Denotation and Conotation

The genre of the film is Action Adventure/Sci Fi.
The codes and conventions of this film is
Guns
Robotics (The writing resembles that of a computer)
CGI Special effects
The signifiers of this poster are
Black - War and power, The colour black comes across to people as dark and mysterious, but at the same time they are almost scared of it. The same goes for the saying 'Everyone is scared of the dark, because you don't know whats inside of it'.
Guns - Action and warfare, The guns are a symbol of the sort of film you expect to see. Plenty of gunfight usually leads to death, with the storyline taking the backseat in most action films.
Clothing - Martial arts, this is again another signal that the film will consist of plenty of fight scenes and mainly orientated on the action.
The denotative meanings in this poster are guns and sun-glasses. This signifies Identity and war/action as the sunglasses mask the characters face so that they are not easily recognisable. The black shade resembles a dark side to the character that the audience is yet to see. The guns in the film are a sign of things to come, a fast paced action shooter which will most likely result in the death of a character.

The connotative meanings in this poster are the writing going down the poster faintly which look like codes within a computer. This describes the idea of the film as it is based on a character whose normal life is quickly turned around by being told there is a world bigger then this, and that he is just living in a computerised world with a planned ending. The poster also shows the confidence of the characters as you look at the faces of the actors, this gives you the idea that they are ready for battle as they also stand there with emotionless faces. All the characters on the poster are wearing quite gothical clothing such as black leather jackets and trench coats, the meaning the director is trying to convey to the audience is that they have seen and been around death for a long time. The back ground of this image consists of mist and smoke. This makes you subconsciously think that something is left unsettled and you are not quite sure yet which side you are on.

Matrix lines

They are communicating to the audience what this film is all about, war, gun fights and action. With all of these characters dressed in black, it is hard to distinguish who is the hero, and who are the villains. Although, the main character can be separated as the clothing he wears is a different shade of black and he is at the front in the image. Also, in small writing at the bottom it says 'On March 31st the fight for the future begins.' That tells the audience many things.
The release date
The genre (Sci Fi) 'Future'
Its the first of a series 'Begins.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix
Accessed 18/03/2012

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/
Accessed 18/03/2012