The rise and fall of American greed is personified in this Oliver Stone film. Following a ruthless millionaire named Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), he hires a young trader named Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) to do all of his illegal insider trading for a chance to expand his empire. When Gekko’s ruthlessness cuts into Fox’s personal life then things become ugly.
I was 13 years of age when this movie came out in the theater. Even then I could see the genius in Stone’s Gekko and how well crafted Douglas made this man. Stone’s account of greedy CEOs that cared more about the game than about money shined through in his lead villain. Opposite of him, Oliver Stone created a flawed hero in Bud Fox. Fox’s intentions were clearly created to mimic the life that Gekko had illegally earned for himself. Fox represented what evbuery hardwork American wanted in the late 80s; a quick way to get rich and taste the good life. Stone’s methodical direction and writing led both characters to each other and created a well-thoughtout contrast between the two men on the way down. It was both breathtaking and a little frightening, but it reflected the viciousness of American greed perfectly.
Of course, none of this would have been possible had Stone cast the wrong people. Michael Douglas was the perfect choice as the hard nose businessman Gordon Gekko. Fresh off of Romancing the Stone, where he displayed his gritty, raw side. Also helping was the role that Douglas played in Fatal Attraction (the movie right before Wall Street came out). In that film he put together a ‘nothing can stop me’ sort of attitude in his adulterous character Dan Gallagher. Combining both those movies into one probably created a vicious, no nonsense Gordon Gekko.
Playing the ‘other guy’ in the movie was Charlie Sheen. Sheen brought a young face to the screen and a innocent background (stop laughing). His raw, ‘new guy’ look as Bud Fox played off of Douglas’ Gekko perfectly. He created a pseudo-son to Gekko through Fox and it worked out beautifully. In the end when you see everything crashing down you fully understand who is who and what is what with Sheen’s character; very Icarus in my opinion.
If you have never seen Wall Street and you’re looking for a good movie about greed, crime and money then you don’t have to look any further. This movie has that and it works very well (even after 23 years).
So the question begs, is this release worth your time and money? Here’s my opinion on the matter. If you own the Blu-ray then keep walking. You have better quality in the overall presentation and probably better features. If you have this on DVD and it isn’t from 1997 then you might want to consider it. This version of the film contains everything the others do and it’s reasonably priced ($14.98; cheaper on Amazon.com). If you don’t own it then get it. You need to see this film.
As for features, just focus on the main feature. The features that come with with the Insider Trading Edition aren’t that exciting. The trivia track is probably the most interesting, as you get that typical pop-up fact during the film. The Tim Rothman featurette is good and informative, but I would have preferred it be a ‘making of’ from the producer/director/actors, rather than a pitch. Finally, the most disappointing feature in this bunch is the Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – A Conversation. It’s about two minutes in length and just too quick to enjoy.