Wall Street

Deceptively deep and complex picture from co-writer/director Oliver Stone paints a vivid portrait of 1980s over-excesses as the age of "Me, Me, Me" (otherwise known as the 1980s) is explored through the eyes of a young, eager and impatient stockbroker (Charlie Sheen) who moonlights as a liaison to a heartless, ruthless and crazily greedy mega-millionaire (Michael Douglas in a smashing Oscar-winning turn) who seemingly has his hands on most every aspect of big business. Naturally dilemmas occur in every direction for Sheen as the lifestyle he wants comes at a very heavy price (both literally and figuratively). A strained relationship with his father (real-life dad Martin Sheen) and a whirlwind fling with the superficial Daryl Hannah just leads to more and more cinematic fireworks. "Wall Street" is really the only film I can think of to deal seriously with its subject matter. Everyone of the age remembers the yuppie phase this nation had in the mid-1980s. Young urban professionals did their best to make as much as they could as fast as possible (sometimes through crooked and illegal means). The idea of retiring at 40 seemed like a good notion, but those same people with those thoughts are still working today (they never made their millions or they made their money and ended up going into a lifetime of debt because they spent their earnings quicker than they could make it). Ultimately the 1980s was good while it lasted, but good like that never lasts forever and that becomes painfully clear as Sheen's character becomes a warning to all those who think they can out-think and manipulate a strained economic system. Douglas is a complete revelation. I mean there is no doubt that he is an excellent performer, but his portrayal of a money- and power-mad player in New York is truly one of those instances of classic career work being achieved. Super-slick, wickedly intelligent and definitely a thinking person's movie, "Wall Street" continues to strike a chord when looking back at a very unique time of American economic history. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Wall Street (1987) is one of the films that defines the 80's American Lifestyle. A dog eat dog society fueled by greed, materialistic possessions, excess and drugs. People preying on others, a world of unscrupulous inside trading and the rise of yuppies. Oliver Stone is one of those film makers who knew the 80's inside out. People say John Hughes defined the 80's but Mr. Stone showed it's true side and it was ugly.

The film follows a low level day trader (Charlie Sheen) who strives to become a very powerful figure on Wall Street like his idol Gordon Geckko (Michael Douglas). To justify his rise to power, he uses his father (Martin Sheen) knowledge of the flight industry for his own personnel gains. He wants to get his foot into the door of the oily Geckko. Will he sell his soul for a quick buck? How far and fast will this rising star soar? To find these answers check out Wall Street.

This film was made immediately after Platoon. Stone made it clear that he wasn't going to let an Oscar winning malaise effect him. He explores the two fathers theme that he used in Platton and once again makes it work. A highly underrated film that has sadly been neglected by the mainstream audience. What makes it even sadder is the fact that it still applies today.

Highly recommended.

With his diabolical charm, slicked-back hair, city-college chip on his shoulder, and era-defining "greed-is-good" mantra, Gordon Gekko may by one of the all-time great film roles. Michael Douglas's performance as Gekko won a deserved Oscar in 1988 and makes "Wall Street" required viewing.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to money. Some economists argue money is an expanding resource, and prosperity a rising tide that lifts all boats. For Gekko, the truth is simpler and more brutal: The rich get richer off the backs of everyone else. "Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply transferred," he tells his young protégé Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen).

No question writer-director Oliver Stone feels the same way, as he presents this tale of wealth acquisition at its very apex, lower Manhattan circa 1985. In practically every frame showcasing the opulent world Gekko travels can be glimpsed beggars, fishermen, window washers, people who never will have access to the white-collar lifestyles their lowly status perversely enables for others.

For some, this zero-sum take of America clouds their enjoyment of "Wall Street" the movie. It shouldn't. You don't have to buy Shakespeare's version of history in "Richard III" to enjoy the morally bankrupt character at its center, and you don't need to adopt Stone's philosophy to enjoy Gekko.

In fact Stone's attitude about the Street, presented here as a kind of Hogarth caricature, helps make the film so entertaining. He captures the scenes of floor trading and calls and puts in journalistic detail, but leaves room for the human equation. And he has fun, a lot of fun, especially with Gekko, a character who makes you laugh with his pithy comments even as he sets about using poor Fox as a human ashtray.

On an upcoming charity event for the Bronx Zoo: "That's the thing about WASPs. They hate people, but they love animals." On a rival: "If he was in the funeral business, no one would ever die!" To Fox: "You had what it took to get into my office, sport, the question is do you have what it takes to stay."

Fox wants to stay, and allows no SEC regulation to block his wayward path. Stone's father was a stockbroker, and so the director takes special care to show us that all Wall Streeters aren't bad. There's Hal Holbrook, almost too saintly and somewhat detached from day-to-day business of his brokerage house to the point he seems a slumming B-school don. John C. McGinley delivers a standout performance as a vulgar, greedy friend of Fox's who we nevertheless find ourselves sympathetic to, especially as Fox ditches him for Gekko.

But of course it's really Gekko's world, as we watch him at his desk, punching telephone-line buttons and encouraging subordinates to "rip their throats out," checking his blood pressure with one hand while smoking a cigarette in the other. His centerpiece moment, his speech to the stockholders at Teldar Paper, is a compelling soliloquy not because it showcases his brutality but because it allows him a chance to explain his philosophy in a way that sounds logical, even honorable, until you think through the implications. That's Stone's screen writing at its best.

Sheen is also masterful in his role, playing the naive waif who wants to swim with the sharks and thus giving Douglas daylight to run. Too bad there's a tacked-on romance that never really works, in part because the character of Darien Taylor is not well developed, in part because Darryl Hannah hadn't yet met Quentin Tarantino. The ending is a bit too neat, and loses the subtlety that makes the rest of the film so good.

But the heck with subtlety when you have Gordon Gekko. Douglas is the reason for watching "Wall Street," and a terrific one. Just watch the way he looks at Bud, eyebrows raised to hold a pregnant silence, or enjoys the discomfort of his arbitrager-rival Sir Larry (a solid Terence Stamp). Stone knew what he had here, and makes the most of it. As a twisted morality tale, "Wall Street" is a thrilling, scenic ride down a dark and dangerous road.

First of all, it's amazing now to see how young, baby-faced and gauche Charlie Sheen looks from this distance in time, particularly when he's trying to hit on Daryl Hannah.

In today's dumbed down movie world, Gordon Gekko could have been scripted and played exactly the same except for one thing: you'd never see the scene when he suddenly stops to admire the ocean at dawn. Fortunately Michael Douglas clearly added his own dimensions to the character whom, if left to Stone, would have been a cardboard money-grabber. As far as Stone is concerned Gekko wants money for its own sake, but Michael Douglas manages to evince a man who revels in the power and influence that money gets him. Stone's dialogue actually undercuts this perception on occasion, as when Bud Fox yells at Gekko, "How many yachts can you sail!?", and when Gekko, enticing Fox by outlining how rich he could be, says, "Rich enough to have your own jet" - as if owning a jet wasn't the minimum accoutrement you'd expect from the least successful company director or minor pop star. Other infelicities in the script include the moment when Stone wanted to signal that Bud Fox has reached the peak of success and found it empty: following the montage of the condo purchase and decoration, the perfect meal for two, culminating in making love to Daryl Hannah, Stone has Fox standing on his balcony, and apropos of nothing at all, he just says, "Who am I?" It has to be said that Sheen wasn't really up to the task of delivering this atrocious line.

I've rarely seen a film in which the female lead was so comprehensively abandoned by the director. Stone clearly wanted to focus all his attention on Sheen and crucially on Douglas, leaving Hannah floundering and unable to clearly express just how much into Bud Fox her character is at any one time. At the final break-up you almost hear Stone's sigh of relief at being able to get rid of the irrelevant female (probably forced on him by the studio) and concentrate on the man's world of stockbroking.

I seem to be finding a lot of flaws in what is basically a most compelling and watchable film. Despite the complex jargon-riddled technicalities of the subject matter, the movie's plot grabs hold of the viewer from the first scene and never lets go. Of course Douglas dominates most of the movie, until Fox sr. (Sheen sr.) throws the spanner in the works of his son's airline deal. Thank heavens Charlie Sheen took the unbelievably courageous decision to have his own father (instead of Jack Lemmon) play his character's father because the two of them perform an absolute barnstormer of a scene in which every word, inflexion and facial expression is repleat with absolute truth; and it's all the more poignant considering Charlie Sheen's own personal difficulties which faced him in later years, and the well-publicised ups and downs of his relationship with Martin as a result. Had those troubled times preceded this movie, it's hard to imagine the performances could have been any different - that's how good they are.

Fantastic character support comes from Hal Holbrook, the always reliable Saul Rubinek and John C. McGinley (who does not seem to have changed at all in the intervening years!), a young James Spader and the magisterial Terence Stamp who understands the unutterable menace with which it is possible to lace the single word "Mate".

I totally adoire this movie, fabulous gritty no holds barred performance from the brilliant Mr Douglas, proving that sex is by no means the overwhelming theme of his movies as some seem to imagine.

I love the anxious, terrifyingly rapid advance given to the young Bud Fox from a chance comment in Gekkos daunting office, the instant changes of mood by Micheal swinging from interviewing to lambasting an industry peer on the phone and back to interviewing without a flicker.

Inspirational in the 'no fear' modus operandi of Gordon and then Bud, almost 'you can do anything if you dare' which has always given me a lift when I watch it.

Lush settings, and marvellous counterpointing performance of Terence Stamp, illustrating the 'Gekko' figure scenario in turn to Gordon nas Gordon had to Bud...

Await all Michaels movies with bated breath...Falling down....wonderful...but thats another story