About This Site

Purpose--Why a website about collecting Matrix memorabilia?
Spring 1999. I remember feeling overwhelmed by how amazing of a film "The Matrix" was, and at the same time feeling utter disappointment over how unsatisfactory "Star Wars: Episode I" turned out to be.

And yet, everywhere I looked, Jar Jar Binks was greeting me--on my bag of Doritos, on my can of Pepsi, in seemingly every fast food restaurant. Star Wars was omnipresent--talk about a "world that has been pulled over your eyes," to quote Morpheus. Although I grew up a fan of Star Wars, in summer of 1999 I could not escape it. A marketing blitz will do just that--shove something mediocre down your throat wheter you want it or not.

On the other hand, we had "The Matrix". Many films in the past two decades would claim to be "The Star Wars of today". None came close. Even "Episode I"--which quite literally was "The Star Wars of today"--wasn't.

But "The Matrix" was. It was the "Star Wars of today" and it was so much more. "The Matrix" was unlike anything any of us had seen before.

I have not been as in awe of any move this much since I first saw "The Empire Strikes Back" as a child in 1980. "The Matrix" touched and moved me in many ways. Visually, it is stunning. Story-wise, I loved every moment of it. The philosophy behind it made sense to me. The fact that it has martial arts, awesome gun fighting, and killer robots only makes it better. And the fact that I'm a computer guy was the clincher.

I loved the movie so much that I wanted a poster. But I could not find a "Matrix" poster at my local store, which ironically had plenty of "Phantom Menace" posters. I then looked online for a "Matrix" poster, and took my first step into a larger world, a world of Matrix collecting. While looking for a poster, I stumbled upon "The Matrix" Comic Book Preview which I purchased. Additionally, there were a lot more posters--both domestic and foriegn--that featured different artwork than the U.S. one sheet. Plus, I found a lot of interesting and quirky Promo Kits and items--like an hourglass, a "blood card", and a Japanese Movie Program. These offbeat objects are more interesting than the usual Star Wars stuff. Matrix items are a bit harder to find, but always worth the time (and money) spent.

Plus Matrix toys...lots of toys. Being an action figure collector, I was all too enthusiastic when Matrix figures came out in 1999, and again in 2003.

Since summer of 1999, I have collected many Matrix items. This website is a way for me to catalog these items, meet others who share my passion for collecting stuff from these films, and find those few cool things to increase and enhance my collection. Hopefully, others will use this site as a reference, as well as a place to network with other Matrix collectors.


Creators

Usagi--a devout member of the resistance, Usagi is the web designer and graphic designer who avidly collects everything and anything regarding "The Matrix" to document the world around him.

You can see Usagi's (aka Sal) other work here.

Quote: "I know HTML."

Agent Gibbons--cold, calculating and methodical, Agent Gibbons is an artist and designer who sets out to destroy the resistance. He photographs much of Usagi's collection, trying to better understand the renegade he seeks to apprehend. You can see Agent Gibbons's (aka D.G. Gibbons) portfolio here.

Disclaimer
The titles "The Matrix", "The Matrix Reloaded", "The Matrix Revolutions", "The Matrix Revisited", "Enter the Matrix", "The Animatrix" and "The Matrix Online"; all character names, likenesses, logos, and materials from the film are copyright © 1999-2004 Warner Brothers.

MatrixUnloaded is not affiliated with Warner Brothers, the Wachowski Brothers, Joel Silver, or any of the other great people who brought us this wonderful film franchise. This website is not meant to infrnge on these copyrights in any way.

Site design and photography of items, © 2004, Matrix Unloaded.

Please also visit the official Matrix website.