Wall Street

Rating:
Summary: Greatest Movie Ever
Review: This is my favorite movie, and in my opinion, the greatest ever made. Not only is this movie extremely deep in substance and thought provoking dialogue, but there are some great examples of moral values, as well. Not only is this movie a classic (a long classic, 126 minutes), but should be viewed by everyone who enjoys watching great movies and learning more about the greedy decade of the 1980s. This is such a great movie, I've memorized it line from line.

Rating:
Summary: Oliver Stone predicts Enron?
Review: This movie has always been one of my favourite Oliver Stone films. The hard-hitting dialogue snaps and pops with the same intensity as another nasty ode to the rotten core of the Big Apple, Sweet Smell of Success (Stone even cites it as an influence in the audio commentary).

Michael Douglas, in a career-defining roles nails Stone's excellent dialogue and delivers some of the best monologues ever put on film. He deserved the Best Actor Academy Award he won that year. His "greed is good" speech still gives me goosebumps.

After years of watching Wall Street on a faded, beat-up pan and scam VHS tape or on TV, it is so sweet to finally see it on DVD in it's proper aspect ratio. The transfer is top notch -- the film doesn't look a day old. However, the two highlights of this DVD are the fascinating documentary -- which features Douglas, Charlie Sheen, and Martin Sheen talking about their experiences working on Wall Street and how they feel about it today. Accompanying this documentary is an excellent audio commentary by Stone. As always, his comments are informative and candid -- he expresses regret that he cast Daryl Hannah in the role of Charlie Sheen's materialistic girlfriend and mentions that he should have swapped her role with Sean Young's.

It's scary how Stone's film mirrored corporate society back then (and they way it is now) and how it anticipates contemporary scandals like Enron. Great stuff!

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: As we enter a new era of "reaga-nomics" of tax cutting and deficit spending, most people will find this movie well worth a second look. The amount of energy packed into this film is infectious. There are outstanding performances by Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen. The supporting cast of Darryl Hannah and Martin Sheen are delightful. When I wrote my book "Futures For Small Speculators" I immediately thought of this movie. Every trader has two demons that successfully hinder his trading fear and greed. This movie delves deep into the psyche of what it takes to be a trader, but it falls short on the side of ethics and morality. I can watch this movie a dozen times and find some new insight.

Rating:
Summary: If you're a cut-throat, you'll love this movie
Review: And I have to say, I love this movie. Michael Douglas gave an awesome performance as Gordon Gecko who'll do anything for a buck. It doesn't matter if that anything is illegal, just as long as he thinks he can get away with it.

Charlie Sheen portrays a character that many of us can identify with, someone just out of school in their first job and trying to make an impression on the world. I think we've all been through that. In Gordon Sheen sees the epitome of success and only when he is allowed to get close does he see that the grass is not always greener on the other side, there are definitely patches of brown as well, but spray painted to look green.

Sheen's performance is good, but I don't think great. He appears a little too meek at times and yet also assertive in trying to get what he wants, such as sending Gordon a b-day card each year and convincing his friend to get him inside information. It's a bit contradictory, but I guess we're all like that sometimes.

Hannah's performance was just OK. Overall, the story is great and I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in business, investing, stocks, business politics, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Jack Lemmon in place of Martin Sheen?
Review: WAL STREET is a very entertaining film about corruption in the world of high finance during the 1980's. Although it is marred by the inclusion of too much gratuitous profanity, the film is noteworthy for several fine acting performances. Michael Douglas is superb as the greedy and ruthless Gordon Gekko. Charlie and Martin Sheen are both convincing as the neophyte stockbroker and the principled union boss respectively. As usual Hal Holbrook rises above the crowd with his sympathetic portrayal of the dissillusioned older broker. According to the Internet Movie database, Jack lemmon was considered for the role ultimately given to Martin sheen. It is possible that Lemmon might have been a good choice for this part too.

The main competition in 1987 for Academy awards came from THE LAST EMPEROR and MOONSTRUCK. In spite of the tough field, Michael Douglas still managed to win an Oscar for Best Actor in recognition of his work in WALL STREET.

Rating:
Summary: The Lure of Power, Greed and Financial Wizardry
Review: Oliver Stone captures Wall Street in the 1980s in this film.

Looking back from the perch of 2002, Gordon Gekko's "greed is good" speech is a precursor of today's accounting scandals. Not that Wall Street has changed. The sales manager in this film is perfect. He personifies the "what have you done for me lately" attitude that pervades transaction-based finance.

This great film transcends time.

Rating:
Summary: AMBITION is good, anyway.
Review: I really liked this 1980s classic. It very accurately portrays the wild, amoral, hedonistic capitalism of the day, which is anything but religious or prudish. I wonder how it came to be that stockbrokers ended up in the same political bandwagon as the Bible Belters. The movie portrays capitalism's weak spots only too realistically, the unfortunate thorn to a system which, if managed properly like it is in modern Europe, can work well to deliver widespread prosperity and social justice. But American politicians haven't gotten the right formula yet thanks to the guys you see in this film.

Michael Douglas's voice and demeanor work wonders to create the classic greed-addicted corporate raider who wreaks havoc with the markets and in the process gains control over the future of thousands of workers. You won't find many references to Nike, Microsoft, or Starbucks here due to the time lapse since. But many older investors will remember all the businesses named in this movie. [name here] plays an intelligent newbie who has all the savvy moves down in no time, but maintains some sense of social justice and democratic values to the end, which are a driving force for one of his "revenge" moves that you'll see if you watch it.

Douglas's speech in the shareholder meeting is excellent but misnamed: it should be Ambition is Good since excessive Greed leads to a deterioration of workers' living standards and an eventual collapse of the economy, like what happened in the 1920s and what is happening today on a smaller scale. But he points out very directly that the desire to achieve and receive a "badge of honor" is the driving force behind human creativity. Even so, as this movie points out, injustice is deeply entrenched in the system and the method of corporate governance over workers is completely undemocratic.

Rating:
Summary: Greed is good. Greed is God.
Review:

Best financial movie ever? Perfect direction, editing, and acting. Excellent storyline and compelling narrative. Charlie Sheen plays Bud Fox, the aspiring young trader who wants to be The Big Man, to a T. This movie does everything a movie should. It entertains and makes you think without ever becoming preachy. It never drops down to the left or right wings of economic thought. On the one hand, Gorden Gecko is the epitome of everything wrong about capitalism, but on the other, he's everything that's right. He's a greedy SOB, but he works like a demon and built himself up from nothing. His worldview was perfectly encapsulated in his shareholders speech in which he gave out the famous line "Greed is good," and then explained why.

You'd think the movie would be a bit dated by the technology and market environment displayed in this movie, but actually the change in times is interesting to observe, and the movie never grows dated because the story is relevant for all times.

Another small detail that I couldn't help but love was the gigantic "THE END" words displayed before the end credits. This was the style used in the 30s through early 60s movies, especially at the end of tragic tales used to deliver a moral message, and it was a great subtle touch detectable only by movie afficianados.

This movie is well worth purchasing.

-- JJ Timmins

Rating:
Summary: nice movie about what not to do ( or at least get caught)
Review: This was a pretty nice movie. I saw it over a friends house and we both liked it since we both play the ponies( stock market). I must say first i think tom cruise probably would have been a better choice for lead actor, and i would have been disappointed if i had went to see it at the movies, but it is a nice book to watch at home for fun, and worth money amazon.com wants for it. This stuff really does happen, and the way the movie tells it is really how things go down. You can get in real trouble if you get caught doing this. Just ask Martha Stewart and a bunch of former Enron execs.

Rating:
Summary: Wall Street is My Street
Review: The Last Emperor? What the hell was that? How did that win best picture of 1987? You are looking at the "real best picture of 1987" This is an all-around wonderful movie. With a great plot and even better characters. This has to be one of the most gripping and poignant movies that defined 1980's cinema and also characterized big business in Regan's America.