Wall Street appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though it reflected the nature of the source product, the image was quite satisfying.
Sharpness was a bit erratic but usually solid. Some mild softness occasionally affected wide shots, but the majority of the flick demonstrated solid clarity and accuracy. I noticed no jagged edges or shimmering, and edge enhancement seemed to be absent. Source flaws were absent, and I didn’t sense any intrusive digital noise reduction, as the film presented a natural layer of grain.
Street often presented a rather brownish look. Within those constraints, the colors worked fine; they tended to be bland but they matched the original design. Black levels were decent, though, and shadows tended to be reasonably clear. Neither of those elements excelled, but they didn’t cause concerns. This will never be a demo film, but the Blu-ray displayed it in an accurate manner.
As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it remained oriented toward the front spectrum. The forward channels displayed acceptable spread from music and some effects and the audio blended together fairly well. However, it wasn’t an active environment and it presented a pretty restricted image through most of the film.
Surround usage seemed modest, with only mild music coming from the back during most of the movie. On some occasions, reinforcement of effects appeared from the rears, and during Gekko’s speech to some shareholders, I found that the audio offered a nicely appropriate echo. However, throughout the majority of the movie, the rear speakers seemed uninvolved.
Audio quality was decent but fairly bland. Dialogue sounded mildly thin and reedy. However, the speech usually came across as distinct and easily intelligible with no signs of edginess. Effects were clean and decently realistic but they lacked much clarity or force. Music was similarly smooth but without great dynamics; the soundtrack offered modest low end but did not stand out in any way. As a whole, the mix was roughly average; it offered a listenable but uninvolving experience.
How did this Blu-ray compare to those of the 20th Anniversary DVD from 2007? Audio remained lackluster due to the source; the Blu-ray had a little more richness but not a lot. On the other hand, picture showed more obvious improvements, as the Blu-ray was cleaner and clearer than the DVD.
The Blu-ray duplicates all of the last DVD’s extras except for a brief/pointless director’s introduction. First up is a running audio commentary from director Oliver Stone. Although the track features more gaps than I’d like, as a whole Stone offers a nice chat. I can’t call it genuinely “screen specific”; while Stone sometimes refers to the action currently shown in the movie, that doesn’t happen frequently.
Instead, Stone provides many compelling remarks about the production and his life and career in general. He discusses his relationship with his father and how it shows up on screen, casting and working with the actors, story points, and a mix of other topics. Stone seems very forthright and honest and he never appears to shy away from blunt details, which means that we learn some strong information. It’s a good track.
15 Deleted Scenes run a total of 22 minutes, 38 seconds. Though nothing scintillating appears here, we find some interesting moments. There’s a deleted client of Bud’s named Dixon who’s played by Penn Jillette, and we also get a better sense for Bud’s rise at his office. We see Marv get on his nerves in a grander fashion, and we watch him get shot down by Darien before he becomes a player.
A number of outtakes pop up as well. We see multiple takes of Stone as he tries to accomplish his only scene, and we also check out some extra takes of Douglas in some scenes. Again, none of these pieces will stand out as really impressive, but we get some interesting bits that flesh out various elements.
We can view these clips with or without commentary from Stone. He gives us some background for the scenes and also lets us know why he cut them. As usual, Stone proves entertaining and informative.
Next is Money Never Sleeps, a fine 47-minute and 38-second documentary from Charles Kiselyak about the film. This program features a smattering of movie clips and a few shots from the set along with interviews. We get comments from Stone and actors Michael Douglas, Martin Sheen, and Charlie Sheen. The show looks at the film’s influences, origins and development. From there it digs into shooting in NYC, cast, characters and performances and sets.
“Sleeps” offers an honest and compelling look at the creation of Wall Street and it provided a very entertaining experience. All of the participants offer their frank thoughts about the shoot and I thought it was a fun piece, especially when Martin Sheen discusses his attempts to deviate from Stone’s script. “Sleeps” doesn’t cover all facets of the production, as it devotes most of its time to acting, story and characters, but it does so in such a fine manner that I don’t miss the broader side of the tale. One thing’s for sure: you’ll never again be able to maintain a straight face when you hear the name “Bud Fox”.
After this we get a documentary called Greed Is Good. The 56-minute and 36-second show mixes movie clips, archival elements and interviews. We hear from Stone, Charlie Sheen, Douglas, VDM vice chairman Robert Fagenson, brokers Thomas Samuelson, Doreen Mogavero, Michael Rutigliano, Joseph Zicherman and Jay Spindel, Circle T Family of Funds’ Seth Tobias, Schottenfield Associates CEO Richard Schottenfield, Onex Corporation CEO Gerald Schwartz, screenwriter Stanley Weiser, Hawkeye Capital Management president Richard Rubin, and actors Hal Holbrook and John McGinley. The program covers the movie’s inspirations and thoughts about the investment scene, research and accuracy, character elements and the depiction of the era, and the film’s legacy.
“Greed” splits between facts about Wall Street and thoughts about Wall Street. This makes it somewhat unsatisfying. It doesn’t act as a proper movie documentary, and it remains superficial when it looks at the business side of things. It’s a decent show but not one I consider to be memorable.
The disc ends with Fox Movie Channel Presents Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman. In this 12-minute, 20-second piece, Fox Filmed Entertainment CEO discusses Wall Street, with an emphasis on the Gordon Gekko character. This is a promo piece that doesn’t offer much depth, so don’t expect much from it.
Finally, the package includes a 28-page Booklet. It offers some production notes as well as cast/crew biographies. DVD/Blu-ray booklets are a dying breed, so it’s nice to find one here – especially when the booklet is as high-quality as this one.
Wall Street finds Oliver Stone repeating himself to a degree as he created a companion piece to Platoon. However, while Street lacks much originality, it presents a generally interesting and entertaining view of the self-centered world of Eighties high finance. The Blu-ray provides pretty good picture, acceptable audio and a nice roster of bonus materials. With this Blu-ray, we get a strong representation of a now-iconic film.
To rate this film visit the 20th Anniversary Edition review of WALL STREET
