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Nearly 100 featurettes on the making of the films.

Like Dylan Thomas’ talent, the Wachowski Brothers burned brightly but briefly. After “The Matrix” the brothers earned the distinction of being critical favorites and audience favorites. With each successive film they fell a notch with both audiences. Was it fair? Frankly, no because the expectations were set too high it’s not the Wachowski’s fault that they could scale the same heights again. Yes, the films are a good example of the law of diminishing returns but that doesn’t negate the impact of the first film or the positive points of the two lackluster sequels. Perhaps it was the expectations and delivery of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy that made “The Matrix” trilogy seem less than it was either way it wasn’t really a fair comparison. Although the Wachowski’s borrowed from a variety of sources (primarily from the Cyperpunk novelists William Gibson, Bruce Sterling and threw in a dash of the “Alice in Wonderland” and “Blade Runner”), they made a film that manages to stand up on its own. This boxed set makes a compelling argument for reconsideration. ---

“The Matrix” comes with a new digital transfer that’s sharper, crisper and more vivid than the original DVD transfer. Is it worth purchasing this expensive set just for that? No as I’m sure that Warner will be re-releasing “The Matrix” with enhanced extras to a single (or double disc) DVD before the end of the year. The sound features a richer and better sounding 5.1 mix but I don’t hear any differences in terms of overall detail. It appears that there’s significantly more depth than on the previous mix. The music only track makes this edition more attractive than the previous one as the musical score for the first film was outstanding. ***

“The Matrix Revisited” also features a new digital transfer according to the boxed set but I didn’t detect a difference between this version and the previous release. The sound mix appears identical and, again, I didn’t detect any big difference in the overall sound of the film for this edition. “The Matrix Revolutions” likewise supposedly features a new digital transfer but any difference between this edition and the previous one seems minor. The sound mix pops out at you but then that was true of the previous edition as well. Jumping to disc seven (discs two, four and six are devoted strictly to the extras for each respective film) we get the same edition of “The Animatrix” released last year just prior to the other films. The transfer looks and sounds the same as the previous edition. ---

Things get heavy here. Disc two focuses exclusively on behind-the-scenes footage for “The Matrix”. There’s 17 behind-the-scenes and making-of-features exhaustively detailing the production of the film from conception through the release and marketing of the film. One featurette focuses on the critical and audience reception of the film as well. The music only audio option is included here. Disc four documents the production of the film with more than 20 behind-the-scenes featurettes focusing on everything from casting to the visual look of the film. There’s also the 23 scenes shot for the video game that didn’t appear in the film (they aren’t integrated into the movie for this release either). Finally “The Matrix Revolutions Revisited” breaks down the grand finale of the film breaking down the sequences in exhaustive detail. We also see 29 featurettes again focusing on every production detail of the film in meticulous detail. I doubt that any film (with the exception of “The Lord of the Rings”) has had its production so closely followed in exhaustive detail as this trilogy. Even the “Star Wars” boxed set for the original trilogy didn’t go into such depth. The drawback will be whether or not you’ll have the time to watch every single featurette and frame of these extras. I’ve only been watching it since Christmas and feel like I’ve only stuck my toe into the muddy waters of “The Matrix”. Disc eight looks at the inspirations that influence the brothers and their collaborators in creating the look, sound, texture and feel of “The Matrix Trilogy”. This disc doesn’t miss a beat although the influence of the Cyperpunk movement in science fiction is examined, it is given only a cursory look considering how much information is on the disc. “The Burly Man Chronicles” takes viewers back stage to meet the actors and production staff that brought the movie to life. Once you view this disc you have to ask yourself if you really needed to know all of this. Disc ten focuses on the pre-production artwork, storyboards and post-marketing efforts of Warner Brothers from music videots to the TV spots and theatrical trailers. ---