The Need for Greed
The Film
Much acclaim and multiple Oscars were lavished upon Platoon, and rightly so, but Wall Street holds greater relevance to my own life so it is actually my favorite movie by far from writer/director Oliver Stone. As this was the follow-up to his widely celebrated Viet Nam War epic, an all-star cast quickly fell into place. Familiar faces from the jungle returned (Charlie Sheen and John C. McGinley), joined by Hollywood heavyweight Michael Douglas in the iconic role of Gordon Gekko, which would win him an Academy Award.
Stone's tribute to his own dad, a stockbroker, Wall Street is appropriately about a young wheeler-dealer, Bud Fox (Sheen The Junior) vacillating between an assortment of father figures, from his own hardworking blue-collar pops (Sheen The Elder, Martin) to a darkly seductive self-made zillionaire (Douglas), with a kindhearted boss (Hal Holbrook) in between. Bud's choices will ultimately reveal who he is, of course, but several large personal fortunes and the fate of an entire airline also hang in the balance.
At once a reaction to and a poignant summary of the widespread ethical (and, let's face it, legal) crises that plagued the stock market in the ‘80s when it was made, Wall Street endures as a larger-than-life clash of business titans. The clothing and atrocious home fashions aside, much of the movie's considerable power is derived from its distinct style: long takes, frequent monologues, and some very aggressive camerawork. It is one of the greatest films from an extraordinarily great year of film--1987--and one which begs to be seen more than once.
The Picture
The back of the package specifies the picture as "Widescreen 2.35:1," which is in truth a rare studio error, since Wall Street is definitely a 1.85:1 film. This Blu-ray edition arrives in the wake of last year's 20th Anniversary DVD, and the picture quality here is only a marginal improvement over standard definition. It is, in a word, soft, marred by an almost omnipresent digital haze that obscures any genuine subtlety in the image, with little-to-no shadow detail. Color is not particularly accurate, as skintones lack a lifelike hue. The image is often grainy but consistent in that regard with what I saw during repeated theatrical viewings.
The Sound
Wall Street comes to high definition on Blu-ray Disc, but was it worth the wait?
The soundtrack really comes alive in Stone's bold use of music, not just former Police-man Stewart Copeland's original score but the extremely dynamic multichannel remixes of songs by the likes of David Byrne and Brian Eno. These tunes memorably accompany everything from a bad day at the office to a corporate spying mission to decorating a palatial Upper East Side apartment. The results are not "montages" in the ghastly Rocky IV sense but, especially with the heightened musical presence aurally, they elevate certain story points to a new level of evocative entertainment. There's also some rear-channel fill on the subway and other instances of a bustling New York City, inside and outside, but these moments are few and far between. Other than that, the DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 is simply overkill here.
The Extras
The special features too are identical to those on the 20th Anniversary DVD. The 2000 Money Never Sleeps "making of," assembled largely from actor interviews, is re-presented along with 2007's lengthier, deeper Greed Is Good, which brings together cast, crew, and real Wall Street players for greater perspective. More than 20 minutes of deleted scenes are also included, with optional Stone commentary. Among them are alternate camera angles, alternate takes, a happy ending, and even a cameo appearance by illusionist/thespian Penn Jillette as a jittery investor. They are grainy, dirty, often shaky, and arranged in seemingly random order relative to when they would occur within the finished movie, and yet they are not to be missed by any Wall Street fan. Stone's feature-length commentary track is his usual serious, insight-packed revelation.
Final Thoughts
The lack of new, next-generation extras, the disappointing audio/video quality, and the hefty $40 list price for the Blu-ray have compelled me to update my recommendation from selling your current Wall Street DVD to a "Hold." The Blu-ray is a "Buy" for those who want the movie and all previous bonus materials in what is, technically, the best presentation thus far.
Where to Buy:
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