'Wall Street' Released

Oliver Stone's "Wall Street" becomes synonymous with 80's financial excess. It is a radical critique of the capitalist trading mentality. Michael Douglas won an Oscar as Gordon Gekko "Greed is Good" for a character said to have been modeled on Ivan Boesky.

The movie argues that most small investors are dupes, and that the big market killings are made by men such as Gordon Gekko, who swoop in and snap whole companies out from under the noses of their stockholders. What the Gekkos do is immoral and illegal, but they use a little litany to excuse themselves: "Nobody gets hurt." "Everybody's doing it." "There's something in this deal for everybody". Although Gekko's law-breaking would of course be opposed by most people on Wall Street, his larger value system would be applauded. The trick is to make vast quantities of money without breaking the law.