The first time I saw the Matrix, it was a pirated copy that was a final cut except it was missing all of the licensed music tracks. So all the dialog, foley, and even the original orchestral soundtrack were in place, but none of the tracks licensed from other artists/bands. This meant the nightclub at the beginning was a bunch of people dancing to nothing, and the lobby shootout was just gunshots and shattering concrete, and the end was just the sound of Neo flying into the sky. Does anyone still have a copy of this anywhere? I always assumed it was some kind of internal leak. The video quality was garbage, but I’ve love to see this cut again, see what holds up and what is worse.
It’s on archive.org labelled The Matrix 1999 Workprint.
Oooo! I will check this out and report back!!
This is it! I totally forgot about the “Z” in the upper left corner. Love it, thanks!
So cool, it’s a VHS rip but interesting
That’s awesome! I’ll keep an eye out… Like 10 years ago, i accidentally found a leaked copy of Wolverine: Origins with the special effects half-finished. I’d love to see that again just for the weird nostalgia
I saw that! Greyed-out Wolverine model bouncing off the log truck lol
yeah, the work print version was legendary. it was out before the movie hit theaters.
I remember downloading it and not realizing it until I put it on. Sure was a disappointment — was way after DVD release too.
I watched that too!
That is the only version of that movie I have seen.
I remember downloading it and not realizing it until I put it on. Sure was a disappointment — was way after DVD release too.
I remember my friend setting up a movie night and inviting me and my other friends when he found a copy. That certainly was an amusing surprise.
I remember downloading it and not realizing it until I put it on. Sure was a disappointment — was way after DVD release too.
Dude, you just unlocked a memory for me. I had the same experience with the first Men In Black movie. It was an unfinished cut with unrendered CGI, you just saw some untextured polygonal models in place. Now I want to find it.
That was probably a very different experience than seeing it with music
Very much so! When I saw the theatrical cut, I didn’t like the lobby scene as much with music as I did without it.
There are actually many workprints on archive site. Just search for “workprint” and select “movies” as media type. You’ll be suprised.
I vaguely also remember walking past somewhere where that club scene was playing on a TV or computer screen. Recognized it later when I saw the movie.
(Is it Dragula on the actual soundtrack there?)
If you’re on a private tracker, you can earn points or ratio to make requests. That’s a decent way to get things like that.
You could probably do this yourself with a decent copy of the movie, just turn off the audio channel for the music.
