Wall Street (1987)

Oliver Stone’s souped-up, morality melodrama hammers away with ferocity at corporate raiders, insider trading, stock manipulation and other questionable practices involving big business in the 80s “Greed is Good” decade.

Michael Douglas marshals his ultimate acting skills as the slippery, corrupt, company takeover pirate, Gordon Gekko, who manipulates a novice stockbroker, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), also moved by greed and power.

His ethos is to break companies apart because they are “breakable”.

What the traders in Wall Street do is illegal, immoral and unethical – but they justify their actions with platitudes such as “Nobody gets hurt”, “Everybody’s doing it”, “There’s something in this deal for everybody” and “Who knows except us?”.

Gekko’s speech in Wall Street was apparently inspired by a commencement address once delivered by the infamous Ivan Boesky, former Wall Street heavy hitter, who was eventually barred forever for insider trading.

The topical film (at the time) is often a tad overly sensational, but, nevertheless it packs a powerful bottom line with a blue chip punch.

Right, Buddy Boy?

Gordon Gekko
Michael Douglas
Bud Fox
Charlie Sheen
Darien Taylor
Daryl Hannah
Carl Fox
Martin Sheen
Sir Larry Wildman
Terence Stamp
Lou Mannheim
Hal Holbrook
Kate Gekko
Sean Young
Roger Barnes
James Spader
Sylvie Drimmer
Sylvia Miles
Cromwell
Richard Dysart
Harold Salt
Saul Rubinek
Ollie
Josh Mostel

Director
Oliver Stone

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