Wall
Street (1987)
20th
Century Fox
Cast:
Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah,
Hal Holbrook, Terence Stamp.
Rating:
R
Run
time: 126 mins.
Genre:
Drama
Verdict:
Brilliant
(see rating
system)
Hard
to believe it's been 20 years since director Oliver Stone's
hard-hitting expose of business corruption won Michael Douglas
a Best Actor Oscar.
While
the pre-Internet technology obviously creaks a bit - clunky
green-screen computers and "mobile" phones the size
of Russian cars - the movie retains much of its potent strength.
Since
this movie was made the Enron scandal and other legal cases
have opened the window wide on sleeze and greed in coprorate
America so we're not as shocked as we once were about the
antics of characters like investment banker Gordon Gekko (Douglas).
Gekko
follows the mantra of "greed is . . . good!" to
build a multi-million dollar business. He's the kind of successful
guy who impresses lowly investment dealer Bud Fox (Charlie
Sheen), who does all he can to try and arrange a personal
interview with "the man".
Eventually,
Fox succeeds, but in order to really impress Gekko with some
inside information, Fox lets slip the state of health of the
struggling airline company where his dad (Martin Sheen) is
union leader.
At
first Fox is wowed by the money, perks and hookers Gekko send
his way, but when Gekko plans to destroy his father's company,
even Fox can't stand to look in the mirror.
It's
Douglas's show, but the great supporting cast including the
Sheens, Daryl Hannah, Hal Holbrook and Terence Stamp give
this movie special quality and Stone directs with a sure touch.
The
two-disc, 20th anniversary anniversary edition looks and sounds
great and includes documentaries, commentaries and other extras.
A
long-awaited sequel starring Michael Douglas is reportedly
in development. Tentative title is Money Never Sleeps.
