FamousThe Matrix1999 · Don Davis
Two chords at once: C major over E minor
First heard at the very start of the film, over the Warner Bros. logo: cue 1m1 “Logos / Main Titles”, m.2–6 (0:00:05–0:00:14). It then comes back at every bullet-time shot and other ‘impossible’ moments; Heckman's Table 4 lists 20 uses.
Two plain triads fight for your ear. The horns hold E minor while the trumpets hold C major just above, and each swells from almost nothing to full volume as the other fades. The two chords share E and G, so the harmony seems to flip back and forth without going anywhere, which is how Don Davis made time seem to stop in the bullet-time shots. Played together, the notes spell C major seventh with E in the bass.
Also called Bullet Time, Matrix polychord swells, reflective brass motif
Sources: Christopher James Heckman, Taking the Red Pill: An Analysis of Don Davis' Score for The Matrix (UCLA PhD dissertation, 2018), pp. 58–60 (PDF pp. 80–82), Example 4-1 and Table 4 · The Matrix (1999), Omni Music Publishing · Cue By Cue: The Matrix (Davis, 1999) · Schott Music blog: The Matrix