WALL STREET - 20th Anniversary Edition

Most likely everyone here has seen this Oliver Stone classic, that he did right after Platoon. Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen both give career topping performances and it will probably always be watched for it’s time-capsule look at the ‘80s. I hadn’t seen the film since the ‘80s so it was fun in watch in that I barely remembered it.

The movie works on a new level since the sub-prime mortgage scams lead to our current recession. Greed is obviously not good when it runs amok unchecked. It would be interesting for someone who was born after that period to watch the film, especially when they showcase so many item of wealth from 1987. I remember the first time I saw it... more than one computer on a desk was absurd. So was walking down a beach with a phone! How?! My God, the money! I don’t think someone who grew up with cell phones could appreciate it.

Now the part that this review is really about: the blu-ray. What a total piece of shit. If you have the DVD, just keep that. There is no reason to buy this. For a film that is so famous you would think they would find a good print and clean it up a bit. But no. They took a print that has obviously been through a projector a few times and didn’t remove a single piece of dirt, save for perhaps using an inefficient automated cleaning process. It actually really got on my nerves watching it. I have to wonder also, if the movie was shot like shit or it’s the transfer, because it doesn’t look good. It looks like a Clint Eastwood movie from the ‘80s, i.e. it’s dark as though shot with ambient or one light setups. B-movies have gotten better DVD treatment than this. Maybe someday they will pay an intern to clean this thing up, but for now this is the best way to watch it.

The movie gets 4/5, but the blu-ray gets a 1/5.