"Wall Street" synopsis | Appreciation | Afterviewing

1987 color film 126 minutes

Produced by 20th Century Fox Film Company, USA

Director: Oliver Stone Screenwriter: Stanley Weise Oliver Stone Photography: Robert Richardson Main Cast: Michael Douglas (as Gordon Gekko) Charlie Sheen (as Bud Foss) Martin Sheen (as Carl Fosse)

This film won the 1987 Academy Award for Best Actor from the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and the National Film Award Critics Federation Best Actor Award

Synopsis

1985, Wall Street, New York. Bud Foss, a young broker at Jackson Steine ??Securities Company, owed 7,000 yuan when a client defaulted on a stock transaction when he was acting as an agent for a stock transaction. Manager Lynch forced him to advance compensation. He decided to wait for an opportunity to catch up with the stock market tycoon Gordon Gekko. Gekko was shrewd and powerful, and he was very successful in the stock market. He had made at least 23 million in wealth before the age of 40. Bud goes to a restaurant frequented by his father Carl so he can borrow money to pay off his debt. Carl was a mechanic and union cadre at Blue Star Airlines. He wanted his son to return to work at Blue Star. Bud said that the salary as a broker would be five times higher. Carl blamed him for not being able to make ends meet with an annual salary of 50,000 yuan. His 47,000 yuan was enough for expenses. Bud said: "You can only live in poverty in Queens. I have to live in Manhattan to qualify for my status. How can this little money be enough?" Carl said casually. The FAA ruled that his Blue Star flight accident last year was due to a door manufacturing problem and not poor maintenance. The company can fly again. Bud's eyes lit up after hearing this.

Bud brought a Cuban cigar to visit Gekko on his birthday. He handed over an analysis report of a certain company and urged him to buy its stock. Gekko threw it into the shredder and asked what good news there was. Happy birthday to him, Bud had no choice but to resort to one last resort: Even the plaintiffs don’t know the verdict of the Blue Star case yet, and the company’s market share is small but its stock value is very high. Gekko asked for his business card, and then he was busy instructing his assistants to purchase a large amount of shares in TEDA Paper Products Company. Bud returned to the company and hurriedly used the computer to check the TEDA market. Gekko called and asked Bard to quickly purchase 20,000 shares of Blue Star at a price lower than 15.38 yuan. Bard was ecstatic. Gekko invited Bard to have lunch at the hotel, and Bard informed Blue Star that it had risen to 17.25 yuan. Gekko asked him if he had bought TEDA. Badlian said that this was illegal, but Gekko smiled and replied that he would not report it. Then he took out a million-dollar check and gave it to Bud to buy stocks on his behalf. He wanted to observe his performance. Finally, I specifically emphasize that I hate investment failure. At night, a romantic woman broke into Bud's apartment, claiming to be Gekko's friend... Bud bought a bad stock and was trapped. After get off work, Gekko invited him to play in the gym and take a sauna bath. Bud told him that he lost 100,000 on the first transaction. Gekko ridiculed his father because he was not a union cadre of the company. He lectured him: "I only make investments that are guaranteed to win. You have to be familiar with it." In Sun Tzu's Art of War, the outcome is decided before the war begins. You are not as smart as I thought. I have been in this field since 1969. Harvard elites are not worthy of attention. My approach to employing people is not to worry about their poverty, but only their lack of excellence. "I already have 20 brokers analyzing the trend for me, no need to look for any more." He got dressed and was about to leave. Bud quickly caught up and said, "I'm willing to work hard for you. Please give me another chance." Bud lets in the car, saying the opportunity lies in gathering information for him. He's seeking revenge on his nemesis, Sir Larry Wideman, and needs to find out what big deal the latter is making. Bud quickly said that this was inside information, and if discovered by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), he would go to jail. Gekko retorted: "Does it count as insider information for a father to inform his son of the ruling, or for eavesdropping on my acquisition of TEDA and buying shares? Be realistic! Be a predator or a nobody, it's your choice." Bud hesitated again and again, and finally agreed to "cooperate." ". Bud followed Wideman and found out he was flying to Erie, Pennsylvania. Inspired by Gekko, Bud guessed that Wideman wanted to acquire Anaco Steel Company. Gekko immediately instructed him to use an overseas account to buy a large amount at the price of 45 yuan and create a big buzz among colleagues. At the same time, he also asked him to call and inform "Wall Street" News" reported the secret phrase: "Blue Horseshoe likes Annako." Anaco quickly became popular. At night, Bud drove to Gekko's beach house to ask him to sign the document. Gekko took the opportunity to introduce him to the wealthy guests attending the family banquet. Bud is fascinated by the blonde interior decorator Darianne Taylor and takes advantage of the situation to invite her to decorate the interior of his new home. Wideman came to visit and said frankly that he was going to operate Annaco and transform it. To this end, he wanted to buy Gekko's shares and offered 65 yuan. Bud said that the market price should be 80 yuan, but Gekko hypocritically only asked for 72 yuan, and finally the deal was made for 71.50 yuan. Wildman left angrily, and Bud took advantage of the situation to say that Sun Tzu's Art of War was recorded, and soldiers never tire of deceit. When the enemy is strong, we avoid it, when the enemy is angry, we are provoked. Gekko praised him for being smart and able to stand alone. Gekko also encourages Bud to pursue Dillian. Bud went to visit Barnes, a college classmate and a lawyer in a law firm, and asked him to provide information and promise a large profit. Barnes hesitated but agreed. A few days later, Bard disguised himself as a cleaner, sneaked into Uncle Barnes's office to copy the secret documents, and then telegraphed Gekko... Soon, Gekko asked his lawyer Salter to sign a contract with Bard, and Bard obtained the agency power of his account and became independent. Transaction, if something goes wrong it has nothing to do with Gekko. Gekko also told him to act cautiously, use diversified accounts to buy and sell stocks, and currently want to vigorously acquire TEDA.

Bud was successful in career and love. He bought an apartment in Manhattan with 950,000 yuan and asked Dillian to design the interior. After the decoration was completed, the two lived together in an environment full of artistic interest. Virtue is not good. Gekko became TEDA's largest shareholder and caused the company's stock price to rise. At the shareholders' meeting, he lashed out at the managers and won applause with a very inflammatory speech.

On Gekko's private plane, Bud tried his best to persuade him to take advantage of the downturn in stock prices to acquire Blue Star. Blue Star was in a difficult situation in the fierce price-cutting war for air tickets. Bud hoped to use Gekko's financial resources and credibility. He was familiar with Blue Star and personally took charge of turning losses into profits. Gekko used the rise in oil prices and the difficulty of the union to prevaricate. Bud said that with his connections in the union, he could convince employees to work overtime and take an automatic pay cut for one year to revive Blue Star. He also pointed out that Blue Star still had 75 million yuan in pension funds. The fund could be used as loan collateral, and Gekko finally agreed. During the negotiations with the union representatives, the other two had approved Gekko and Bud's plan, but Carl objected. He could not trust the greedy Gekko, and the father and son had a big quarrel and broke up unhappy. The union members voted in favor of Gekko's plan, and Bud was about to take action. Unexpectedly, he learned through Barnes' channels that Gekko had liquidated the company behind his back and would make a net profit of 740,000 from the company's assets and pension funds. Bud breaks into Gekko's office and asks him why he wanted to destroy Blue Star. Gekko admits that he only deals in stocks and real estate, and will give Bud a large amount of money when the time comes. Although Bard promised to stand by Gekko, he was actually determined to save Blue Star. Dillian disapproved of his confrontation with Guerin, but was driven away by him. Bud takes the union representative to find Wildman. As long as the latter promises to rebuild Blue Star, Bud can let him acquire Blue Star at a low price and at the same time take revenge on Gekko. After Wildman agreed, Bud quickly raised Blue Star's stock price to 22 yuan. Gekko asked him to buy it, but he caused a drop in the price, causing the stock price to fall to 16.50 yuan. Bud deliberately asked Gekko for instructions on how to act. The market was about to close. Gekko had no choice but to sell stocks at a low price, and Wildman took the opportunity to take over. In an instant, Gekko lost millions and lost the controlling stake in Blue Star to his archenemy...

Bud was detained on suspicion of violating the insider trading prohibition law. Gekko took advantage of Bader's bail pending trial and summoned him to the empty lawn of Central Park to beat him up, counting the benefits he had given him and his betrayal. After Bud left the park, he took out the secretly recorded audio tape and handed it to the SEC. Gekko's voice was clearly audible: "I'll teach you how to trade stocks and how to obtain valuable information...Fulham Oil, Brandt Company... ”

Carl drove Bud to the Justice Building. He said that after he was released from prison, he would suggest to Wideman that Bud should find a position at Blue Star.

Appreciation

There are only a few Hollywood films that directly use Wall Street stock trading as the theme and explore the essence of capitalism, among which this film is undoubtedly the most typical.

The director conveys the story through Bud’s encounters and Gekko’s words and deeds. Bud, who came from a blue-collar background, did not want to be poor, so he took out loans to go to college and joined the stock industry. He dreamed of "getting lucky and making a fortune before he was 30", joining the yuppie ranks, and marrying a white-collar beauty to keep him company. There is nothing wrong with this. There are many lower-class young people who dream of this kind of American dream. However, Bud stumbled and had bad luck at the beginning. After repeated setbacks, he realized that the only shortcut to making a fortune was to join a tycoon and borrow a boat to go to sea. After repeated research, he aimed at Gekko, for which he prepared two hands. Gekko was not interested in Zhengdao's trend analysis at all, so he had no choice but to reveal the inside story of Blue Star's resumption of operations, not wanting Gekko to exclusively rely on the inside information. This is an illegal act and both parties are fully aware of it. In order to lure him into trouble, Gekko deliberately and seemingly unintentionally talked about TEDA stock in person. When he later verified that Blue Star's resumption of service was true and thought that Bud had a way to find out inside information, he tentatively appointed him as an agent for stock trading, and further tempted him with small favors and women. However, the fledgling Bud's first business failed. At the same time, Gekko also found out that Bud knew about Blue Star's ruling only because his father was a representative of the Blue Star union, not because of any special channels. He pretended to go their separate ways, and Bard was afraid of losing the relationship he had worked so hard to build, so he hurriedly expressed his willingness to work for him. Only then did Gekko reveal his true intention of using Bard: to collect inside information. Bud finally boarded Gekko's pirate ship to attack his enemies and collect ill-gotten wealth, while also getting a share of the pie himself. Gekko gave him his former lover Dilian again, which made her happy. Bud has both wealth and wealth, and his dream has come true, which makes him very unhappy. After having sex with Delian in his luxury apartment, he stepped out of the balcony and looked at the tall buildings far and near. Everything in front of him seemed so illusory and so real that even he couldn't believe it: "What a person I have become!" However, Unlike Gekko, who only wanted to make money, Bud also wanted to achieve a career: he wanted to bring back the Blue Star Company for which his father had worked hard all his life. Gekko pretended to agree, but behind the back of Bud, the general manager, he planned to sell the company's assets and withhold pensions. It was through insider channels that Bud suddenly realized that he, too, had been cheated. Although Gekko later promised to give him a large sum of money, his psychological balance tilted towards ethics and family affection. In order to pave the way for this decision, the director repeatedly emphasized the harmonious relationship between Fosse and his son in the film (Bud decided to revive Blue Star because of his father), and this decision also meant that Bud would lose his memory. Everything Jixi gained meant the disillusionment of his yuppie dream. Bud took action desperately and used Gekko-style methods to defeat Gekko's conspiracy. He revealed "inside information" (such as sending false information to "Wall Street News"), manipulated stock prices, joined forces with the labor union to fool Gekko, and lobbied his mortal enemy Wildman to acquire Blue Star at a low price.

After raising a dog, he was bitten by a dog. After this wonderful stock game ended, Gekko was so angry that he punched his fist and said: "Is it the dog wagging the tail or the tail wagging the dog? The student must teach the teacher a lesson! The ice under your feet will melt soon." , I’m going to beat you back to your original form!” Director Stone’s design of this scene is quite symbolic: after being knocked down, Bud got up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the white handkerchief thrown by Gekko, and threw it back to Gekko said meaningfully: "I understand that I am just Bud Foss. I once wanted to be Gordon Gekko, but I will always be Bud Foss." Wiping the blood with a white handkerchief, the stock market looks like a gentleman The game is actually as bloody as the battlefield. The contemporary Faust Bader signs a contract with the contemporary Mephistopheles Gekko, selling his soul in exchange for money and status. But his conscience has not yet been completely wiped out. Faced with the decision to betray his father, he finally wakes up from his dream. The prodigal son turns around and fights back. He no longer wants to be Gekko, but will always be proud of being an upright member of the Fox family. After he is released from prison, he will follow his father's footsteps and join the Blue Star Company, which symbolizes fair competition in this film, and become an upright American.

The snake charmer is bitten by a snake. Bud uses a tape recorder to obtain evidence that Gekko violated the insider trading law and catches the fox's tail. However, the film is unclear about Gekko's fate. The halving of this plot chain is worth pondering, and the director's ingenuity in structuring the film in this way lies in its ingenuity. It is not difficult for the audience to imagine that with Gekko's sophistication, he can pay huge sums of money to hire the most skilled lawyers to defend him, and he can even bribe witnesses. American law is full of contradictions. Just a lawyer's smooth tongue can often achieve miraculous results, and murderers can be acquitted. Gekko's escape is a piece of cake. The Blue Star's misses are like a drop in the bucket. They lose everything but reap the rewards. If they get rid of Bader, they can still find another one. Anyway, there are many substitutes. As long as the rules remain unchanged, Gekko's money game can continue to be played... This open ending does leave plenty of room for the audience to think.

This film is not only a symbol of capitalism - an image guide to the operation of the stock market, but also a living teaching material for the ethics and morals of capitalist society. The game rules of stock competition, the operators' tactical applications (many of which are derived from "The Art of War"), small moves, foul balls, and the resulting conflict of values ??are all vividly reflected here. By dissecting the sparrow of Blue Star, the film analyzes the operating procedures and complex mutual constraints of economic entities and related stocks in capitalist society. However, the focus of the director is to reveal the shady operations of the stock market. First, the director contrasts long-term investment in stocks with short-term speculation. The former is represented by the British gentleman and big entrepreneur Wideman. He acquires stocks mainly for business operations. Although he has some ruthlessness (such as layoffs, this is an unavoidable move when operating losses), he also plays side projects (such as buying Gekko's Secretary), but the director is basically positive about it. A typical example of the latter is Gekko, who bluntly said, "I only do stock and real estate business" and "I don't create wealth, but I own it." His career is limited to "playing money games", and his purchase of large quantities of art is not arty, but purely for the purpose of hoarding, which is the same as stock speculation. Secondly, the editor and director contrasted fair trading of stocks with insider trading. The former is represented by Bard's colleague and old agent Mannheim. The director and director didn't write much about him, but his speech was concise and comprehensive, and he was full of moral power to persuade people to do good. He used to be the boss of a securities company, but due to his "old-fashioned thinking and outdated methods", his equity was left on the side, so he had to trade stocks on his behalf. He never acted out of line and had advised Bud many times. When Bud informed Blue Star that it was bullish and asked him to persuade clients to buy it, he asked where the news came from and said with disdain that "money is the root of all evil." Before Bard was detained, no one else paid attention to him. Only he said: "I admire you (because Bard turned against Gekko)... When you are on the verge of the abyss, if you can grasp yourself in an instant, you will not fall into Among them. "Manheim's prototype is director Oliver Stone's father, Louis Stone (1910-1985). The old-school Louis was magnanimous and worked as a stockbroker on Wall Street. His ideas had a great influence on Oliver. . Oliver made this film and created the image of Mannheim, which is not only a memorial to his father, but also a promotion of his ideas. Mannheim's opposite is naturally Gekko. The magic weapon behind Gekko's fortune is insider trading, that is, using various illegal means to obtain first-hand information and making huge profits in the stock market by relying on time differences (Gekko euphemistically calls it "a sure-fire investment"). He made it clear to Bud that "the stock market is like a battlefield. If you don't do insider work, you will be kicked out." After finding out the inside story, he relied on his strong financial resources and close network of connections to fan the flames, call upon the clouds and rain, manipulate the stock price at the palm of his hand. Bud's dual value to him was that he could serve as both a stock market spy and an operator who "regulates" stock prices, so he deliberately "cultivated" him. The director ingeniously designed two typical insider transactions in the film and spared no effort to show the entire process. The first is Anaco stock, in which the director analyzes the secret of Gekko's fortune and highlights his instigation to Bud; the second is Blue Star stock, in which Bud discovers Gekko's secret intentions through insider information, and uses his character to The Tao also healed the person's body, stinging Gekko severely. Insider trading is being used as a trump card for the prodigal son, which is undoubtedly the most bitter ridicule for Gekko and his ilk. Insider trading often means huge profits, and many people follow it. Even if Gekko quits, others will fill the gap. Therefore, it is difficult to scare the monkeys by killing the chicken. There are many people who will try the law by themselves. This has become a regular phenomenon and will accompany the stock market forever.

The director had a clear understanding of this, so he did not let Gekko fall to his death, but only made him stagger and splash himself in mud. As for how he would deal with the aftermath, and whether he would repeat his old tricks, it is obviously self-evident. of.

The violation of laws and regulations in stock games is only a superficial phenomenon. On a deeper level, it should be due to the ethical values ????of the players and the influence of the social atmosphere. The director conceived the film and staged the plot with the purpose of showing the conflict between the two values ??and thus revealing the operating rules of capitalist society.

Gekko is undoubtedly a typical example of a money worshiper. As an extreme egoist, he despises all rules and taboos (whether legal or moral). He not only pursues monetary profits crazily, but also has a set of high-sounding theories. When he privately taught Bud, he said: "If you want to succeed, you have to do whatever it takes and be ruthless. If you need a friend, find a dog as a companion. Don't forget that this is a world of the jungle." On this occasion, he even expounded his philosophy of life impassionedly and won a round of applause. This speech is extremely wonderful, not only the finishing touch in shaping the image of Gekko, but also expressing the director's deep thinking on the spiritual consciousness of capitalism. It is necessary to excerpt it here: "We must not be self-indulgent, we must face politics and Economic reality. The United States has become a second-class power, with alarmingly high trade and budget deficits. The original spirit of the free market was to create profits for shareholders, and the Carnegie and Mellon families created industrial empires because they were companies. The largest shareholder. Today, the total shares of the company’s 34 presidents and vice presidents are less than 3%. Their annual salary is 200,000 to 1 million, and they use your money to eat steaks, hunt and fish. However, the company lost more than 100 million last year. This is the survival rule of American companies. It seems to have become 'survival of the fittest'. I think it should be the survival of the fittest...Greed is a good thing, it is correct, greed achieves great things, greed represents the true meaning of evolution, whether it is for the pursuit of a better life, It’s for money, for love, to gain knowledge, and to bring mankind to a higher level.” Gekko’s declaration of greed is indeed very seductive, and it has become a popular “famous saying” in American society after the film was released. In the view of Gekko and others, greed has simply become the driving force behind human evolution and social development. The paradox of Gekko is that he equates human beings with the jungle animals that prey on the jungle. What he calls "greed" should be understood as "human desire that can lead to creativity" (as opposed to animal desire that is only destructive). This desire created human civilization, and one of the basic laws of civilization is Live and let live. Even a capitalist civilization that regards selfish desires as the driving force for social development must use various legal and moral precepts to set a limit. This limit is not to harm the interests of others, or "respect the basic human rights of others." Greed is an extremely inflated and unbridled selfish desire that benefits oneself at the expense of others, and is a target even in capitalist society. Gekko doesn't have the appearance of a civilized man, but deep down he only has primitive animal instincts. In order to deny Gekko's greed, the director, in addition to the brokerage man Mannheim, also established a positive image with a wider range of praise - Carl. As a blue-collar technician who was enthusiastic about union work, Carl hated evil and never believed that Gekko would do good. He often taught Bud how to behave. Bud finally found his way back, and Carl's influence played a big role. It is worth mentioning that the two moral bearers are both from the older generation. This is not accidental, but has profound social reasons. Before the 1950s, the United States had always been a society controlled by traditional morality; beginning in the 1960s, Western society was in great turmoil, and anti-system and anti-tradition were all the rage; negation of negation, in the 1980s, neoconservatism in American society rose, and tradition was re-emphasized. Morals and family values. The moral reorganization of this film is a manifestation of this trend of thought, and the use of the old man to preach just emphasizes the return to tradition. The fashion among young people has changed from hippie to yuppie. Bud was deceived and transgressed when he was climbing to yuppie. Therefore, he needs redemption and regulates his behavior. After declaring evil, the film must make a moral backlash. However, the director did not forget reality when revealing the moral dynamics of mainstream films. Therefore, he blurred Gekko's ending to show that fouls must be punished, but cruel The game will still go on. The director handled it this way, which not only did justice but did not deviate from reality.

In order to highlight the cruelty of the stock market, Stone mobilized many creative methods to express it. For example, he made extensive use of hand-held cameras for live shooting, and many of the shots were extremely dynamic and realistic, possessing the vitality of a beast. Another example is the close-up shot of the giant fluorescent screen on the wall of the trading room that repeatedly appears in the film. Rows of rapidly moving numbers rush towards you, which is dizzying, and then leave you ruthlessly in an instant. It's like a tempting prey passing you by and fleeting, or like a beast coming towards you with its mouth open and spitting blood, trying to kill you. The jungle principle of natural selection is clearly evident here. Stone also used gloomy long-range shots many times to include the rows of skyscrapers in New York, which look like an urban jungle when looked at coldly. The last shot of the film is an overhead medium shot of Bud walking up the stone steps of the Justice Building. The camera immediately uses a large zoom lens to expand the field of view into a long shot that encompasses the entire building, and then the camera slowly pans to the skyscrapers of Manhattan. The montage inside this shot has a profound meaning. Stone uses this to show that even the urban jungle cannot allow violence to flow across the street. Humanity will surely control evil and civilization will overwhelm barbarism.