1987 color film 126 minutes
Produced by American 20th Century Fox Film Company.
Director: oliver stone Screenwriter: Stanley Weather oliver stone Photography: robert richardson main actors: michael douglas (as Gordon Gekko), Charlie Sheen (as Bud Fowles) and Ramon esteves (as Carl Fowles).
On 1987, this film won the Academy of Motion Picture Arts Oscar for Best Actor, the hollywood foreign press association Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and the National Film Critics Association for Best Actor.
abstract
Wall Street, New York 1985. Budd Fowles, a young broker of Jackson Steiner Securities Company, owed 7000 yuan when he represented a stock transaction, and Lynch, the manager, forced him to repay it. He decided to bide his time and hold on to the stock market tycoon Gordon Gekko. Gekko is smart and tough, and he is like a duck to water in the stock market. Before he was 40 years old, he had accumulated at least 23 million yuan. Bud went to the restaurant where his father Carl often went to borrow money to pay off his debts. Carl is a mechanic and union cadre of Blue Star Airlines. He wants his son to work at Blue Star. Budd says brokers earn five times as much. Carl blamed his 50 thousand annual salary for making ends meet, and his 47 thousand was enough. Budd said, "You can only live in poverty in Queens, and I have to live in Manhattan. How is this money enough? " Carl casually told him that last year's blue star flight accident had been ruled by the Federal Aviation Administration as a hatch manufacturing problem, not a poor maintenance, and the company could fly again. Bud's eyes lit up after hearing this.
Bud visited Gekko on his birthday with a Cuban cigar. He handed in an analysis report of the company and urged him to buy shares in the company. Gekko threw it into the shredder and asked him what good news made him happy on his birthday. Bud had to: The plaintiff doesn't know the verdict of Blue Star case at present, and the company has a small market share and high value. Gekko asked for a business card, and then he was busy ordering his assistant to buy a lot of shares in TEDA Paper Company. Bud returned to the company and hurriedly operated the computer to inquire about the TEDA market. Later, Gekko called Bud to buy 20,000 shares of Blue Star at a price lower than 15.38 yuan. Bud was ecstatic. Gekko invited Bud * * to the hotel for lunch, and Bud told Bluestar that it had risen to 17.25 yuan. Gekko asked him if he had bought TEDA, and Bud even claimed that it was illegal. Gekko smiled and said that he would not report it. Then he took out a check for a million dollars and asked Bud to buy stocks for him. He wants to see its performance. Finally, I especially emphasize that I hate investment failure. In the evening, a romantic woman broke into Bud's apartment and claimed to be Gekko's friend ... Bud bought a rotten stock and got stuck. After work, Gekko invited him to the gym to play ball and take a sauna. Bud told him that the first transaction lost 654.38 million yuan. Gekko laughed at his father for not being a union cadre in that company. He taught him: "I only make sure investments." To be familiar with Sun Tzu's Art of War, victory or defeat is decided before the war begins. You are not as smart as I thought. I wallow in the line of 1969, and Harvard elites are not worthy of attention. My way of employing people is not afraid of their poverty, but of their incompetence. I have 20 brokers to help me analyze the trend, so I don't need to find it. " He got dressed and was ready to leave. Budd quickly caught up with him: "I am willing to work hard for you, please give me another chance." Gekko let Bud get on the bus, saying it was an opportunity to gather information for him. He wants to get back at his sworn enemy, Sir Larry Videman, and needs to find out what kind of big deal the latter is making. Budd quickly said that this was inside information, and if it was discovered by the SEC, he would have to go to jail. Gekko retorted, "Is it insider for a father to inform his son of the ruling or eavesdrop on my acquisition of TEDA and eat stocks?" Be realistic! Be a crocodile or a nobody, you can choose. "Bud hesitated and finally agreed to" cooperation ". Bud looked at Videman and found that he was flying to Erie, Pennsylvania. After Gekko inspired Chad to guess that Widman would buy Anaco Steel, Gekko immediately instructed him to use his overseas account to eat a lot at the price of 45 yuan, and made a splash among his colleagues. At the same time, tell him to call the Wall Street News and tell him that Blue Horseshoe likes Anaco. Anaco was soon fired. In the evening, Bud drove to Gekko's seaside villa and asked him to sign the document. Gekko took the opportunity to introduce him to the rich guests attending the family dinner. Budd was fascinated by Diane Taylor, the blonde interior decorator, and invited her to decorate his new home. Widman's visit, bluntly prepared to run Anaco and transform it, so he bought Gekko's shares and bid for 65 yuan. Budd said that the market price should be 80 yuan, and Gekko hypocritically only wanted 72 yuan. Finally, the transaction was made with 7 1.50 yuan. Videman left angrily, and Bud tried to say that Sun Tzu's Art of War was recorded and all is fair in war. The enemy is strong and I avoid it, and the enemy is angry and I am excited. Gekko praised him for his cleverness and his independence. Gekko also encouraged Bud to pursue Diane. Budd went to visit Barnes, a college classmate and a lawyer in a law firm, and asked him to provide information and give him rich profits. Barnes hesitated and agreed. A few days later, Bud disguised himself as a cleaner, sneaked into Uncle Barnes' office to copy confidential documents, and immediately sent a telegram to Gekko ... Soon, Gekko asked his lawyer Sot to sign a contract with Bud, and Bud obtained the agency of his account and traded independently. Gekko had nothing to do with the accident. Gekko also told him to be cautious, buy and sell stocks with decentralized accounts, and now he should vigorously buy TEDA. Bud succeeded again and again in his career and love. He bought a 950,000 high-rise apartment in Manhattan and asked Diane to do interior design. After the transformation, the two lived together in this artistic environment. Bud is very proud. Gekko became the largest shareholder of TEDA and made the company's share price rise. At the shareholders' meeting, he lashed out at the managers and won a house full of applause with a confusing speech.
On Gekko's private jet, Bud tried to persuade him to take advantage of the low share price to buy Bluestar. Bluestar is in a difficult position in the fierce war of ticket price reduction. Bud hopes to use Gekko's financial resources and his familiarity with Blue Star to turn losses into profits. Gekko prevaricated about the rising oil price and the difficulties of the trade union. Budd said that with his connections in the trade union, he could persuade employees to work overtime and automatically take a year's pay cut to revive Blue Star. He also pointed out that Bluestar still had a pension fund of 75 million yuan as loan collateral, and Gekko finally agreed. In the negotiation with the trade union representatives, the other two have approved Gekko and Bud's plan, but Carl opposes it. He doesn't trust the greedy Gekko. Father and son had a big fight and broke up in discord. The union members voted in favor of Gekko's plan, and Bud was ready for a big fight. Instead of going through Barnes' channel, he learned that Gekko had liquidated the company behind his back and would make a net profit of 740,000 pounds from the company's assets and pension funds. Bud broke into Gekko's office and asked him why he wanted to destroy Bluestar. Gekko admits that he only does stocks and real estate and will give Bud a lot of money. Although Bud promised to take Gekko's side, he was determined to save Bluestar. Diane didn't approve of his confrontation with Galen, so he drove her away. Bud took the trade union representatives to Videman, and as long as the latter promised to reorganize Bluestar, Bud could let him buy and merge at a low price, and at the same time severely retaliate against Gekko. After Videman agreed, Bud soon drove Blue Star's share price to 22 yuan. Gekko asked him to buy it, and he made a limit, which caused the stock price to fall to 16.50 yuan. Bud deliberately asked Gekko how to get there, and the closing ceremony was just around the corner. Gekko had no choice but to sell his shares at a low price, and Widman took the opportunity to take over. In an instant, Gekko lost millions and lost the controlling stake in Bluestar to his sworn enemy. ...
Budd was detained on suspicion of violating the insider trading prohibition law. Gekko took advantage of Bud's bail pending trial, recruited him to the empty lawn of Central Park and beat him up, recounting his benefits and his betrayal. After Bud left the park, he took out the secretly recorded tape and handed it to the SEC. Gekko's voice is clear and audible: "I will teach you how to trade stocks and get valuable information ... Frame Oil Company, Brandt Company ..."
Carl drove Bud to the Justice Building. He said that once he got out of prison, he would suggest to Videman that Bud should get a job at Blue Star.
Distinguish and appreciate
There are few films in Hollywood that directly focus on Wall Street stock trading and discuss the nature of capitalism. The most typical film is this one.
The director conveyed the message through Bud's experience and Gekko's words and deeds. Bud, who was born in a blue collar, didn't want to be poor, so he borrowed money to go to college, joined the stock industry, dreamed of "getting rich before the age of 30", stepped into the ranks of yuppies and married a working female mayor. There is nothing wrong with this book. Many young people in the lower classes dream of this American dream. However, Budd stumbled from the beginning and was doomed to failure. After repeated setbacks, he realized that only relying on tycoons and borrowing boats to go to sea was the shortest way to get rich. After repeated research, he aimed at Gekko, for which he prepared two hands. Gekko's trend analysis is not rare at all, so we have to shake out the inside story of Blue Star's go-around and don't want Gekko to specialize in it. This is illegal, and both sides know it. Gekko deliberately talked about TEDA stock to his face in order to drag him down. When he later verified that Bluestar's resumption was true, thinking that Bud had a way to get inside information, he tentatively appointed his agent to trade stocks and further tempted him with small favors and women. However, bud, who was still wet behind the ears, lost his first business. At the same time, Gekko also found that Budd predicted the ruling of Blue Star only because his father was a representative of the Blue Star Trade Union, not because of any special channels. He parted ways, and Bud expressed his willingness to work for him for fear of losing his hard-earned relationship. Gekko revealed the true meaning of using Budd: collecting inside information. Bud finally got into Gekko's thief boat, hit his opponent, collected ill-gotten gains, and at the same time got a piece of the action himself. Gekko gave his former lover Diane to him, which made him very happy. Bud is very proud of his wealth, skin color and dream field. After his luxury apartment with Diane, he walked out of the balcony and looked at the tall buildings in the distance and nearby. He is so unreal that he can't even believe himself: "What kind of person have I become!" " However, unlike Gekko, who just wants to make money, Budd wants to achieve something: he wants to bring back the Blue Star company that his father has worked hard for 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 deduct the pension. It was through insider channels that Bud woke up like a dream: he was also fooled. Although Gekko later promised to give him a large sum of money, his psychological balance has tended to the side of ethical affection. In order to pave the way for this choice, the director repeatedly emphasized the harmony between father and son in the film (Bud decided to revive Blue Star itself for his father), and this choice also meant that Bud would lose everything he had worked so hard for, which meant the disillusionment of his yuppie dream. Bud put all his eggs in one basket and broke Gekko's plot with Gekko-style means. He exposed "inside information" (such as sending false information to The Wall Street News), manipulated stock prices, teamed up with trade unions to fool Gekko and lobbied his arch-enemy Videman to buy Bluestar at a low price. After the wonderful stock game, Gekko, who became angry from embarrassment, vented his anger by punching: "Is the dog wagging its tail or wagging its tail?" Students should teach their teachers a lesson! The ice under your feet will soon melt, and I will beat you back to your original shape! "Director Si Tong's design of this scene is quite symbolic: Bud got up from the ground after being knocked down, wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth with a white handkerchief thrown by Gekko, and threw it back to Gekko, saying meaningfully:" I understand that I am just Bud Foss, and I wanted to be Gordon Gekko, but I will always be Bud Foss. "The white handkerchief wipes blood, and the stock market looks like a gentleman's game, but it is bloody as a battlefield. Contemporary Faust Budd signed a contract with contemporary Mephistopheles Gekko to sell his soul for money status. However, his conscience has not completely disappeared. Facing the choice of betraying his father, he finally woke up from his dream and turned his back. He no longer wants to be Gekko, but he will always be proud of being an upright Foss family member. After he is released from prison, he will follow in his father's footsteps and join the Blue Star Company, a symbol of fair competition in this film, to be an upright American.
The snake player was bitten by a snake. Bud used a tape recorder to obtain the evidence that Gekko violated the insider trading law and caught the fox's tail. However, it is not clear what happened to Gekko in the film. This plot chain is worth pondering, and directing such a well-structured film is its ingenuity. It is not difficult for the audience to imagine that Gekko's crafty old scoundrel can pay a huge sum of money to ask the smartest lawyer to defend him and even bribe witnesses. American law is full of contradictions. Gekko can get rid of it by stirring the lawyer's tongue like a spring, and the murderer can be acquitted. If the blue star loses nine Niu Yi hairs, it will be lost in the east corner and the mulberry will be harvested; Get rid of bud and find another one. Anyway, there are plenty of substitutes. As long as the rules remain unchanged, Gekko's money game can continue to play ... This open ending really leaves the audience with sufficient room for thinking.
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 of capitalist society. The rules of the game in stock competition, the tactics used by operators (many of which originated from Sun Tzu's Art of War), small moves and foul balls, and the resulting conflict of values are all reflected here. By dissecting Sparrow Blue Star Company, the film analyzes the respective operating procedures of economic entities and related stocks in capitalist society and the complicated relationship of mutual restriction, but the director's focus is to reveal the shady operation of the stock market. First of all, the director opposes long-term investment in stocks and short-term speculation. The former is represented by Widman, a British gentleman and great entrepreneur. He bought stocks mainly for business operation. Although he is cruel (such as layoffs, but this is an inevitable measure when operating at a loss), he also plays the sideline (such as buying Gekko's secretary), but the director basically holds a positive attitude towards this. The latter is typical of Gekko, who bluntly said "I only do stock and real estate business" and "I don't create wealth, but I have wealth". His career is limited to "playing money games", and he buys a lot of works of art not for artiness, but purely for hoarding, which leads to the same purpose as stock speculation. Secondly, directors are opposed to fair trading and insider trading of stocks. The former is represented by Budd's colleague and old agent Mannheim. The director didn't describe him much, but his speech was concise and full of moral power to persuade good and abstain from evil. He used to be the boss of a securities company, but because of "outdated thinking and methods", his equity was abandoned halfway and he had to stock on his behalf. He never crossed the line and advised Bud many times. When Bud told Bluestar that it was awesome and asked him to persuade customers to take over the offer, he asked where the news came from and disdainfully said that "money is the root of all evil". Before Bud was detained, others ignored him, only he said, "I admire you ... when you were on the verge of the abyss, if you could grasp yourself in an instant, you wouldn't fall in." The prototype of Mannheim was directed by oliver stone's father, Luis Si Tong (19 10- 1985). Louis of the old school is generous and works as a stockbroker on Wall Street. His thoughts have a great influence on Oliver. Oliver made this film, which shaped the image of Mannheim, not only commemorating his father, but also promoting his thoughts. The opposite of Mannheim is naturally Gekko, and the magic weapon of Gekko's prosperity is insider trading, that is, using various improper means to obtain first-hand information and making huge profits in the stock market through time difference (Gekko euphemistically calls it "a steady investment"). He made it clear to Budd that "the stock market is like a battlefield. If you don't engage in insider, you will be excluded." After finding out the inside story, he fanned the flames, called for rain, colluded and played with the stock price by virtue of his abundant financial resources and dense contacts. Budd's dual value to him is that he can be both a stock market spy and an operator who "dispatches" stock prices, so he deliberately "cultivates". The director ingeniously designed two typical insider trading in the film and showed the whole process in detail. One is Anaco stock, which is used by the director to analyze the secret of Gekko's prosperity and highlight his instigation to Budd; The second is blue star stock. Budd discovered Gekko's secret intention through an insider, so he dealt with Gekko as he deals with you, which stung Gekko severely. Insider trading in crooked ways is becoming the killer of the prodigal son, which is undoubtedly the most pungent irony for people like Gekko. Insider trading often means profiteering. Even if Gekko doesn't do it, there will be others to fill the vacancy, so it is difficult to set an example and there are many people who try their best. This has become a routine phenomenon and will accompany the stock market from beginning to end. The director had a clear understanding of this, so he didn't let Gekko fall to death, just let him fall and splash mud. As for how he will clean up, it is obvious that he will do the same thing again.
Violation of discipline in stock games is only a superficial phenomenon, and in a deeper sense, it should be caused by the influence of players' ethical values and social atmosphere. The purpose of directing this film and performing the plot is to show the conflict between the two values, and then reveal the operating law of capitalist society.
Gekko is undoubtedly a typical money worshipper. As an extreme egoist, he despises all rules and taboos (whether legal or moral). He is not only crazy about money and profit, but also has a set of high-sounding theories. When he admonished Budd privately, he said, "If you want to achieve something, you have to be ruthless by hook or by crook. If you need a friend, find a dog as a companion. Don't forget, this is a world of the jungle. " In the public occasion where hundreds of people attended the shareholders' meeting of TEDA Company, he expounded his philosophy of life passionately and won applause. This speech is extremely wonderful, which not only makes the finishing point for the shaping of Gekko's image, but also expresses the director's deep thinking on capitalist spiritual consciousness. It is really necessary to extract one or two here: "We must not be narcissistic, but must face the political and economic reality. The United States has become a second-class power with staggering trade and budget deficits. At the beginning, the spirit of the free market was to create profits for shareholders, and Carnegie and Mellon family founded the industrial empire on this basis, because they were the largest shareholders of the company. At present, the company's 34 directors and vice presidents hold less than 3% of the shares, with an annual salary of 200- 1 10,000. They use your money to eat steak, hunt and fish, and the company lost more than 1 billion last year. It seems that the survival law of American enterprises has become' survival of the fittest'. I think it should be the survival of the fittest ... greed is a good thing and correct. Greed achieves great things, and greed represents the true meaning of evolution. All forms of greed, whether in pursuit of a better life, or for money, love, and knowledge, are making mankind by going up one flight of stairs. " Gekko's greed declaration is really attractive. After the film was released, it has become a popular "famous saying" in American society. In Gekko's view, greed has simply become the driving force of human evolution and social development. Gekko's paradox is that he equates humans with jungle animals. His so-called "greed" should be understood as "the desire of a creative person" (as opposed to a destructive beast). This desire has created human civilization, and one of the basic laws of civilization is to live by yourself and let others live. Even capitalist civilization, which is driven by selfish desires, should set a boundary with various legal and moral precepts, that is, it should not harm the interests of others or "respect the basic human rights of others." Greed is an extremely inflated and unrestrained selfish desire, which harms others and benefits others, even in capitalist society. Gekko has the skin of a civilized man, and there is only primitive animal instinct in his bones. In order to deny Gekko's greed, besides Mannheim, the director also established a positive image-Karl. As a blue-collar technician who is enthusiastic about trade union work, Carl hates evil and never believes that Gekko will do good. He often teaches Bud how to be a man. Bud finally lost his way, and Carl's influence played a big role. It is worth mentioning that the two moral carriers are the older generation, which is not accidental, but has profound social reasons. Before 1950s, America was always a society controlled by traditional morality. Since the 1960s, western society has been in great turmoil, and anti-system and anti-tradition prevailed for a while. Negation of negation, in the 1980s, neoconservatism rose in American society, and traditional morality and family values were re-emphasized. The moral reorganization of this film is a manifestation of this trend of thought, and the emphasis on returning to tradition is on the elderly. The fashion of young people has changed from hippies to yuppies. Budd was confused when he climbed to the yuppie, and was forbidden, so he needed redemption and regulated his behavior. After declaring evil, the film must make a moral response. However, the director did not forget the reality when revealing the moral dynamics of mainstream movies, so he blurred Gekko's ending to show that the foul must be punished, but the cruel game will continue. In this way, the director not only maintains justice, but also does not get divorced from reality.
In order to highlight the cruelty of the stock market, Si Tong mobilized many creative means to show it. For example, he used many hand-held cameras to shoot real scenes, many of which were very dynamic and realistic, with the vitality of a beast. Another example is the close-up of the huge fluorescent screen on the wall of the trading hall. Rows of fast-moving numbers rush at you, which is dizzying and leaves you quickly. This is not only like a tempting prey passing by you, but also like a beast with a big mouth, trying to kill you. The jungle principle of natural selection is obvious here. Si Tong has been included in the row upon row of skyscrapers in new york for many times, and it looks like an urban jungle with gloomy visual lens. The last scene of the whole film is the middle shot of Bud walking up the stone steps of Justice Building. The camera immediately used a large zoom lens to expand the field of vision into a grand field of vision including the whole building, and then the camera slowly shook to the skyscrapers in Manhattan. The montage in this shot is meaningful. Si Tong shows that even the urban jungle can't * * * cross-flow, human nature will control * *, and civilization will overwhelm barbarism.