Brazil (1985)

Like The Matrix, Brazil owes a debt to Orwell's grim futuristic vision. Jonathan Pryce is a timid technocrat in a world controlled by intrusive technology and bureaucracy until he is mistaken for a terrorist, forced to go on the run, and sees the chance to escape to a better life.

Strange Days (1995)

Set in 1999 on the brink of the new millennium. Ralph Fiennes plays a sleazy ex-cop turned hustler who sells computer discs containing recorded memories and emotions to vicarious thrill seekers. An energetic thriller steeped in pre-millennial angst.

The Truman Show (1998)

Jim Carrey thinks he has a perfect life: loving wife, important job and picket fence house. In fact, he is the unwitting star of the world's longest reality TV where his every move is captured on camera. It drew lavish critical praise when released and now seems eerily prophetic.

Existenz (1999)

Released in the same year as The Matrix, David Cronenberg's film is darker and stranger but revolves around a similar virtual reality idea. Jennifer Jason Leigh is a leading computer games designer who is forced to enter one of her own games when she is targeted by an assassin.