the new threat.
4. Hallway & The Keymaker - 2:00
The One's key is stolen.
5. A Kiss from Niobe - 3:32
There will be quite a few guys who'll like this one. This is a replication of the scene in The Matrix Reloaded where Persephone (Monica Bellucci) kisses Neo to feel what it is to be loved. In a twist, Persephone asks the same question of Niobe, with the same reaction that she had to Neo's first kiss in the movie. The second one hits the mark, and there are some revelations. Very racy!
6. A Kiss from Ghost - 3:15
This is the same scene as above, but with Ghost instead. We also learn some revelations about him during this scene, not near as racy, though.
7. Clean Exit - :15
Niobe asks if the exit is clean.
8. The Logos Returns to Zion - :44
Niobe and Ghost talk as they enter Zion's gates. A similar scene to that seen in the film when the Nebuchadnezzar enters Zion.
9. Lock & Niobe - 2:42
Lock confronts Niobe in her unit. They talk about Morpheus and the coming war.
10. Ghost & Trinity Pt. 1 - :22
Trinity enters Ghost's unit while he is sleeping.
11. Ghost & Trinity Pt. 2 - :49
Ghost and Trinity talk.
12. Lessons of the Oracle - 3:29
The Oracle (played in these and subsequent scenes by Mary Alice) and Seraph talk while Niobe and Lock discuss a way to stop the machines.
13. Off to the Freeway - :54
Link and Ghost jack in to find Morpheus, who's on the freeway.
14. Sparks Directs Traffic - :18
Sparks watches matrix action on his screens.
15. Saving Morpheus - 2:17
After Ghost and Niobe save Morpheus, they return to the Logos and talk with Sparks.
16. Three Hours to Attack - 1:17
Lock talks to his commanders about the impending machine attack.
17. EMP Aftermath - 1:35
Lock loses contact with the ships while Niobe, Ghost and Sparks talk about what to do.
18. Niobe Visits the Oracle - 3:24
Niobe and Oracle talk about the path of The One.
19. Ghost Visits the Oracle - 2:45
Ghost and the Oracle talk about how she changed and what is to come.
20. Niobe Leaves the Oracle - :56
A gang of Smiths confronts Niobe in the hallway. A replication of the scene in the film.
21. Ghost Leaves the Oracle - :55
Same scene as above, but featuring Ghost.
22. Picnicking Sentinels - :50
Niobe, Ghost and Sparks ready for a sentinel attack.
23. One Hell of a Ride - :33
Niobe and Ghost wait for the end to come.
I'll Handle Them - 17:10 (Total Running Time)
This is a look at the building and filming in the Great Hall of Merovingian. The following segments can be played individually or all in a row by using the Play All icon.
Car Chase - 55:19 (Total Running Time)
This is a detailed look at how the freeway chase scene was conceived and put together.
Teahouse Fight - 7:04 (Total Running Time)
Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the teahouse fight between Seraph and Neo.
Unplugged - 40:22 (Total Running Time)
This is a breakdown of the Burley Brawl scene, from conception to the final version.
The Exiles - 17:54 (Total Running Time)
This is a look at some of the characters that we meet in this film as well as those whom we'll meet in The Matrix Revolutions. Also featured here is a look at the Architect and his room.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The video is limited because of the capture method, but acceptable because of the documentary nature of the disc.
The audio is acceptable, but not extraordinary.
This disc is 100% extras.
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Review Equipment | |
DVD | Panasonic DVD-RP82, using S-Video output |
Display | Beko TRW 325 / 32 SFT 10 76cm (32") 16x9. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Yamaha RX-V2300 Dolby Digital and dts. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). |
Amplification | Yamaha RX-V2300 110w X 6 connected via optical cable and shielded RCA (gold plated) connects for DVD-Audio |
Speakers | VAF DC-X Fronts, VAF DC-6 Center, VAF DC-2 Rears, Jamo Surround 160 Rear Center, VAF LFE-07 (Dual Amp. 80w x 2) |