Minute 51: “How did I beat you?”

Transcript

Transcribed automatically from the audio, and imperfect for it — names and punchlines suffer worst. Useful for finding a moment, not for quoting one.

0:00Welcome to the Matrix Minute, a podcast where we discuss the first film one minute at a time, because we just love this movie, man. So, hi, I'm Phil, and I have something to tell you. Lily Wachowski said that the movie was about robots and kung fu. That's pretty awesome. That's the description. That's the general description. Hello, everyone. My name is Jake, and this time I'm not drinking tea, but I'm drinking... Wait for it. Ah, sparkling mineral water. Wow, that's so fancy. It's been a while since I had... Crisp. And Tim, who are you? You're Tim, right? I'm Tim, and I just watched Heart of Darkness, the documentary about making Apocalypse Now.

0:43That's a good one. And I forgot Lawrence Morpheus, our boy, is in that movie, and he's like 14, he's a little kid. Yeah, he's skinny. And he shoots some Vietnamese people. Some natives. By accident. Some natives, indeed. And we have a special guest, like you've heard, this mysterious, deep voice that we have with us. Who could it be? Who could it be? It is... Who is it? George Henricks from Mogwai Minute. Hello, sir! Welcome, George. Hello, welcome to having me. We have you. That's right. We are thankful for having you. That was correct. You had to mix it up. I couldn't think of it. You know what? I was very appreciative. It worked for me.

1:24Oh, well, that's good, then. That's very good. And welcome to Minute 51. But before that, this is what we always do. And George, if you could maybe explain to people how you first got into this Matrix thing. Like, what was the first things you've heard about it? And what does it kind of mean to you? So, I heard of this crazy, weird, mind-bending-y sci-fi movie that was out. And I hadn't seen it anywhere near me, so I was like, okay, whatever. And then my brother brought back a bootleg copy of it from New York City. He was visiting on a theater trip. And it was the grainiest, crappiest. I still, like, I watched that thing five or six times.

2:07I had no idea what was happening in the very beginning after she gets off the phone at all. Was it, like, on a VHS? Yes, it was a grainy VHS. He bought off some guy who was like, it was like a VHS recording from the movie itself. Like somebody with a video camera just, like, sneaking it in their coat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, it was horrible quality. And I remember watching it and was like, I have to see this in real life. And so, I got my friend Lee and we drove an hour to the nearest big theater, which was in Charlotte. Charlotte, North Carolina. And we went and just, minds were blown. It was one of the greatest things I've ever seen. Oh, fantastic. That's good. And you got to learn what it's about. How old were you when you saw this? So, you also started as a VHS, like we did.

2:48Yeah, we did too. Yeah, this was, oh, this was right when it came out. So, it was like 97, 98? 98. 99. Yeah. Okay, yeah. I was like 18 or 19. Oh, okay. Nice. I don't know. Like, what would you say, I suppose, like what kind of impact did The Matrix have on you or did it have an impact on you? Or was it just a cool movie you just watched? No, it's just, I mean, it's just the way it embraced like the Eastern mysticism and the Kung Fu and then the sci-fi tropes. You know, and they found a way to make them all seem fresh. And it just sort of like reinvigorated because before that, you know, like I was big into fantasy and, you know, reading Dune and stuff like that. But this was sort of like turned the whole sci-fi thing on its ear to me. Oh, wow. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. It blended it all into one blender.

3:30One blender. Wow. Yes. It seems to be a general consensus. That's pretty cool. Yeah, but I think it's a good one. I think it's an accurate consensus. Mm. It's a great mishmash. Yeah. It is. It is. And we are here on Minute 51 where we're in the middle of the good old Kung Fu fighting that we got going on. It's nice to have in the middle of it. Yeah. So if you have anything else to say, if not, I mean, I'll just go and tell you what's on Minute 51. Tell us all about it. Talk about it. Philip, tell us. The dojo fight continues. Morpheus jumps into the air and the crew continue watching the two of them spar with the killer jam of Leave You Far Behind by Lunatic Calm.

4:12Neo does a sick black, I say black flip, back flip. Neo does a sick back flip but gets kicked into a pillar. Winning the match, Morpheus asks him, how did I beat you? And this was Minute 51. Do you guys remember that, um, I remember we visited someone's house and they had a VHS player? I'm sorry, VCR. VCR, but they, but the VCR couldn't rewind and they had a separate machine, which is a rewinder. Oh yeah. Yeah. That was, that was so weird when I saw that. I was like. That must have been, huh. Like the VCR didn't have the capability of rewinding or it, yeah, it didn't. And so they had to rewind it on a separate. Why? It's so strange. I guess they didn't have, but if you have motors that go one way, couldn't it just go back?

4:53That's so weird. That was too fancy. Or maybe the rewinder was like super speed, you know? So it's like in half the time you rewind the tape, ready to go to get back to Blockbuster. Right. Or it's like a conspiracy. They're like, we can sell two products if we put the rewinder on a different box. That sounds accurate. It was, it was probably a, uh, a scam with the video companies so they could, um, sell rewinders as well. I think, I think so. Oh yeah. And fast forwarders. And also do those, uh, not rewinding charges. Oh yeah. Were there charges for that ever? Yeah. It used to be like a dollar. I worked at a couple of video stores and it was like a dollar per tape if you didn't rewind it. No way. And it was really just a sticking in an independent rewinder and hitting the button and it did

5:33it automatically. And it took like 20 seconds to rewind the whole thing. That's crazy. Cause I don't remember for us, I don't remember ever being charged. I guess maybe it depends on the video store. Be kind, rewind. And to start with like, what I really loved was how smooth every cut is and how the camera moves about and glides so you can see the big picture and, um, and just how like, you know, like you can feel every, every, every movement. It's not like, you know, the modern films that we have now, which is like zooming in and cutting and then, you know, you, you get disoriented and all that kind of stuff. It ain't that. It's very, um, not only choreographed, but it's very, um, smoothly.

6:15They do a great job of jumping between tight and wide shots. Yeah. And just like, but they're not just a cut. They're like, they're flowing to, and to enhance the fight. Yeah. With the tracking shots and the pans and the zooms. And when the camera sort of swings around Neo's back when he's like, you know, as Morpheus is doing this little, like cool little shuffle step thing. It's, it's all very like the camera is like almost an extra member of the, of the fight. That's a really good point. And I also think that, you know, how the camera is moving is basically telling the story of the fight as well, which is something that's important. Otherwise, like Phil mentioned, you'll get these cuts that are so sporadic and random. Like everybody's. They don't serve the fight scene at all.

6:55Everybody's seen Taken 3's, uh, you know, climbing. Jumping over the fence. Yeah. No. I mean, it all started with. Oh, it's amazing. Yeah, I haven't seen that yet. And I think there's, there's even a, like a, like a fan cut when they just added extra stuff. It's amazing. It's like. All I know is Simon Pegg jumping over the fence, Sean the Dead. Or Hot Seed. That's a bit difficult. Oh yeah, that one too. Or The End of the World. Well, no, just for context, the one for Taken 3 is like 12 different cuts of him just climbing over the fence and. Oh, wait a second. I think I've seen this. There's this ludicrous editing. Yeah. It's just. I mean, it is a stylistic choice, you know, the shaky cam action stuff that started with

7:36the Bourne, you know, series. And I get it as a stylistic choice. You know, you want to kind of have this kind of feel of urgency and chaos. But the problem is that a lot of movies, it isn't used as a stylistic choice. It's used to kind of get away with like actors not training for their fights and just intercut between stunt doubles and just have like a face. And it just looks horrible because. Well, that's kind of what. Yeah, that's kind of what we made with our short movies. I used to always zoom in a lot and just have lots of things in front of the camera. So you wouldn't be able to see what the moves were. You just got the feeling of it. Yeah. It would be okay. There's actually a great video.

8:16I believe I might get this wrong, but I believe it's from Every Frame a Painting. We talked about choreography in the Hong Kong school of martial arts. And I think he was mentioning that how sort of modern Hollywood films, even today, but also before The Matrix, they would do things like, for instance, like you're mentioning, Tim, an actor would, you know, is just about to punch someone else and then it cuts to the punch and a different shot to sort of hide actual, instead of actually doing the martial arts, they would just do sort of pretend moves and use camera trickery to cut between things, which can look cool, but it has less impact in the end as opposed to actually executing

8:58the martial arts moves. And yeah, I think like we talked about before as well, The Matrix here does an excellent job of incorporating true fighting techniques and practices. Yeah. You can tell that you can definitely tell that the actors spent a lot of time working on this choreography. And obviously, any of the documentaries, you know, they spent like months and months with that and the fight choreography and the driving choreography for the second one. I mean, they were dedicated. Oh man, they were so dedicated. It completely pays off too in the end. I have some information here about that. In fact, they started training in October 1997. Whoa. So that's 20 years ago.

9:39Wait, tell me when was the shooting schedule? 98, was it? It was 98. Fall 98. Yeah, it was like after March because they stopped at March. Oh. 98. So October to March. Whoa. And they could have like, you know, all the actors could have. It's like a school year. Yeah, they could have done like two other productions by the time it took, like all that time it took for them to do the training. Okay, so that was, I have no idea. So like, he literally did no Kung Fu. Yeah. Yeah. He literally did. Exactly. I wonder if their schedule was like actual stuff, like extra stuff, or was it just like strictly this choreography, like they knew it from A to Z, like. I think it was a mix of all kinds of exercises. Do you think they still remember it?

10:20Yeah. Do you think if you put Neon Morpheus in the room, like. Maybe some things. I think Keanu Reeves might, because he's kept on the whole action thing, whereas Larry Fish has gotten a little more cerebral with his acting. Definitely. That's a good way of putting it. He's also gotten a lot fatter, so. Yeah, we'll keep it as cerebral. The will might be there, but you know, the body is a burden. The mind is willing, but the body is lacking. Lacking. Squishy. Weak and pasty and squishy. That's good. Yeah, I remember in, what was it, what was it, the John Wick number two? It's like, oh, wow. It's like, yeah, you can see the difference now. He's definitely, he's definitely gone through some transformations. Well, Keanu Reeves look exactly the same.

11:02Yeah. Well, Keanu Reeves looks, in my opinion, looks better. Do you know that, you know, you know that internet meme that Keanu Reeves is a vampire? Nope. Yes. You've seen that, right? Yeah. Oh, where it shows the picture of. Have you seen that? Yeah. Yeah. It's classic. They get one of those of Nicolas Cage too, right? Yeah, yeah, like some kind of lord or something. Oh, yeah, yeah. Something like. Civil War era photo of, like, this dude who looks just like Nicolas Cage. Yeah. Maybe Keanu Reeves and Nicolas Cage are part of, like, the same, like, superhuman race that has, like, died out in the last ones. Oh, man. Yeah, they know each other, but they hate each other. Yes, exactly. Dude. They've known each other for, like, a thousand years. Of course, yeah. Like, I'm sick of this guy. Exactly. Rivalry through the centuries.

11:42Man, this is a great idea for a movie. Dude. Jot that down. What would we call, though? You wouldn't have the main characters. What would we call it? Maybe, like, Highlander. How about the super cheesy title, like, Brothers in Time? Oh. What? With Keanu Reeves and Nicolas Cage? Yes. No. Time Bros. But, like, they're vampires also, so. Okay, so. Blood Sucking Time Bros? Blood Brothers. Suck, brothers. Blood Brothers is good. Oh, dude. Blood Brothers, I like this. Like, they met, like, 3,000 years ago, and they're, like, two buddies, and they were, like, let's go see the vampire. Like, we can start, where would we start the movie? Maybe, like, you know. Someone betrayed someone. Mesopotamia. Like, go way back.

12:23Yeah. No, that's a lot of Mesopotamia. You gotta start off. You gotta have, like, a cold opening. You have to have, like, they meet in some kind of bar, and it's like, you can't see the faces, and they're, like, long time no see, brother. Even then, it's been a long time. You sound like Desmond from Lost. I haven't seen Lost. Yeah, I'm sorry. We're not lost. We're not lost. Like, listen, the movie starts like this. It starts with the portrait. That's where it starts. Oh. You gotta end with a portrait, because it's, like, a reveal. No, like, in the middle. You know, you gotta reveal. It starts with the portraits. It starts and ends with the work. That'd be beautiful. Fantastic. That's our story so far. You have to have a woman who is a reporter slash detective slash who investigates.

13:09You have someone's point of view. You can't have this from the point of view, you know, of Nicholas Cage. Yeah, like in Highlander, where she's discovering the fact that he's got a sword. Hey, there you go. Folded 10,000 times, you know. It's like a jumbo jet before, like, before the Wright brothers actually flew, type thing. And it's a love triangle, so you got the Twilight. Like, 50 Shades. No! You know, kind of the audience as well. So you get there. Well, who's the lead? Well, I mean, already right now, I'm team Keanu. Like, right away. Oh, definitely. Oh, poor Nick. I'm with Nick. I mean, for a moment, when Nick goes crazy, he'll win me over, you know. But then I'll be like back to Keanu. Hey, wait. He was a vampire already. Nicolas Cage. Yeah, and like, once bitten? Or that was a Jim Carrey movie. Isn't it like that? Yeah, he's a vampire.

13:49Dude, I just remembered a really terrible vampire movie. Do you guys watch Queen of the Damned? No. Oh, yeah. There's a book? Yeah, yeah. Anne Rice wrote that. Oh, okay. Oh, wow. I'm thinking of being so cheesy. Here's, okay, let's talk about something completely different for a second here. I want to hear everyone's opinion. Welcome to the Matrix Minute, everybody. Okay, okay. For a second, right? In every vampire movie, it always boils down to this. I'm a vampire. I live forever. But it is no point of living forever because all the loved ones will die. Okay. That's stupid. Okay. I don't buy that. Yeah, make new loved ones. Yeah. I buy it. You buy it? You're like, totally.

14:30I mean, do you have infinity time to get over? Have you seen... Yeah, but then all the relationships lose meaning. Have you seen that Twilight Zone episode? The what? The Twilight Zone episode where this guy is actually immortal and he's been living forever. That's a good one. Yeah. Maybe we should watch more Twilight Zone. I can't remember the title of that. But yeah. Yeah. So that's... I can see the plausibility of feeling detached from the rest of the film. Okay, so why, Tim, why are you not happy with this conundrum? Vampire conundrum? Vampire conundrum? Well, what do you think is more conundrum-y? No, I'm just saying. I'm just like, it's always boils... Like, there's like, there's nothing else. Like, there's always just the vampire sad. He's like, I'll kill myself.

15:11He's sad. You can make him happy. You can do something different. This is your movie. Our movie. Make him happy. He's finally glad. He's like, the person who's been annoying him for a hundred years is dead. I live longer than you. Great, great, great. So, and then they fight each other in the end, or what happens? They fight for the girl. Yeah. Oh, okay. And then, there's a painting of two of them. And the last shot, when Neo... No. No. Okay, let's see. Yeah, Neo... I'm sorry. Keanu kills Nick. Right? Oh, he does. Okay. Yes. Spoilers. And then he dies. He says something really like, oh, you know how you are, my brother, blah, blah, blah. And then you have a shot, like a panning, not a panning shot, like a dolly shot moving out from the painting. Okay. And it's like painting, like an old painting of Nicolas Cage and Keanu Reeves, and Nicolas

15:56Cage, like, fades out, like, Back to the Future style from the painting. That's beautiful. But listen, Tim, even better than this is we begin the film with Keanu killing Nick Cage. Huh? Twist. We begin it. And we're like, what's going on here? No, that's because you don't just want Keanu. Oh, I guess, like, it's like a flashback. Flashback. Oh, it's a flashback. Yeah. What happened? And then the story starts, like, a long time ago. 3,000 years ago. Yes. Yes. Okay, write this down. I think they should end it, like, or if you have the death, you should have Nick laying there on the ground as Keanu's about to deliver the death blow, and he goes, what happened to bros before hoes? And then he kills him. Oh, man. Yes. That's going to be it. Perfect. Before he finishes it. Yeah. Before he finishes the sentence. Yes.

16:36Perfect. Yeah. I think we've got a hit film on our hands, boys. I think we need to... What do you do? Like, send it to the... Let's just file this away for now. Yeah. And we'll come back. Let's just make it. We have a week. Register it. Keanu and Nick on the line. We can make a suited version. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. If all else fails, fails. Fails. Let's come back to the... Okay. Finally. I want to come back to something that... With grace. You guys were saying, you were mentioning that every frame, every... Ah, poop. Yes. Go on, Tim. Whatever. The video. Yes. About, you know, the Hong Kong style of action kung fu cinema. And one of the things they mentioned is that compared to Western, Western cuts on the punch.

17:16While, you know, sort of the Hong Kong school is, you always cut, like, a little bit after. Like, you have the punch double times. So, let's say if someone's about to punch someone and you do a cut between that, like, the classic thing here, like, in American cinema would be, you know, hands coming in and then you cut to the punch. And the guys get punched in the face. But in Hong Kong, it was like, you see him getting punched and then they cut and you see the punch again. You know, like, a double kind of thing. I'm wondering, was that utilized here in Matrix or not? It doesn't seem like it is. I think they went really streamlined with that. Yeah. Just like, like, smooth cut. Yeah. I think essentially here what's emphasized is the length of the takes, which is something they took from Hong Kong.

17:59It's also amazing how fluid, well, we talked about the camera before, but the more you watch it, like, just how integral the camera is because it does move around the shot. It's above the shot. It's below. It's low. It's everywhere. It's literally showing you every angle possible. And then the scene where he runs up the post and they completely switch orientation instead of, like, a portrait, like, a landscape mode, they switch to, like, a very long portrait. But, like, because, like, you know, now the bottom is the side and he's running straight into the camera. Oh, it's so good. It's, I mean, I'm a photographer. And so when someone switches, like, orientation like that, when you're used to it, it's very disorienting. But it's in a good way because it totally catches you off guard. Right. It totally works in this context.

18:40It works. I want to say, since you mentioned Neo running up the wooden pillar of sorts. And doing the black flip. Yeah. Yeah. I want to say that it's interesting that in this film, you'll notice something, which I didn't notice for a long time watching the Matrix movie. Or movies. I'm not sure if it happens in the sequels. But you can tell here that Keanu Reeves, as he's doing his back flip, he is grabbing a hold of the wires. Yeah, he kind of does that. He does that later on. Yeah, Keanu does that actually a lot in his film. And I think more so than any other actor. You think he's just trying to get stability? Yeah, that's kind of what it feels like. But, you know, like once you notice that it's happening, you can't not see that.

19:23Because the wires are obviously removed. And if you're not paying attention, it's totally fine. Little arms, like he's like, he's not really holding them, but he's kind of like pushing on them. He's kind of resting his arms, yeah, to kind of get balanced, like George said. And I think that it works. But once you notice that you can never unsee it. And he does this quite a few times, especially later on in the film, it'll happen at the subway scene. Yeah. And yeah, it's interesting. It's funny that you mention it, because there's a few flying shots in this minute. We first have Morpheus doing the, you know, the big jump above Neo. He's like flying across the room. And then you have the black flip.

20:03And it's, you know, it's obvious it's wires. But, you know, in movies, anytime somebody does like a super jump like this, it's usually done with wires. And I have to say, it hasn't been one bit when it kind of looks convincing. And I don't know, is it because it's impossible, you know, like it's physically impossible to do that kind of jump, you know, that's more than you're naturally capable of. So it will always look unnatural to the eye? Or is it just the wires that make it look weird? Like everyone looks like they're floating for a second. There's like, kind of loses the momentum. I think a lack of, I think it contributes to the whole sense of you're in a world that's not trapped in reality anymore.

20:47I think it lends to the unreality. It gives it more of a sense of, because, I mean, if it weren't for those moments, you would think there was just two guys fighting in a dojo. But then they do these moments and it's that expansive, lengthy, like, okay, this is no longer normal thing that sort of like transports you into like, you know, kind of pulls you even further into this. Sort of like cerebral brain dump thing they're doing. Yeah. It works well for this movie, definitely. I mean, it kind of fits. Yeah, because of the fact that it is in a virtual space. So then you can buy that easier. Is that what you mean, Tim? Yeah. I mean, like, I'm just, yeah, it works here because, you know, it feels like somebody put on flight sheet on and you kind of like float around.

21:28So it makes sense. But I was just thinking in general. But like in general, right. Yeah, like in Marvel movies, when they're like, somebody's jumping, like an action hero. It always looks so weird. Yeah. If you do a jump, that's not natural. I know. I think that it's difficult to sell the jump. It's difficult. But then again, no one had a problem with it except Tim. Well, no, but I know what Tim's saying. What do you mean? Like, I still don't have a problem with it. I know what you mean, Tim. I know. Yeah. It's hard to sort of like, like you believe it all. But then again, when someone does something like that, you kind of go like, oh, you start to think about, I do at least. Start to think about how that was done. Yeah. CG. Is it cables? What is it? Right. Because every time there's like a super punch and somebody flies, like gets, you know, thrown away.

22:10It always looks like believable. There's all these elements. If it's like a supernatural force or in the matrix, you know, like. Do you have to say though, there's an example in this film of a really good jump. We'll get to it, obviously. But just as a preview. It's the Morpheus jump from one building rooftop to another building rooftop. Okay. We'll get to it. But I'm like. That's a good one. Okay. That's because it's different in perspective. That's why. Maybe. Yeah. Anyway, I want to get to what George mentioned. The amazing shuffle. Shuffle. Oh, the shuffle standoff. Love it. What is this? Is this from a video game? What the hell is this? I don't know. But it's, I love that. Like that. And like Keanu's like little like half roll that he turns into a back flip and stands back up. I remember like, I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.

22:52That. And the bit earlier when Morpheus sticks his hand under his neck and like catches him in the throat with like a little knife palm, like right in the Adam's apple. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That is like one of my, I love those moments. Yeah. But it's later. Sorry. Sorry. No, it's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's okay. It's okay. This is. There's another. Oilers. There's another. Anyone who's not seen this movie a thousand times. Right. I know. Imagine if someone didn't watch The Matrix and they started this podcast. What? What? I wonder what they would think the movie is. I wonder if anyone is like that. I would like to ask. Please write in if you have never seen this film. Give us like a breakdown after you listen to all this podcast. What do you think The Matrix is?

23:33Please. Like you can write a short paper. I'd read it. Thematically though, there's this wonderful thing that's going on where Neo is in this entire minute. He is getting beat down. He's not getting the upper hand. He's always losing. And he's always losing the match. And we'll see later on if he gets the upper hand. But there's two cutaways in this sequence. And the first one is just Neo shaking and telling the audience. Well, it's actually one cutaway. But it's got another shot of Trinity and Cypher looking. And I just love the look that Cypher gives to Trinity. He's like, yes. Yeah. This guy sucks.

24:14Look at him. Look at him getting. You thought you all thought he was the one. See, that's interesting that you thought that because I thought the opposite. Like when we see, when we go into the next minute, which we could, and we could just leave it and leave it as a cliffhanger and just keep going to the next one. Or I could just explain it now. What do you think? Just make your point, Philip. Make your point. My point was that I was always expecting, like whenever I saw Cypher like laughing or something, I thought he was just enjoying the moment, you know, just sort of like, like everyone else. He's excited everyone's in the same room. Oh, it's back into the happy family. Yeah. He was feeling, he was really sad. Maybe Cypher is more complex than we think. He's a Cypher.

24:55Oh. He's a Cypher. So there's a very important question I have to ask ourselves in this minute. What material is that mat made of, made out of? Because I'm not sure if it's super soft or not so soft. It's like bamboo with padding under it, I'm sure, or something like that. You know, something to give you traction. Because his knee. Yeah, because he uses a knee to sort of crush it. Yeah. Let's have a look at this. It looks... I think it is maybe. I think you're right, George. Is it carpet? Some kind of bamboo, like you said. Yeah, some sort of fibrous. What is usually in a... Let's see, let's see. What's a... But look, when Neo jumps on it, it has some resistance and it's sort of like a... Is it like a futon thing? Like a cushiony material. A futon?

25:36Let's see what's a... It always confuses me forever. Okay, so this is a dojo. Dojo flooring. Okay, ready for this? Yes. Please read us. Wait, no, wait. No, this is a bad site. This is because of wood. I don't want wood. What is this? Type in dojo mat. I'm looking at dojo. It's just pictures. Bloody hell. Building a foot... Oh. While you look it up, we'll talk about something else. Yeah, you guys talk about something else. I'll be in the back researching. So, a long time ago, I played this game called The Specialist. Yes, we know. And they had a map of this as well. Yeah. That's great. Just to continue with my specialist story. George, what do you think about this environment, maybe?

26:16I think this is like... Not only do I like the setting, I think just tonally, like the color choices they use and the way they sort of like make him part, like make Neo part of this, because he's sort of like in that same color palette, like that sort of like beige, earthy tones, and Morpheus is more wearing blacks and more, definitely more, he sticks out more because he's sort of like, in his way, he's sort of like the interloper in Neo's head. Yeah. And so, he sort of like stands out a little bit more. Neo's definitely more vanilla. He's not supposed to be there, but still dominating. And I think that sends more of a sense of helplessness to Neo as well.

26:56Yeah. That's awesome. I like that. That's true. That's a good point. I'm guessing the floors are tatami. Yeah, it's like a bamboo weave. Okay. Unless Tim is still doing his research. Yep. Yep. Tatami have been treated carefully, store them, either lying flat or... I'm looking at DIY dojos, standing neatly at long edge. And they will wrap. Keep dampers way. It's like you're reading it as a bedtime story. Getting wet will ruin tatami faster than anything. So, no sweating on them. Okay. Ours is vinyl coated, and we hand mop them lightly. And we're tension using... Wow. I'm done. I'm done. But tatami. Oh, man. Tatami. Okay.

27:37Do you guys think they should have used some swords in the scene? I think it would have been horrible if they did. I'm glad they didn't. I think it's good that they were basic like that. Yeah. It's like those video games when you go into like a room and you see like weapons or something, and then you realize it's just part of scenery. You can't use it. That's what the swords are. What do you think, George? Yeah. George, what do you think? No, I like the fact they just kept it straight, just hand in hand rather than trying to incorporate weapons. Because it's also sort of like the beginner phase and you don't want to like get too crazy in the beginner phase. Definitely. Yeah. You got to go into basics. Yeah. And also then it just gets into cheesy levels and you don't want that. Yeah. They really... You want elegance. I feel like this movie really wrote the wonderful line of not going into cheesy levels.

28:23Yeah. It kept it believable. Yeah. And they brought everything down to their essentials. And you don't want to get into the levels of Kill Bill Slice and Dice because then you have swords, you got to slice some arms and there's blood spurs everywhere. Well, and again, the reason why they did this is because it's serving the story. Anyway, the function of this dojo fight scene is to introduce Neo to the Matrix and how the rules can be bent in the Matrix. If they introduced more things in the scene, you would lose focus and you would go, what is going on here? This is just too busy. For action's sake. Yeah. And so I think that's why, that's the clever ways of the Wachowskis, how they just kept everything basic to serve the story.

29:04So basic. Those 14 drafts certainly paid off. Yes. Yeah. Because who knows, in the 96 version, do you have anything? We're going to get to the 96 version this week. Yeah, we are. Excitement all around. Because we haven't had the 96 version in a long time. I know. I know. I wonder if you could turn off, like, you know, how you feel everything, because you feel in the Matrix, you know, it affects you in your real life. I wonder if in the construct they can turn that off and they can be just slicing their arms off and it wouldn't hurt them. It's like, ah, slicing training. It's a good question. Let us email the machines. Let us answer this in the next episode. Ah, okay. Yes. To be continued. Well, if anyone has anything else to say about this particular fight scene and what's going

29:46on, did he just, did he smash the pillar? Yes. I just wanted to say that pillar is holding up a balcony up there, isn't it? Yeah. I always noticed that too. The balcony didn't fall off. And I was thinking like, good thing that whole thing is still stable. It's a mind balcony. It's fine. Yeah. Yeah. It's coded that way. So it stays up. They did. So if we missed anything on this episode or you just want to comment, you can find our post on Facebook for this episode, which is episode 51. Or if you'd rather just not comment on Facebook, you can email us at ask at the matrix minute dot one. And we will definitely reply to you. We got an email. Or mention your thing. I don't know. It depends on what you want. Jacob, we got an email. Oh, I'm so glad I didn't have to do that this time.

30:28We got an email, Jacob. Yes. Yes. We got an email. We did. Yes. We got a wonderful email this week or last week. Was it? And just shout out. Yeah. Shout out. Go on. Shout out. But I don't know if they want their name. You should have asked. I didn't. That's why I didn't mention it. Well then, but we got a great email. It was awesome. We got a great email and we. The person who emailed you'll know. You are wonderful. You are awesome. Tell us if we can shout out. Yes. Let us know through the email once again. And we want to thank George for being here with us because his presence is. Let me thank you for having me. Oh. Thank you so much. Oh. Oh. George, please let everyone know where they can find you. Oh.

31:11You can find me on the Mogwai Minute podcast available on iTunes or any place you really can find a podcast. Or come to our Facebook group, the Mogwai Minute on Facebook and talk about, as of right now, we talk a lot about candy. We talk a lot about candy lately. Sounds pretty good. Oh, duds. Yeah. All right. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. So go check out the Mogwai Minute and have a great day. Yeah. And we'll catch you guys Wednesday. See you, everybody. Bye. All right.

31:56Good. That was one episode. I keep forgetting. Yeah. Man, we should just start talking about gremlins like the next episode. I can't help it. We should have a gremlins.