All the drama on Wall Street these days -- from the credit crunch to the housing slump, everything from runs on the bank to rogue traders -- had the Hollywood Reporter wondering recently why Hollywood isn't cashing in on the fun. Given how well most of the serious Iraq War/War on Terror movies have done lately, perhaps moviemakers will be searching for greener pastures. Heck, Gordon Gekko is scheduled to make a reappearance next year in a Wall Street sequel tentatively called Money Never Sleeps.
Until then, with a little help from the Internet Movie Database, here is a list of some of Hollywood's best takes on Wall Street so far.
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American Psycho (2000). Christian Bale stars as a soulless investment banker with a taste for violence and kinky sex. Based on the bestselling book by Bret Easton Ellis.
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The Bank (2001). This award-winning Australian film is set in a corrupt corporate bank, and like Pi features a maverick mathematician who may have found a way to accurately predict stock market fluctuations. Stars Anthony LaPaglia.
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Barbarians at the Gate (1993). This Emmy-winning made-for-television movie is based on the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco in the 1980s. James Garner won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the company's CEO.
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Boiler Room (2000). A college dropout joins a small brokerage house and discovers that his new career isn't all it's cracked up to be. This film has been compared to both Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross. Stars Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck.
- Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005). This documentary details the collapse of Enron. It's narrated by Peter Coyote and directed by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney, whose next project is bringing Freakonomics to the big screen.
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The Family Man (2000). Nicholas Cage stars as a hardcore investment broker who through divine intervention gets as peek at what his life might have been like if he had become a suburban family man instead. Also stars Téa Leoni and Don Cheadle.
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From the Terrace (1960). Paul Newman is an ambitious executive who will do whatever it takes to succeed in the world of high finance -- until everything falls apart. From a novel by John O'Hara, it also stars Joanne Woodward and Myrna Loy.
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Pi (1998). A thriller about a paranoid mathematical genius on the run because he might just have discovered a way to accurately predict the behavior of the stock market. A Sundance Festival award winner.
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Rogue Trader (1999). Ewan McGregor stars as an ambitious bank clerk who jumps at the chance to run the bank's options trading program. Illegal trading brings in big bucks, but also leads inevitably to a complete financial meltdown. Based on a true story.
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Skyscraper Souls (1932). Released at the height of the Great Depression, this film tells a tale of stock manipulation, womanizing, betrayal, and other shenanigans at a big East Coast bank. Stars include Maureen O'Hara and Hedda Hopper.
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Solid Gold Cadillac (1956). Stars Judy Holliday as a minor shareholder who becomes a thorn in the side of the corrupt board of directors of a large corporation. It's based on a play by Pulitzer-winner George S. Kaufman.
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Trading Places (1983). Eddie Murphy stars in this comedy as a street hustler thrust into the world of commodities trading. With some help, he manages to outwit the scheming millionaires who set him up. Also stars Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis, and directed by John Landis.
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Wall Street (1987). Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning film brought us the very icon of 1980s Wall Street excess: Michael Douglas as corporate raider Gordon Gekko. Gekko's motto "greed is good" has been called one of the most memorable movie lines.
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The Wheeler Dealers (1963). This romantic comedy stars James Garner as a Texas oil tycoon who comes to New York to play the stock market and falls for this broker, played by Lee Remick. Directed by Arthur Hiller.
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Working Girl (1988). Melanie Griffith stars as a Jersey girl who through moxie, good luck, and a little help from Harrison Ford, makes a splash in mergers and acquisitions. Also stars Sigourney Weaver. Directed by Mike Nichols.
Did your favorite Wall Street movie make this list? Which recent or current financial events would you like to see brought to the big screen?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-05-2008 @ 2:49PM
Terra Andersen said...
American Phsycho is an awesome movie... so is Broiler Room.. I haven't seen most of these other ones though, but I will add them to my list!