The movie The Matrix, released in 1999 and directed by Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, was shot on film using Pan-Arri 435 Camera, Panavision Panaflex Platinum Camera, Panavision Panastar Camera, Photo-Sonics Cameras and Panavision Lenses with Bill Pope as cinematographer and editing by Zach Staenberg.
Slow motion and bullet time camera rigs were used to capture intricacies of motion that would be lost at full speed, giving the viewer a look at every angle of what is happening on screen. Circular slow motion sweeping camera movement are used in three iconic scenes; Trinity’s jump kick, the Neo bullet dodge, and the first shot in the subway fight scene. Further, a God’s Eye shot is used during the subway fight scene as well. These techniques inform the viewer of a heightened reality within the fight. The entirety of the fight is over-the-top and action-packed, but when they hit you with an extreme camera angle or camera movement, the viewer knows the fight is peaking.
The Matrix (1999), dir. Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
— Cinematography by Bill Pope
