Wall Street
released 1987
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“Wall Street” is an American, financial drama written by Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone who also directed it. It was produced by Edward R. Pressman, Michael Flynn and A. Kitmon Ho. It stars Charlie Sheen, Terence Stamp, Tamara Tunie, Franklin Cover, Chuck Pfeiffer, John C. McGinley, Hal Holbrook, James Karen, Leslie Lyles, Michael Douglas, Martin Sheen, Faith Geer, Frank Adonis, John Capodice, Suzen Murakoshi, Dani Klein, Josh Mostel, Ann Talman, daryl Hannah, James Spader, Sean Stone, Sylvia Myles, Byron Utley, Francois Giroday and many others.

Wall Street IMDb webpage

“Wall Street” is the story of a time in our recent past in a place called Wall Street, which was at the time, arguably, the center of the financial world. It´s the story of an ambitious broker named Bud Fox, played by Charlie Sheen, who is seduced by this image of wealth and success and the consequences that follow. Now keep in mind that Bud Fox is a young guy from humble beginnings who just graduated from an expensive school and is burdened with student loan debt from that school. In other words, he is a prime candidate for the Wall Street machine of the 80s. It´s a world where greed, big deals, even illegal ones, are worn like badges of honor.

Bud persistently chases a man he looks up to. He wants to work for him and be mentored by him. This man is Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas. He is as his name suggests a real moral lizard involved in so many illegal dealing that net him 100s of millions of dollars a year and make him the envy of the town. (As a side note, I´m pretty sure that the character of Gordon Gekko was modeled after the infamous insider trader Ivan Boesky but his real life story is very different from the character portrayed in the film Wall Street. The truth is that Ivan Boesky watched his father die because he lacked health insurance among other such tragedies.) Anywho, the character of Gordon Gekko is really a greasy guy who would probably “Sell his own mother to make a deal, and send her C.O.D” as Sir Larry wildman, played by Terence Stamp, said. BTW, Sir Larry Wildman is just as despicable as Gordon Gekko with an even larger mountain of economic destruction and social devastation in his wake.

“Wall Street” is a dated film that is still a good watch for many reasons. It really captures the mentality of an industry gone amok with rampant fraud, poor oversight by regulatory bodies and, above all, very bad incentives that encourage people to behave badly or look the other way when serious crimes are committed. This is as much a historical story as it is a cautionary tale that is still relevant today, particularly in the financial markets and political structures around the world.

Check out “Wall Street” folks it really is a good watch.

John

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