The Wachowski brothers and their contribution to futuristic cinema

Formerly known as brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski, this couple has dedicated themselves impetuously to creating science fiction stories in which they have paid special attention to two themes: the special effects and the philosophical approaches of both the story and the characters they develop.

Today, Lana and Lilly Wachowski after making the decision to change gender, become known as the Wachowski sisters. Today we want to talk to you about the influence of this highly creative couple in the production of science fiction films and what has been their most outstanding projects in addition to their iconic film Matrix.

Films by the Wachowski brothers

The Matrix

Matrix is a film by the Wachowski brothers, considered the revolutionary science fiction film of the time thanks to the quality of its special effects (which were the most evolved of the time) and its plot.

To achieve this project, the Wachowski brothers had to present to the Warner Bros production company a storyboard of more than 600 pages that recounted the action of the film taken by shot. The cost of production was $70 million.

As a curious fact, Warner Bros put as a condition, the participation of Keanu Reeves for the character of Neo.

This story unfolds in a perverse utopia where humans live a reality that is not such, but through an environment manipulated by computers. Humanity lives subdued and is used as a source of energy.

Neo, a programmer discovers what is happening and decides to join a group of survivors to defeat the machines.

The success of this production reached a profit of 450 million dollars and several awards for its technical realization. This saga has 4 installments, the most recent was presented 20 years after the first.

Cloud Atlas

For this film, the Wachowski brothers were in charge of writing the script, in addition to executing the production and direction of the project. This is an adaptation of David Mitchell’s book that was released in 2004.

After checking the success with Matrix, the Wachowski brothers thought that getting investors for this new adventure was going to be easy but it was not like that. After intense negotiations with the production house Warner Bros, they managed to get 25 million dollars and managed to add other production houses to obtain a total of 102 million.

The story features top actors such as Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, and Susan Sarandon, who appear throughout the film told in 6 different stories, at different times: Pacific Islands 1849, Edinburgh 1936, San Francisco in 1973, one London 2012 and two more in the future New Seoul 2144 and The Big Island, 106 winters after “The Fall”.

As in all his films, philosophical arguments have a great weight in the stories, being, in addition to science fiction and the use of novel special effects and an impeccable aesthetic, characteristics present in all his projects.

Jupiter Ascending

This film of the Wachowski brothers recreates a spectacular adventure where special effects abound. With a budget of 170 million dollars, the Wachowski sisters tell us the story of an alien species that comes to earth. Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is a young woman in whom the fate of the universe is deposited helped by Caine (Channing Tatum) who is a former military man who has been genetically modified.

In this project of the Wachowski brothers, contemporary heroines were synchronized with fantasy literature and the New Age fable, trying to be a continuation of their predecessor film Cloud Atlas.

Although the result may not have been what they expected, this story contains extremely attractive scenarios and without leaving the questions that this fraternal couple likes so much, here they focus more on entertaining, without leaving an existential void.

Sense 8

But the career of the Wachowski brothers has not been limited only to film production. Sense 8 was a science fiction and drama series that aired on the Netflix streaming platform. With an international cast, the plot tells the story of 8 characters of different nationalities, sexual orientation, and cultures, who from the death of a woman, manage to communicate through dreams or visions maintaining a mental and emotional connection, through which they remain unique and can share their language and skills. Although it is not characterized by having the special effects that characterize its projects, once again the philosophical questions are strongly shown in this project, which did not have the expected success and the project was canceled in its second season.

The Wachowski brothers are a benchmark of science fiction cinematography, in addition to always having a philosophical premise that is not indifferent to viewers in any of the cases.

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