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a TRUE FANEDIT by GeminiGod
The ultimate Matrix experience, bringing Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions together into one streamlined epic edition that remains true to the universe as the Wachowski brothers originally conceived it, while delivering a complete and engaging story.
Original film name The Matrix Reloaded & The Matrix Revolutions
Film studio name Warner Bros
Film release date 2003
Original runtime 138 minutes (Reloaded) & 129 minutes (Revolutions)
Fanedit release date May 2011
New runtime 172 minutes
Amount of time cut/added 95minutes cut/~3 minutes of new scenes added (made from existing theatrical footage)
INTENTION:
To create a high quality movie that honors the Wachowski brothers while simultaneously delivering a seamless story that works and engages the audience from beginning to end.
EDIT DETAILS:
I have held a love for storytelling since my earliest years when my brother and I would stay up late deconstructing a movie we had watched. Who doesn’t love a good story? But it is one thing to enjoy a story and another to understand what makes a story enjoyable.
There is no set of movies I have spent more time deconstructing than the Matrix movies. They are plush with great philosophy, action, and science fiction. The story is set in one of the most original universes to have been created in our lifetime. The ideas it presented have forever changed movie-making and the public consciousness. It was a franchise that defined a generation, and yet, unlike Star Wars, the franchise is dead (where’s my Matrix TV show!!). Few people even bother to watch the original movies anymore.
Why? Well, we all know why in a nutshell. Revolutions sucked. Some very talented faneditors have succeeded at fixing certain elements of Revolutions but always at the cost of other elements. Such efforts thus far have metaphorically consisted of amputating an infected animal's leg so it can limp on rather than finding the right combination of antibiotics to cure the whole animal.
The key lies in the story. I have long believed that if one can fix the story, then everything else that people generally fixate on falls into place. I have great respect for the Wachowski brothers. Such artists that demonstrate talent should be respected, but such artists also need to respect their own art which invariably takes on a life of its own. The story speaks back, and when the artist doesn't listen, Matrix Revolutions is what results.
This fanedit attempts to be true, first to the story, and second to the Wachowski brothers and fans.
The Goals:
1) Deliver a story that someone who has never seen the original movies can follow from beginning to end, find to be enjoyable, thought provoking, and engaging.
2) Deliver a movie that is of high technical quality and can look good on people’s bookshelves and in their home theaters for many years to come.
3) Deliver a movie that both my college screenwriting professor and the Wachowski brothers might respect.
This edit also includes some bonus Animatrix content accessible from the main menu. The 2nd Renaissance has a small edit that combines parts 1 & 2 together. The Flight of the Osiris is presented unedited in its entirety. It is highly recommended that you watch this bonus material first for the complete viewing experience. I hope that this enhances the overall viewing experience not only because of the extra content but because it helps to reset your expectations. I hope it helps to get you excited again about just how much potential this universe has to offer and to come at this edition with fresh eyes as if you are watching it for the first time. If you can manage on this level, I believe you will be very pleased with the results of the feature film.
CUTLIST:
Rather than discussing specific cuts, which are too many to list and some difficult to describe (due to re-ordering of sequences), I will briefly outline the guiding principles behind the edits I made. *SPOILER WARNING*: Some of the major edits made may be implied to those familiar with the movies.
1) It takes more than cuts to fix this movie without creating major story gaps. Thus two new scenes and one highly modified scene have been created that represents approximately 3 minutes of new scenes (made from existing theatrical footage).
2) The key to the tension throughout the story, the hinge, if you will, that the entire story arc rests upon is Zion. Zion cannot be removed and it cannot suck. The tension from the first movie is derived from Neo succeeding or failing in becoming the One. The tension in the sequels is derived from Zion rising or falling.
3) Both Reloaded and Revolutions are one to-be-continued movie. I do not believe this was necessary other than to milk the audience for a 2nd movie, nor do I believe they originally had enough material for two movies. I believe that many of the worst plot points and sub-plots arose from this decision to make two movies instead of one as (I suspect) the first draft was originally written to be.
4) The pressure to include a big mind-blowing plot twist, like existed in Matrix 1, drove the creators to fabricate an ill-conceived plot twist for the 2nd & 3rd movies that leads the story astray from the way it was originally conceived and should have remained.
5) The death of the original actress, Gloria Foster, who played the Oracle is unfortunate, but her change of appearance is explained and her scenes with Neo are vital to his character arc (although highly edited to remove unimportant or bad dialogue!).
6) Less is more, right up until it comes at the cost of dramatic tension, good storytelling, and effective characters! (Ex: I’ll take the extended versions of Lord of the Rings over the theatrical any day. Conversely I’ll take a swift kick to the head over the Star Wars prequel theatrical releases any day even though the basic story arc is good!)
7) Neo is the One. This should be quite clear at the end of Matrix 1. Humanity is facing a possible extinction. It should not be surprising or unusual to expect some religious connotations pertaining to his character or the story in general. It fits the story being told (although toned down a bit in this edit).
9) Philosophy is our friend, unless it stands in conflict with any of these other guiding rules.
Revolutions was a letdown, but it held such promise, and there are so many redeeming aspects to be found in both Reloaded & Revolutions. I hope this edit helps to reveal the diamond in the rough.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Bonus Animatrix content:
The 2nd Renaissance
Flight of the Osiris
Feature Film commentary track from Geminigod discussing specific changes, general thoughts, and all things Matrix related.
RELEASE INFORMATION
DL DVD
AVCHD
SL Blu-ray (coming soon)
Tech Info:
All video comes from the Ultimate Matrix Collection on blu-ray. This video was painstakingly preserved losslessly throughout the editing process.
All audio comes from the Ultimate Matrix Collection on blu-ray, plus the complete audio scores for all three Matrix movies. All audio is 5.1 surround and was edited losslessly. The sound was carefully balanced and encoded with dolby digital ac-3 Pro to ensure proper levels and a dynamic range. Ideally playback should be decoded by something that can do dolby digital decoding. DVD and AVCHD audio were encoded at a bitrate of 448kbps. Blu-ray at 640 kbps.
Format details:
DVD: Down-scaled from HD source to DL DVD size. Visual appearance is unquestionably superior in quality to the studio DVD releases. (Note: It is highly recommended that you use ImgBurn to burn to disc. There is only one good place to split the layers on the DL disc.)
AVCHD: presented in 1080p. It is the same size as the DVD version but looks almost as good as blu-ray. What more can you ask for? (A readme file is included with the ISO image for guidance on optimal viewing.)
Blu-Ray: Presented in 1080p at a near-lossless bitrate of 15Mbps that fits onto a SL blu-ray disc. This video has been encoded using sophisticated filters that required >2 days of encoding time. The video has been cleaned beyond levels the studio ever achieved to remove almost all of the grain still present in many scenes while retaining detail sharpness. This may take a while to download, but for those who care, the movie is unlikely to ever get more visually perfect looking than this. (A readme file is included with the ISO image for guidance on optimal viewing.)
Software used (probably not a complete list):
Sony Vegas Pro 10
DVD Architect Pro 5.2
After Effects 5.5
Sound Forge Audio Studio 10
AnyDVDHD
TSmuxer
DgDecoderNV
Avisynth
VirtualDub
MeGui
HCencoder
ImgBurn
SPECIAL NOTES/THANKS
Stankpac helped review an early draft with some good feedback and has served as an occasional sounding board for a year now.
Captain Khajiit patiently educated and assisted me in producing the amazing looking DVD encode of this movie.
Boon and Doctor M provided some indirect inspiration with their edits of this movie.
