Although The Matrix was one of the most compelling films of recent years, the DVD failed to live up to expectations, despite being the most financially successful DVD in the world for some time. The limited special features went little into the making of the film or the ideas behind it far beyond the technological aspects of the effects. The second DVD which was released separately offered some interesting behind the scenes footage, but still little in the way of exploring the film. Now Warner Brothers Home Entertainment may finally be ready to see how deep the rabbit hole goes with a new two disc Special Edition of The Matrix.

Thomas Anderson leads two lives; one who pays his taxes, works for a reputable software company and helps his landlady take out the garbage, the other who goes under the hacker alias Neo and who has broken virtually every computer law there is. One of these lives has a future, the other does not. When Neo meets the enigmatic Morpheus, he must choose whether he wants to return to the illusion of his life or face the cruel reality of the real world. His decision ultimately leads to the answer to the question he has asked all his life; “What is the Matrix?”

The first disc of the set will be essentially a repressing of the existing Matrix DVD. An audio commentary with actress Carrie-Anne Moss, visual effects supervisor John Gaeta and editor Zach Staenberg will provide a primarily technical discussion of the filmmaking. An isolated score mixed with audio commentary with composer Don Davis is also available. The Making the Matrix documentary, Follow the White Rabbit branching featurettes, Take the Red Pill effects documentaries
, What Is Bullet Time? and aWhat Is the Concept? music montage that shows the progression from concept to final effect.

Disc two contains the materials from the previously released “Matrix Revisited” plus new material that seems primarily focused on pushing the new installments of the series. Up first is the Matrix Revisited documentary and the six featurettes from the previous disc. The Art Revisted includes several still galleries. The first two episodes of The Animatrix will be included as a precursor to the Animatrix DVD due later in the year. The featurette Preload: On the Set of Reloaded, the What is the Game game teaser, the Marilyn Manson music video, The Reloaded music sampler, The Animatrix trailer, theatrical trailers, teasers and TV Spots (omitted from the original release) and a preview of the website are included. DVD-ROM features are also included

Priced at $27.95, this new release of The Matrix will arrive on April 29th and will come with a free adult admission to The second film due to arrive in May.