I had'nt intended to pick this set up but after seeing those comparison shots, I'm defintately picking this one up now. But, just the box set, not the one with the bust.

I am surprised that the film purists haven't gone crazy about the work done to the first movie.


Guess it shows you that Star Wars Fans are crazy.

I think Neither for me. I'm actually one of the ones that were going to check this out, but mainly for the changes of the first movie, however with the comparison shots I have seen, I don't like the change and I am having 2nd thoughs

The full review is up at www.ign.com now. I doesn't saying anything about PQ of the sequels, I asuming they use the same transfer. Which looked fantastic, but I am fearing that it might look worse because of the lesser space for bit rate. But then again the Seven Platinum and LOTR EE doesn't look any worse! We will see. Hopefully Beaver will do a comparision.

Jiggawhat,

I'll bite on that challenge. This is yet another example of a director with a solution in search of a problem. Doing a new transfer is one thing, but retinting scenes to differentiate the Matrix from the ostensible real world is not only unnecessary, but a poor decision. One of the primary conceits of the first movie was that the audience was introduced to the concept of a simulated reality at the same time as Neo. Central to this process is the film's supposition that the matrix appears indistinguishable from the real world - that your senses can't be trusted. Tinting the matrix to cue the audience as to what is "real" and what is the matrix undermines this whole concept.

The quality of a DVD transfer should be measured in terms of how well it reflects the look of the ORIGINAL FILM. It shouldn't be another round of creative endeavor. Why is this so hard to understand?

At least with this one the original DVD is still available, unlike the embarassment of a trilogy that another revisionist sci-fi director (to remain nameless in this post) has foisted off on us.

NO SPOON = NO SALE!

I was just going to chime in about not necessarily liking the color change. I've never been a person to get up-in-arms about changes like this made to movies that have already been released. But in this case I don't know that I can look past it. I love the Matrix. One of my favorite movies of the past 10 years, that I've watched a hundred times. I know what it's supposed to look like. That was going to be my only argument (that it's different, changed) but I think your argument is excellent - . I think you've made a great case for why shouldn't have done this, one that I hadn't thought about initially.

I don't see what makes this so different from the Halloween re-release from a year or 2 ago that had everyone in a tizzy. The color timing got changed on that and everyone got upset. Why not now?

I was hoping for a new, cleaner, transfer but not this.

I was kidding too.

HAHA.

However, you make some great points.

The Matrix is my favorite film so far not just because of the action but also because the story is so intriguing.

I agree. The original Matrix green tint was nice and subtle, whereas in the sequels it pretty much dominates every scene. The changes aren't as ridiculous as Star Wars but certainly not worth praising.

I hated.HATED the green tint!!

if thats the way the director wanted it,he was wrong....

im getting the 10 disker

Absolutly love the new transfer, green-ness and all. Honestly I never noticed ANY type of tint in any scene of any Matrix movie. It's not like everyone looks like the Hulk or Shrek!

Anyway, I hate all DVD cases that are not keepcases. Who cares how the discs are packaged? It's all about how much stuff you get. I'm all about having EVERYTHING. I even traded in my Matrix 2 and 3 movie discs only but kept the features discs. Of course I made a DVD-r of the trailers that were on the movie discs. So do what I will do, buy the giftset if you like it, even if you hate the cases, and print out new covers and stick em in REAL DVD cases (aka keepcases).

This is what distrubs me (from IGN):

"Disc two in the set is The Matrix Revisited, a companion disc released a few years back. ."
All of that content is here, save the embarrassing fanboy stuff

WHAT!? I thought they said this and Animatrix were IDENTCAL! I want the embarrasing fanboy stuff! Seriously, was some stuff removed from Revisted? I don't care how stupid the content is, I NEED IT!!!!!!!!!

That's an interesting contradiction.

What's wrong with that? I can see how it can be taken that way I guess, but for example, the cases for the Alien Legacy set are much better than the stupid 20 foot long rollout thing the Quad came in, but it all comes down to what you get BESIDES the case. I can easily make my own Matrix covers and put them in a different case. It would be slightly tougher to make my own Neo bust and 80-page book. If you don't like the cases they come in, make your own, it's really not that tough (especially if you find coverart to download).

Besides that, being in that they are not keepcases, the regular cardboard and limited jewel (who came up with that name anyway, did women used to store their necklaces in CD cases or something, or was it the fact that the first CD ever made was released by Jewel?) cases are both crap.

You don't see the irony in saying "I hate all DVD cases that are not keepcases" and "Who cares how the discs are packaged?"

Obviously you care.

You don't see where I said "I can see how it can be taken that way I guess"? I understand what you are getting at and it made me laugh. I do care, in a way. I like the crazy packaging, ok. I like it, but NOT to hold DVDs in. I like it to sit empty on the shelf with all of it's loser cardboard friends, the snappers, digipacks and the like. So I prefer keepcases, of course, but like the extra content/fluff/toys etc more. Which is why eventually EVERY DVD I own will be in a keepcase with a beautiful cover.

ever since they announced the gift set, they didn't release more pix of it..just one pic that don't let u decide....anyone got anymore pix?

There is this one.

I am not impressed after reading the review over at IGN. I was always hoping for some comments by the brothers and I knew once they wouldn't be commenting or saying anything about it that I would wait until the review was out. I have all the movies, animatrix, and matrix revisited. The other disks don't really add that much value for me. Maybe I will get it used.

OK, I'll bite on this challenge of a challenge...

Now see, I disagree with that very premise. A solution in search of a problem? I see a solution, but where's the problem?

I think you miss the point here. The retinting, or more correctly, re-color-timing, of the original movie was done to more correctly match the look and ideology of the two sequals.

While that's a valid point story wise, in terms of continuity through-out all three movies, it doesn't make sense to leave the original as it was. The sequals clearly defined what the "Matrix" was supposed to look like and so to not have it look like that in the original movie would be (to quote Bill O'Reilly) quite ridiculous.

While true when the first movie was released in 1999, that theory no longer holds true after the two sequals.

I'll lump this whole paragraph together, and I'll answer it with a question of my own. Why is it so hard to understand that the W. Brothers re-tinted the original to match the sequals? It's as simple as that.

Well good. Keep your crappy transfer in that spiffy snapper case. I and many others will glady buy this new set with a new transfer and 9 other discs to go with it.

And as for that other "namelss director", that other trilogy was also re-color-timed for DVD release.

I'll be eagerly picking up the "normal" Ultimate Edition. Warner Bros.' website has a pretty good deal with getting the trilogy's shooting scripts for free if you order from them ($59). I might take advantage of that deal.

Neither. I'm holding out for the eventual HD release. I have my current releases to keep me company for the time being and I don't feel the need to upgrade, perhaps except there may be a crazy deal somewhere

Wait, so you guys are saying that all scenes inside the Matrix were green-tinted in both sequels? Really? I thought they looked perfectly natural, same as when I am walking around outside. Give me an example of a green-tinted scene and then without the tint (with the same quality of the transfer on both, so those IGN comparisons don't count).

pick any shot from the car chase in reloaded, then take a shot from the mini documentary on the second disc.

neither

Mike,

My point was that there was no problem that needed fixing. The color timing was fine to begin with. I didn't "miss the point." I got the point and disagreed with it. There's a big difference.

And in answer to the question you posed. I fail to see why making two sequels necessitates changes to the original. Any movie should stand alone, regardless of whether it's part of a larger franchise or not. While sequels or prequels might serve to further expound upon it's meaning, a movie shouldn't depend upon another film to create meaning. If a filmmaker wants to maintain a level of artistic consistency he should mold his future works around the style of the original rather than constantly revisiting past work.

I place some value on a movie as an historical document, a record of what it was like to walk into a movie theater at the time of the film's release and experience the movie. I don't say that because I'm some prudish librarian, I say it because I distinctly remember the day I saw the first Matrix movie - it was an exciting experience, one I'd like to have some record of independently of is dispiriting and poorly conceived sequels. It doesn't matter what they now think the movie was "supposed to" look like I want to see what it did look like.

Again, mitigating my criticism somewhat is the fact that the original movie is still available. At least fans can have a choice about what experience they want to have with the movie, but I think that filmmakers in general should be upfront about changes like this and acknowlege that they are actaully releasing a new movie. I'd point to the releases of Lord of the Rings Extended Editions as examples of this done very well.

So I will keep my original movie, which I'll confess I haven't watched in a while. Maybe the transfer isn't perfect. I remember thinking when I watched it that it was great. Maybe my opinion will change with subsequent viewings, but I doubt it. And I don't care about the case at all. I sometimes wonder how long some people on this board spend staring at their DVD shelves in slack jawed wonder.

PS You win no points with me by quoting Bill O'Reilly.