Wall Street [Insider Trading Edition] [2 Discs] [DVD] [1987]

Oliver Stone has tackled many subjects, many controversial (JFK anyone?) but, many have been amazing films, and Wall Street is one of them. Fresh from his Oscar-winning film Platoon, Stone decided to tackle Reaganomics and greed with Wall Street. A young stockbroker, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is a wannabe hotshot (Pun intended) wanting to climb the corporate ladder under the guidance of Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas, in his iconic, Oscar-winning performance). After piquing Gekko's interest with some insider information about Bud's father's (Martin Sheen) airline job, Fox rises near the top of the chain, garnering a huge office, plenty of cash and a girlfriend, Darien (Darryl Hannah, in her Razzie-winning role). Of course, Fox learns of Gekko wanting to destroy his father's airline he works for and grab the pension for himself and now Fox must decide to either be greedy, or clear his conscience. While not Stone's best film, this one is a classic, namely for Douglas's portrayal of Gekko, believably playing this villainous monster, and deservedly winning Best Actor of 1987 at the Academy Awards. Both Sheen's are fine in their rolls, but Hannah is the big stinker of the film; its biggest weakness. The screenplay does a decent job capturing the life and style of stock trading and business and Stone does well enough behind the camera as usual, just not peak perfection of his better films. Moving to the disc, picture quality is kind of a mixed bag. The film was shot in a drab, dull style, with a heavy grain field and a lack of primary colors for the most part, it is representative of the source photography, with plenty of detail throughout, but this isn't one to show off your setup. Audio is the same story, with a 5.1 DTS-HD track that isn't really needed but the dialogue and music are accurate, the sparse surrounds are decent but don't expect a workout for your speakers. The highlight here are the extras included on the disc, starting with an excellent commentary with Oliver Stone, 2 documentaries (The Making of Wall Street, a nearly hour-long look at the making of the film, and "Greed is Good", another nearly hour-long with new(er) interviews with the cast, crew and various Wall Street types), nearly a half hour of deleted scenes with optional Stone commentary and a Fox Movie Channel featurette about the legacy of the film & a look of the sequel. A slipcover & a booklet round out the extras here. Overall, this is a fine disc for a fine film with fine extras and a fine presentation, but maybe for the next disc (4K won't improve matter much, if at all) maybe have more extras that aren't just carryovers, but worthy disc regardless.

This is from the time period when Oliver Stone was putting out his best films and this is one of them. An examination of the morality of high finance, even though slightly dated, I still found myself enjoying this film after all these years. So few films made today actually have anything to say! I know a lot of the post iPhone generation only wants excitement & escape and spurns ever focusing and thinking DEEPLY about any ONE thing without a thousand distractions to prevent that, but I predate that generation and still prefer to have my mind engaged once and a while (I'm just not a "Check-your-mind-at-the-door" type). It was nice to see a film again that BOTH entertained me AND gave me something to think about!

I've been on a run of "Wall Street" movies lately starting with the Big Short, Wolf of Wall Street, and the very recent HBO movie, The Wizard of Lies, about Bernie Madoff staring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer. Oliver Stone's "Wall Street" is an oldie but a goodie and has become a classic of this genre. If you too are interested in how the stock market is manipulated when greed raises its ugly head, then this is a movie for you. It is well crafted with Michael Douglas in the lead. Buy it before the next crash!

Having never seen this movie upon the theatrical release I purchased it on Blu-ray on a whim. I remember when it first came out and I remember all the hoop law surrounding it and of course the Oscar-winning performance of Douglas. I was curious as to whether the film will last the test of time considering the current economic struggles around the globe. I have to say that it does stand still on its own 2 feet although it does feel a little dated. Michael Douglas's performance still does stand the test of time. It's a must watch.

The technology of the day has tremendously improved since the release of this moving, what is going on is no different than today. Michael Douglas gives a flawless performance as Gordon Gekko. You almost want him to continue to win he's so evil. Charlie Sheen is excellent showing a clean cut man be swayed to join Gekko and be caught in the middle. Anyone interested in trading/investing corp takeovers this is a great movie to watch with some good box wine.

I remember seeing this movie for the first time with my dad, years ago and still considered a jewel of cinema because to buy it again is a classic that is worth seeing great performances and a great director and even more is a special edition that Cost less than $ 5 and that is why you should always check the discount corner does not always show jewelry how you are and worth seeing from time to time

Oliver Stone, the director of Wall Street, is the son of a man who made his living on Wall Street which makes this film about the cutthroat objectivist outlook of the jackles that wear suits and run our country's financial institutions all the more engaging. Iconic and no less relevant today than it was on it's release in 1987, this is a must see.

"Wall Street" definitely benefits from this directors-approved Blu-ray release. The movie has never looked this good, even in the theater when I saw it first run. Some of the family material with the 2 Sheens drags, but overall it's held up well. Stone's commentary, as usual, has lots of offer.