Plot: What’s it about?
Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) comes from a humble background, but his hopes & dreams point him toward a much richer future. He went to college and is now a broker on Wall Street, but his career is not as rewarding as he would like it to be. But he keeps plugging away at his work, spending money to enhance his lifestyle, and visiting with his father, Carl (Martin Sheen). His dad’s advice and loans help him through the tougher times, but he still remains depressed about his current place in life. So he works hard and at night, he works even harder and tries to put together a proposal to take to a serious power player. He plans to prepare a deal for Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) and if he succeeds, his road to the good life will contain no traffic. Gekko’s power, money, and influence will guide Fox to the serious cash, but Bud doesn’t give much thought to the potential consequences. Is the price of being rich & powerful worth what Bud might be forced to surrender?
This movie, for lack of a better word, is good. Well in truth, Wall Street is a great movie, but who can resist mimicking a classic quote, right? I know a movie about the stock market doesn’t seem to interesting, but the antics of Gordon Gekko and Bud Fox are nothing short of cinema legend. I use quotes from the film on an almost daily basis, as do most of my friends and in this film, there’s plenty of memorable lines to recite. I feel this is Oliver Stone’s best movie and coming from a big fan of his like me, that is a real compliment to Wall Street. The film follows Bud Fox as he climbs the ladder, is faced with trouble, and then has to deal with his actions. The cast is excellent in all respects, this film has no real weak link within the performers. The cast is loaded with gifted actors, all of whom turn in superb performances in the movie. Add in what I think is Stone finest work behind the camera and viola, a cinematic masterpiece! I do believe Wall Street is one of the best movies of all time, but then again, I know it won’t hit all chords with everyone like it did me. This Blu-ray release offers all of the extras plus a slightly improved transfer & soundtrack, which means this is the one fans will want to own.
As I mentioned above, Oliver Stone is one of my favorite directors and I think this is his best film in the end. I am hesitant to make that claim, as Stone has several films close to this level, but I think Wall Street takes the cake in the final vote. But this is my personal take and of course, your mileage will vary. Stone used his more conservative editing tools for Wall Street, which is good because I don’t think his more modern trends would suit the film well at all. This more restrained approach works to perfection and never rushes the visuals or storyline, which allows the film to unfold at a nice pace. Stone has always been a fantastic director, but I stand by my claim of Wall Street as the best work of his career. I also recommend such Oliver Stone pictures as Natural Born Killers, Born On The Fourth Of July, Talk Radio, Heaven and Earth, Platoon, Nixon, and Any Given Sunday. The cast of Wall Street is headed up by Charlie Sheen (Major League, The Arrival) and Michael Douglas (Basic Instinct, The Game), but also includes such gifted performers as Hal Holbrook (Waking the Dead, The Firm), Martin Sheen (Lost & Found, Spawn), John C. McGinley (Office Space, Nothing To Lose), Terence Stamp (The Limey), Josh Mostel (Billy Madison, Jesus Christ Superstars), Sean Young (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), and Daryl Hannah (Splash, The Real Blonde).
Video: How does it look?
Wall Street is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. I didn’t know what to expect here, as this isn’t a movie known for its slick visuals. This just doesn’t seem to be an obvious choice for high definition, but I hoped for the best. In the end, this does offer an ever so slight improvement over the standard release, but not much. The movie’s thick grain and drab color design don’t get much of a boost, so the visuals still look dull, as always. You’ll note some enhancements, such as overall clarity and detail, but this is a minor step up at best. This is the best version available, but the improvement might not be enough to get some folks to upgrade.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is a Fox Blu-ray disc, so of course, we have a lossless DTS HD 5.1 option on deck. The audio has more upside than the video, but this movie isn’t the one to watch if you’re after dynamic presence. The surrounds do open up at times, but there isn’t much movement, just stationary sound. So the track is active, but not that immersive. Then again, the movie is so dominated by speech, I suppose you can’t expect too much in the first place. The audio does sound good however, from dialogue to music to more active elements, it just doesn’t sound great. This disc also includes Spanish and French language tracks, as well as subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Cantonese, and Korean.
Supplements: What are the extras?
All of the goodies are back, starting with deleted scenes, an introduction from Oliver Stone, and a featurette titled Greed is Good. The featurette is good, but between the commentary and Money Never Sleeps piece, the same ground is covered in several instances. The previous discs have included a few nice bonus features, such as a forty minute documentary on how the film was made titled Money Never Sleeps. The piece is heavy on interviews and also shows a few clips of rare behind the scenes footage, which was a real treat to view. I liked the interviews a lot and this documentary proves to be much more than a simple fluff piece, as it is loaded with information and memories about the production. An audio commentary with Oliver Stone is also found on this disc, in which Stone recounts the entire process behind the film’s creation. As always, Stone is very talkative for the most part, but he does slack off toward the end of the track.
