The Ultimate Matrix Collection (HD DVD)

If you are reading this I can only assume you are a home video junkie, a Matrix junkie and a special feature junkie. This is a good thing because I am too, and probably in that order. On top of that I can only believe that I have seen just about everything there is to see concerning these movies and seeing how that means over 40 hours of special features it is all a bit hard to sift through, but let's give it a shot.

First off, if you already own the Ultimate Matrix Collection on DVD and are considering upgrading to HD DVD you are going to want the standard HD DVD Matrix Collection seeing how every special feature outside of the In-Movie Experiences on each film are standard definition and will not be an upgrade, so click here to purchase that. For those of you that skipped out on the 10-disc set and would like all the features it offered along with the three films in HD then this is where you want to stay, let's chat about it a bit eh?

First for the films, you know what they are about, you have seen the making-of stuff and you have heard all the conversations about philosophy, religion and fairy tales. However, there is still something to gain from the HD DVD experience in conjunction with the Matrix trilogy, no matter how much you have studied the films. I am saying this of course on top of the fact that the films look better than they ever have before, which is saying something since the last DVD release was a HUGE improvement. HD DVD does give us something more though, content in context I am calling it.

One thing to remember, and even I had to be reminded, is that everyone Neo, Trinity and Morpheus are dealing with inside the Matrix are not human. We of course know this and when I say it you may be thinking duh, but you have to think beyond that, you have to think down to the root of the machine, program, virus, etc. and consider what they have been designed to do or what they have decided not to do.

I was reminded of this when Persephone (Monica Bellucci) came on screen and the HD DVD exclusive In-Movie Experience popped up and Bellucci began to break down her character and her character's roots and motivations. Persephone is something like a vampire, and we knew this, but her thirst is not for blood, rather it is for emotions. It is one of the great scenes in Reloaded and Persephone and the Merovingian are easily my two favorite baddies in the trilogy. This is just one example of how the In-Movie Experience benefits movies like this. All of this can be seen in the special features but it is so much better to hear things like this as the movie is playing, it gives it more meaning and it sticks with you much longer. Most movies can't take advantage of it like the Matrix trilogy can, but when you get the right movie and mix it with this feature you really have something special.

Feature-wise the In-Movie Experience is the only new bonus you get that you have not yet seen if you purchased the Ultimate Matrix Collection on DVD and you don't get the fancy packaging you got with that set, and for me that means something. Considering I already reviewed the 10-disc DVD set (read that here) I am not going to go over everything again, but I am going to do my best to give you an extensive PRO/CON list to help you decide and see where you are going to benefit by buying this set and where you are not going to be upgrading at all.

Let's start with the cons so we get that mess out of the way.

CONS

• The packaging is terrible and is in no way comparable to the cool stuff we got with the DVD release. What you get are seven flipper discs, the movies carry the HD DVD feature film on one side along with a few special features and then the rest of the special features on the flip side. Flip discs are annoying and I always worry about them getting scratched so this is a big negative for me. On top of that the DVD release came with a booklet that laid out the content of each disc, this time we just get the back of each case, which is obviously what is going to be placed on shelves when the movies are individually released to stores. It isn't a huge negative, but it devalues it a bit when you compare it to the DVD release.
• All the special features and The Animatrix are in standard definition. This is an HD DVD collection of the Matrix films and the only HD stuff you are getting are the three films. They could have at least given us The Animatrix in HD as well.
• The price is probably the other big downfall. You can buy the Ultimate Matrix DVD 10-Disc Collection at Amazon right now for $36.99, but to buy the same thing with cheaper packaging and the three films in HD DVD format you are going to pay $83.95. I am not sure if it is worth it at this time even if the movies look absolutely amazing, but is it worth an extra $46? That is a question I leave to you. Considering I am a junkie for this stuff I would probably still buy the HD DVD set, but I can't say I would be happy about it at the time of purchase.

PROS:

I am looking at these pros with the cons completely out of my mind. Personally I love having these three movies on HD DVD even though the things above do bother me. However, the pro list is short and a lot of that has to do with the fact that I have this set on DVD already and the special features are not an upgrade from the DVD release, so they don't qualify as a bonus.

• The obvious pro is that the movies look better than ever. The black level is so rich and the detail of each frame is so perfect I absolutely love it. For the DVD release of these films everything was color corrected and The Matrix was made to resemble the color palette of Reloaded and Revolutions and the effect worked so well and is simply improved with the HD DVD quality video and your choice of Dolby TrueHD or Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio.
• The HD DVD exclusive In-Movie Experience is a fantastic companion piece for these films. The Matrix films have so much going on in them that to have the commentary and behind-the-scenes videos going on at the same time as you are watching the film works on every level, but I already told you this.

See, told you the pro list was short, but I will mention one particular feature that I do think is extremely interesting for anyone that digs these films and that is the "The Roots of the Matrix" disc. This was the eight disc in the DVD set and in this set it is Side B to disc one in the Matrix Experience case. This feature looks at the science and the philosophy behind the series. It doesn't offer up anything conclusive, but it does add some insight and allows you to further your opinion.

So, what it comes down to is how much does video quality matter to you? I think the DVD set has spectacular video quality and I linked to this in my DVD review of this set two years ago, but you can check out DVDActive for a visual comparison of the DVD upgrades for The Matrix, it is quite impressive. Of course I did say the HD DVD version is better, and it is, but how deep are your pockets and how much do you love these movies?

Like I said, I love these movies and I would buy the HD DVD versions in a heartbeat. Hell, I just bought The Mummy on HD DVD because I missed out on a review copy if that gives you any idea of how much I appreciate the video and audio upgrades of HD DVD. My largest complaint, and the one thing that is stopping me from giving an all out endorsement of this set, is the fact that it isn't treated as special like the DVD release was. This set has flipper discs, The Animatrix is in standard definition and you get traditional packaging of each disc in a cardboard box. It doesn't feel special until you put the movie in the player, but once it is spinning you like what you see.