Company Precedence in The Matrix

Viewers of The Matrix will recall that at the very start, even before the cascading computer text, the Warner Bros and Village Roadshow movie logos are presented on stylised screens as the creepy music starts. This movie was a co-production, and I think one of the ways that the production benefits were split was that US distribution rights belonged to Warner Bros, while Australian rights belonged to Roadshow Entertainment.

When the movie was released on DVD here, it was virtually the same as the Warner Bros version released in America, with the same special extras (‘Follow the White Rabbit’), but of course it had to be remastered for our 576i video system.

With the Blu-ray version, no remastering is required so this version is, I think, identical to the Warner Bros version sold in the US. It even has an FBI copyright warning. Only now, after all these years, I’ve noticed that the Australian DVD, remastered for Roadshow Entertainment, opens with the Village Roadshow logo, followed by the Warner Bros one. On the Blu-ray, Warner Bros leads, followed by Village Roadshow.

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