The Matrix (1999)

The Matrix "lightning strike" international US poster is one of the rarest film posters printed for a major film campaign. It was one of three final designs commissioned by Warner Bros. executive Erwin Stoff. Stoff decided that this version by Creative Domain (now referred to as the "lightning strike" style) was the weakest of the three designs, and therefore went with the "face" style of B.D. Fox and the "four cast members" style by Concept Arts to spearhead the campaign. On reflection, Stoff realised that the "lightning strike" version was worthy of re-assessment. A very limited print run was authorised and officially added to the international poster campaign. Whether any copies made it into cinemas is doubtful, and of those printed, most found their way into the personal collections of other Warner Bros. executives and employees. 

Written and directed by the Wachowskis, and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving, this groundbreaking science fiction action film follows computer hacker Neo as he discovers that reality is an illusion created by intelligent machines and joins a rebellion to free humanity from their control.