The financial crisis has brought with it the success of films inspired by the great financial challenges of the stock market. A world in which success and downfall are at a walking distance, courage, excitement and unpredictability are sometimes friends, sometimes enemies. However, the success of directors who have brought The Wolf of Wall Street is undeniable. We have prepared a selection of films that illustrate this fascinating world, full of vices. Here are ten films about Wall Street.
1. Wall Street (1987)
The film has in its center Gekko (Michael Douglas), a famous broker and stock gambler on Wall Street, where trading addiction is stronger than the motivation of financial gain. The central theme of the movie is summed up by the question “How much is enough?”, “addressed to Gekko by one of his employees who had heard about his dirty business. An excellent movie about the balance between risk taking and capital owned, worth seeing by anyone who is passionate about financial stories.
2. Inside Job (2010)
The poster is well suited to illustrate the intelligent investment earnings on the stock and the film itself is a documentary about the American market very well built around the argument that it would help scam investors in the stock market. With seemingly plausible and credible evidence, Inside Job provides an analysis of the financial crisis started in 2008.
3. Too Big to Fail (2011)
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name written by a journalist from New York Times Andrew Ross Sorkin, the TV drama Too Big to Fail aims to identify the causes that have generated the great financial crisis on Wall Street in 2008 and, therefore, the economic crisis that included both North America and Europe and whose effects are felt worldwide.
4. The Deal (2005)
The action thriller is set in a not too distant future when, due to the turbulent political situation in the Middle East, the price of gasoline in the United States exceeded six dollars. Tom Grover, an ambitious businessman on Wall Street, is required to mediate a deal after the initially designated negotiator is killed mysteriously. The deal, involving 20 billion refers to the sale of huge quantities of Russian oil by the company managed by Black Star to the American corporation represented by Tom Grover.
5. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is a story about money made and people who would do anything to penetrate into the most exclusive club of wealth and power. At the same time, it tells the story of a man’s desperate attempts to reconnect with his daughter.
6. Arbitrage (2012)
The two golden rules that need to be known by any investor in the stock are the importance of transparency and willingness to cooperate with authorities. In Arbitrage, Robert Miller (Richard Gere) is involved in a fraud of millions of dollars and he is not concerned at all with the two rules mentioned above. Miller makes desperate attempts to sell shares before authorities find out, but NYPD Detective Michael Bryer begins research around the tycoon. Not willing to cooperate with the authorities, Miller sinks deeper into financial and legal difficulties. It is a film that shows another side of trades on the stock exchange where the financial risks are the first step towards decay.
7. Margin Call (2011)
Margin Call is a thriller about the key players in an investment firm during the 24 hours of the start of the global financial crisis in 2008. When junior analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) gets his hands on information leading to the fall of the company, it starts an avalanche that will bring to the edge those involved. Margin Call is an exploration of the human component of a subject too often seen only in black and white, a gritty and authentic portrait of the financial industry and the people inside who make decisions that change our global future.
8. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
One of the most moving stories of the last decade of cinema, the film proves that trades on the stock, no matter how complicated they seem at first glance, can be learnt with a lot of determination and courage. Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a man who starts from the bottom and works his way to financial security.
9. The Associate (1996)
Whoopi Goldberg is in this delicious comedy of manners from Wall Street and the human error in general. The restless black actress plays Laurel, an ambitious woman wanting to thrive in the business world, but collides with prejudices. Although she is very good in her job as a financial analyst, her bosses always jump her when it comes to promotions. Pissed, Laurel wants to fight the world of men and demonstrates that a black woman can be successful in business.
10. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
We conclude the list of recommendations with one of the most anticipated movies of the beginning of the year and one of the favorites of movie critics: Wolf of Wall Street. Based on Jordan Belfort’s autobiographical novel, the film tells the story of a broker who became rich at a very young age with financial speculation. But the young tycoon is placed in a position to give up his business in exchange for freedom.
A shocking and cynical film, but masterfully done, about financial temptations and about the feeling of invincibility that brings great fortunes.
Have you seen any of these movies?
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