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The Rewatchables ·

Wall Street

year 1987decade 80sdirector Oliver Stonegenre Crimegenre Drama
host Bill Simmonshost Brian Koppelman
All 17 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 39:38

Bud's first five-minute meeting with Gecko

Brian Koppelman: Marty Sheen's first scene with Charlie, with the spaghetti and "money is something you only need in case you don't die tomorrow", is flagged as important; real-life father and son add an extra layer.

Brian Koppelman: Gecko's first scene when Bud finally gets in is praised: "you're the kid who called me 59 days in a row", a scene said to run exactly five minutes, the staging, the Terminator coming in and out, and the blood-pressure line; "to me, that's the scene."

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie · 59:28

"You're smart enough not to buy into the oldest myth running: love"

Nominees include "I don't bet on darts on the board, I bet on sure things", the funeral-parlor line, "every orifice in his body flowing red", "If you're not inside, you're outside" and "Money never sleeps, pal."

The film

Wall Street (1987)

Directed by Oliver Stone · Crime

126 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Michael Douglas Gordon Gekko
Charlie Sheen Bud Fox
Daryl Hannah Darien Taylor
Martin Sheen Carl Fox
Terence Stamp Sir Larry Wildman
Hal Holbrook Lou Mannheim
Sean Young Kate Gekko
James Spader Roger Barnes
Saul Rubinek Harold Salt
James Karen Harry Lynch
Josh Mostel Ollie
Sylvia Miles Dolores the Realtor
Paul Guilfoyle Stone Livingstone

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

39:38

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bud's first five-minute meeting with Gecko

Bud's first five-minute meeting with Gecko

In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:39:38Read transcript
  • Marty Sheen's first scene with Charlie, with the spaghetti and "money is something you only need in case you don't die tomorrow", is flagged as important; real-life father and son add an extra layer. — Brian Koppelman
  • Gecko's first scene when Bud finally gets in is praised: "you're the kid who called me 59 days in a row", a scene said to run exactly five minutes, the staging, the Terminator coming in and out, and the blood-pressure line; "to me, that's the scene." — Brian Koppelman
  • The limo pep talk ends on an indelible knock on the window and "you got me"; its $400,000-a-year speech sent more douchebags to business school than anything, telling a generation that flying first class made you a sucker. — Brian Koppelman
  • In research, Sheen, Douglas and Stone all say people told them for years that the movie was why they became brokers or went to business school. — Brian Koppelman
  • The Anacott Steel montage takes off with music, calls and a director cameo. — Brian Koppelman
  • Gecko versus Sir Larry, with the "sell your mother" insult and the "since you brought my mother into it" negotiation, leads to the Hampton's beach call with the giant cell phone; Terence Stamp is a casting coup who can dominate Douglas, and the scene has Billions DNA. — Brian Koppelman
  • Bud's apartment montage with the Talking Heads, homemade sushi and a smoking jacket is a winner; a friend named Tom bought the sushi machine on eBay and it still works. — Brian Koppelman
  • The greed-is-good speech at Teldar is iconic but a little underwhelming on rewatch, with some weird edits; the clip is played. — Brian Koppelman
  • The Martin Sheen and Gecko union meeting, with the pharaoh prophecy and the elevator fight, feels like Charlie and Marty working out real stuff; Gecko dropping sushi through the table is a hilarious touch. — Brian Koppelman
  • Sheen confronting Gecko ("How many yachts can you water ski behind?", "I create nothing. I own.") is a hard scene that Stone wrote the shit out of. — Brian Koppelman
  • Other scenes: the Blue Star carve-up meeting with Spader and the shortest-tenure joke, the Blue Star stock roller coaster, and the final wire scene. — Brian Koppelman
  • The union meeting and elevator fight is a channel-flip favorite, but what brings you back over and over is the scene when Gecko meets Bud. — Brian Koppelman
  • Spader's first scene adds the improvised "What's in it for Wa?", and the whole opening, meeting Marv and the $100, is a high degree of difficulty. — Brian Koppelman
  • "I think you're right. I'm switching to your choice. First five minutes" follows the other voice calling the Gecko-Bud meeting "the scene" and "the five minutes" (100, 139) after the opening was offered as "the other scene", so the switch lands on the five-minute Gecko meeting.
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1:00:47

What’s Aged the Best?

Terence Stamp; real-life father and son; Blue Horseshoe system; Gecko's art and rifle collection; private jet scene; ...

Terence Stamp; real-life father and son; Blue Horseshoe system; Gecko's art and rifle collection; private jet scene; Spader; Fly Me to the Moon; Holbrook's lines

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:47Read transcript
  • Sushi has aged incredibly well, but it is flipped: sushi as an exotic thing you have to smell has aged the worst. — Brian Koppelman
  • Cigarettes are called aged-worst in this segment, yet the smoking everywhere is later called tremendous. — Brian Koppelman
  • Real-life family members playing family members, and the quote about someday being on the other end of that phone call as the point of the movie. — Brian Koppelman
  • The Blue Horseshoe system is solid, and "Blue Horseshoe loves" some companies has been said in one of the seasons of a later show. — Brian Koppelman
  • Sheen getting the first Gecko call and Gecko's underrated art and rifle collection. — Brian Koppelman
  • The "Mr. Cocksucker" one-liner and one of the first private jet scenes ever. — Brian Koppelman
  • Holbrook as the wet blanket, and Spader in the role he'd play 27 more times. — Brian Koppelman
  • Fly Me to the Moon as the theme song, the "minute I laid eyes on you" callback and the guy's cane. — Brian Koppelman
  • Holbrook's lines work as senior yearbook quotes; the character was modeled on Stone's father Lou. — Brian Koppelman
  • Sheen's last tip to create instead of living off buying and selling; a lot of the movie has aged the best, maybe not the cocaine. — Brian Koppelman
  • Gecko's future black-sheep son, whom the sequel reveals overdosed. — Brian Koppelman
  • The number-one picks are Terrence Stamp, who seems so modern, and the real-life father and son. — Brian Koppelman
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1:05:22

What’s Aged the Worst?

Darien character; looped beach-scene dialogue; Dave Winfield reference; handheld TV and giant cell phone; cheesy unio...

Darien character; looped beach-scene dialogue; Dave Winfield reference; handheld TV and giant cell phone; cheesy union rep; the sequel

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:22Read transcript
  • The beach scene where Daryl Hannah's voice was looped is rough, including her wish for a Turner, a perfect canary diamond and world peace. — Brian Koppelman
  • Daryl Hannah is called miscast and bad; the counterpoint is that it's always the writing, citing the Laura Ashley furniture line. — Brian Koppelman
  • In the research, Hannah and Stone didn't get along and Sean Young told Stone in front of her that she should play the part; in Premiere, Stone admitted being tough with her and making her cry, which would not have aged well in 2020. — Brian Koppelman
  • Old-school directors slapped actresses to get performances, recalling a Belushi sketch; Hoffman slapping Merrill Streep on Kramer versus Kramer is cited as a big deal she still held a grudge about decades later. — Brian Koppelman
  • Conclusion: the character aged the worst because it is not a good character. — Brian Koppelman
  • The Dave Winfield reference, Gecko's two-inch handheld TV and his gigantic cell phone, apparently the first in a movie, narrowly ahead of Sir Larry's on the yacht. — Brian Koppelman
  • A Twitter question about who carried out Darian's furniture plan gets Shabby Sheik as the answer. — Brian Koppelman
  • Blue Star's lead union rep is cheesy, out of a Fantasy Island episode, while the flight attendants' rep is good. — Brian Koppelman
  • The sequel was a little better on rewatch but still not great; the wish is that Wall Street existed without it, though Shia LaBuff is good. — Brian Koppelman
  • Indoor smoking is proposed as aged-worst but the other host is pro indoor smoking; Gecko lighting a cigar inside took one host out of it. — Brian Koppelman
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1:18:18

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Franklin Cover

Franklin Cover

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:18Read transcript
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1:19:20

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Charlie Sheen in the Bud Darien breakup scene; Sylvia Miles as the real estate agent

Charlie Sheen in the Bud Darien breakup scene; Sylvia Miles as the real estate agent

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:20Read transcript
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1:19:41

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Terence Stamp

Terence Stamp

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:41Read transcript
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1:27:19

Apex Mountain

Michael Douglas; Oliver Stone; goofy movie robots; steak tartar; squash

Michael Douglas; Oliver Stone; goofy movie robots; steak tartar; squash

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:19Read transcript
  • Michael Douglas is at Apex with this or Fatal Attraction, becoming the biggest male star in the world. — Brian Koppelman
  • Oliver Stone is at Apex here after Platoon, letting him make any movie, leading to JFK, which is called his best movie. — Brian Koppelman
  • Charlie Sheen's Apex is argued to be the Two and a Half Men TV run or Platoon as an artist, not this movie; he was in a death match with Cruise for roles. — Brian Koppelman
  • Sean Young's Apex is No Way Out rather than this; Darrell Hanna could be argued for Roxanne. — Brian Koppelman
  • Wall Street itself is called an evergreen with no Apex; cocaine and limos are only maybe at the apex, and the Talking Heads peak is Stop Making Sense. — Brian Koppelman
  • Goofy movie robots are the favorite, a step crazier than Rocky 4, with Paul Guilfoyle playing with the robot. — Brian Koppelman
  • Early stealth Hamptons is raised; steak tartar is called at its high point, and squash is a call that is liked. — Brian Koppelman
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1:34:22

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Could work for Showtime; arguably already done

Could work for Showtime; arguably already done

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:22Read transcript
  • Technically it has already happened with "your show", and it could work for Showtime. — Brian Koppelman
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1:37:25

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Walking stick; giant cell phone; Hamptons house

Walking stick; giant cell phone; Hamptons house

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:25Read transcript
  • The sushi machine would be incredible because memorabilia you can use is perfect, but the walking stick is taken, to say "stop the chin wagon" during dialogue talks with Levine. — Brian Koppelman
  • The runner-up is the blue skull painting in Bud's apartment, one of the Julian Schnabel paintings. — Brian Koppelman
  • The number one choice is the giant Hamptons cell phone, then the Hamptons house itself, worth maybe $60 million now. — Brian Koppelman
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1:38:46

Who Won the Movie?

Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:46Read transcript
  • Michael Douglas is the answer, and the reply is "I think you're right." — Brian Koppelman
  • A case is made for Oliver Stone: Platoon and Wall Street back to back, a movie that became a true piece of pop culture, and a peak he never reached again. — Brian Koppelman
  • It stays Douglas because this and Fatal Attraction made him the biggest star in the world, with a character that stood for a period of America. — Brian Koppelman
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