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Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps - Collector's Edition
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan Stevenson (28th March 2011). |
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The Film
 Looking over the reviews of “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” that were written during the film’s theatrical release – something I rarely do before jotting down my own thoughts, but believed a must in this one instance when I saw the decidedly tepid Tomato-Meter rating (which sparked my curiosity) – it seems few people really wanted a sequel to Oliver Stone’s satire on 80's excess and business economics, “Wall Street” (1987). The handful of people who did… well, from what I gather, most of them wanted a remake of the first film, basically. Stone’s follow up to “Wall Street” is neither the remake some wished for, nor is it the downright unnecessary film that others claim it to be. In fact, I think it’s a pretty solid film that received a lot of unjust criticism. It’s not the brilliant bit of filmmaking that it could have been, and Stone has certainly made better films in the past, but “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” (which takes its name from a line of dialogue in the first film) is far from terrible, at times wildly entertaining, and even a little moving. Set on the cusp of the global economic meltdown in 2008, Stone could have easily made “Money Never Sleeps” the sort of scathing finger-pointer that held nothing back and placed the blame where it belongs; on the bankers, speculators and idiots who had three cars and two mortgage payments even though they could barely afford the one. Stone could have done that, and it might have been a good film if he had – I honestly don’t know. It most certainly would have been the film that I think a many people wanted, much like how audiences and critics wanted “W.” (2008) to be more politicized like “Nixon” (1995), or “World Trade Center” (2006) to be a full-on dose of conspiracy theory nuttery like “JFK” (1991). You know… something controversial. The type of button-pushing movie that most people expect “crazy liberal” Stone to make and wish he’d return to making again. The thing is Oliver Stone of the new millennium is a different filmmaker than he was in the eighties – when he was giving us extremely personal and well-done works like “Platoon” (1986) or “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989) – and the nineties, when he was arguably at his most consistently prolific – the aforementioned “JFK” and “Nixon”, and “Natural Born Killers” (1994). Today, Stone is less reactionary, less argumentative, and dare I say generally more considerate of the topics he discusses, providing an evenhanded (for Stone anyway) approach that is truly unlike his earlier work. Take for instance “W.”, the director’s look at George W. Bush which was quite surprising if only for the fact that it actually humanized a man whom many would expect Stone to rip apart. It’s a great picture – if, like “Money Never Sleeps”, undoubtedly far from his best work – because it jettisons the grimy politics for a more personal, soulful story about a man who’s fallible but not the monster many make him out to be (and Josh Brolin, who also appears in the new “Wall Street” as the film’s heavy Bretton James, gave an exceptional performance as G-Dub anchoring the film like the pro he his). “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is a similar film; more character oriented, Stone seems entirely disinterested in the financial f**k ups of this country and the dolts on Wall Street. Sure, the stock market crash, government sponsored bailouts, and “Mad Money” montages are all there, but put on the backburner (he even touches on the housing crisis via a Susan Sarandon cameo, where she plays the protagonists realtor mother). Stone turns his attention instead to the tale of a broken man – the once scheming shark with a slicked back hairdo and suspenders named Gordon Gekko – as he seeks redemption. Michael Douglas reprises his role of Gordon Gekko and is every bit as good as you’d expect. His take on the character is a bit different than it was 22 years ago in the original, but it works; he’s older, wiser, and fractured. A mere shell of the man he once was. The film opens in 2001 with Gekko being released from prison, where he was serving time for insider trading (SPOILER ALERT: Gekko was caught and charged at the end of the first film by the SEC after Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) wore a wire in a sting operation). Gekko is met by no one outside the gates and holds no possessions other than a two thousand dollar check and a brick-of-a-cell-phone (80's all the way!). Flash-forward seven years; Gekko is peddling his new book “Is Greed Good?” on the talk show and lecture circuit. He spends his days espousing moderation and talking of the dangers of stock speculation and the sort of things he used to do two decades previous. Gekko’s a changed man – perhaps a bit of a stand-in for Stone who’s changed too – and his story is by far the most interesting thing here. Of course, as was the case with the first film, Gekko isn’t the main focus. No, that would be Jake Moore (a surprisingly capable, if ultimately miscast Shia LaBeouf). A significant amount of screen time is concerned with Moore’s story, and is spent on three things: the young financial guru’s interest in an upstart green energy firm for which he tries to find investors, his relationship with boss and father figure Louis Zabel (the always fascinating Frank Langella), and Moore’s dating of Gekko’s only daughter, Winne (Carey Mulligan giving it her all in a small, thankless role). At first things seem to be pretty great for the young banker: the green energy firm is just about to make a big breakthrough in clean Fusion, the aging Zabel just gave him a check totaling a million-and-change for being such a good boy, and Moore’s seriously considering popping the question to Winnie. But things turn south for the 20-something Moore when a competitor, named Bretton James (Josh Brolin), and his shady backdoor dealings ruin Keller-Zabel, the film’s Lehman Brothers-esque company run by Jake’s mentor. Amidst the financial fallout of James’ actions, Zabel commits suicide by jumping in front of a train. Jake wants revenge for James’ betrayal and turns to Gekko, whom he recently met at a lecture, to get it. The two scheme and deal – with Gekko bargaining for a dinner date with his estranged daughter – and eventually a plan is set in motion that will allow Moore to take down baddie Bretton James. Now, the thriller-oriented aspects of the story, the rise and fall of Moore amongst the ranks at James’ financial firm, and the generally interesting dynamic between the young man and the old (the narrative-middle is concerned with Moore being “seduced by success” at the hands of both Gekko and James) is all well and good. The film positively flies by – even with a runtime north of two-hours – because the overarching plot is both captivating and satisfyingly twisty-turn-y. The characters are well acted, complexly layered as written and the dialogue they deliver is easy on the ears. The direction and cinematography is slick and the visuals are tack-sharp with a ton of CG trickery (a labored crane shot tracks up fifty-some floors of a building and then effortlessly passes through a plate-glass window) all to give us the sort of modern experience movie audiences expect. But the film is more than just the sum of its superficialities – shooting for something beyond the façade of the blockbuster filmmaking. The “Wall Street” sequel isn’t just a really entertaining ride; Stone actually works at something more poignant and that’s why the film is better than I think a lot give it credit for. At its core, “Money Never Sleeps” is more about Gekko’s redemption and rebirth. Stone’s really working out a dialogue on the importance of family over material wealth and the mortality of man in the 2 hours and 12 minutes that he has your attention. So while “Sleeps” seems pretty flat on the surface, it’s not. Not in my opinion anyway. The end of the film is a bit sentimental and sweet, but it works better in the current social and economic context than a downbeat ending would have. I’d say that in these dreary, depressing times I like the hopefulness that Stone weaves in; escapism works better. Had he taken the opposite approach and left off with a cynical and satirical finale, viewers might have wanted to step in front of that train like Louis Zabel. I’m glad that instead, I just smiled and sang along with the Talking Heads tune that played over the final shots as the credits rolled. “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is easily recommended.
Video
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” features a positively impeccable 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 high definition transfer spread across a dual-layered BD-50 with an advertised bitrate of 21 Mbps. The film’s original 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio is preserved by letterboxing on the top and bottom of the frame. The original “Wall Street” (1987) – shot by the incredible Robert Richardson – had a definite 80's-ness to it. Soft, grainy, sort-of-ugly (and it looks none-to-good on Blu-ray, I must say), yet stylish and unique with its multi-split-screen editing and slick amber-or-blue tinted photography, the original film is a product of its time. (In short; cool but dated.) The sequel, “Money Never Sleeps’ is also a product of its time. That’s to say; a more technologically mature time in the industry where everything is edited and color corrected via a 2K DI (digital intermediate), full of CG trickery and spotless, tack-sharp images. Shot on 35mm film, but otherwise a completely digital product, this high definition transfer retains a wonderfully filmic texture with fine grain and naturally sharp detail. Typical of a top-rate transfer from 20th Century Fox, unnecessary tools like digital noise reduction and edge enhancement are a non-issue. Likewise, banding, aliasing, artifacting and other anomalies (including any specks, dirt, and debris) are completely absent. Facial detail is incredibly revealing – perhaps more so than the craggy-faced Douglas or ninety-six-year-old Eli Wallach may wish – and fabric intricacies in the many designer suits equally rewarding. Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto’s naturalistic palate provides accurate, dense colors, supple contrast, deep blacks, and ample views of the meticulous New York skyline (thankfully free of moiré artifacts, which isn’t always the case with even the best encodes these days). In all “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” has a wonderful look that’s accurately replicated in high definition; and while I hesitate to say that the transfer is “reference” it’s certainly close.
Audio
The default English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix isn’t as showy as the high-def video, but the audio rates just fine all the same. More of a personal drama than a straight-up modern-day financial-thriller “Money Never Sleeps” is restrained rather than outright bombastic… but it’s still impressive. The busy bustle of New York City streets and the frenetic antics of the trading floor are funneled nicely to the rears, dialog is crisp and precise, and – though rarely engaged – LFE is powerful and resonant when in play. Also technically sound is the score, which sees a nice bump in clarity via its lossless delivery. Gone are the syth-y themes of Stewart Copeland (who scored the first film), replaced with a less memorable arrangement by composer/classical conductor Craig Armstrong. Talking Heads front man David Byrne – and frequent-collaborator Brian Eno – wrote near a dozen new songs for the film that demand far more attention than Armstrong’s score. Byrne’s signature “This Must be the Place” (by Talking Heads, and used prominently in the original film) is even tacked on at the opportune moment during the epilogue segueing into the end credits – a sublime choice by Stone. Truthfully, only a few of Byrne and Eno’s new pieces are really any good (“Home” and “Life is Long” are both solidly ear-worm-y; “Strange Overtones” works well in context) but I think the contrast of 80's – or 80's-influenced – music featured so explicitly in the soundtrack works in nice juxtaposition to the entirely modern visual aesthetic. Dolby Digital 5.1 dubs are provided in French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Available subtitles include English, English for the hearing impaired, Cantonese, Traditional Chinese, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
Extras
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” arrives as a 2-Disc Collector’s Edition with a sizable – if not exactly towering – assortment of worthwhile extras. Oliver Stone helms a terrific solo audio commentary, while he and the cast appear in a fifteen-minute featurette; the rest of the production crew join in via an engrossing five-part documentary. A large collection of deleted and extended scenes (all with optional commentary from the director), further “In Character with…” featurettes with the cast, and the film's theatrical trailers are also included. The Blu-ray disc also contains exclusive BD-LIVE content, and an array of bonus trailers and promos. The second disc contains a digital copy of the film for iTunes and WMV compatible devices. Befitting a new release, a majority of the supplementary content is presented in 1080i/p high definition; resolution noted where applicable. For the record Fox has outfit this disc with their standard bookmarks and resume-play function. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY First up is an audio commentary with Oliver Stone. Informative, provocative, and entirely listenable, the director’s insights into the practical aspects of filmmaking – as well as the more controversial topics of capitalism, American economics and modern Hollywood – are a pleasure and add considerable value of this Blu-ray. The director discusses themes, his characters, why he came back to the well 22 years later, the state of big-budget moviemaking, his surprise (and even disgust) at the success of the original film, and much, much more. Really, a great director’s commentary… but, then again, this is Olly Stone were talking about, so that’s sort of expected. Next, we also find an interesting featurette dubbed “A Conversation with Oliver Stone and the Cast of ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps’” (1080p, 15 minutes 49 seconds). This roundtable – recorded shortly after the completion of principal photography on November 22, 2009 – has Stone guiding a discussion with actors Michael Douglas, Carey Mulligan, Shia LaBeouf and Josh Brolin. There’s talk of Stone’s father, coming back to the world of “Wall Street” after 22 years, the original film, the current economic climate, and so on. Despite some repetition with Stone’s commentary this featurette proves to be a lively discussion on the film and its predecessor from the cast perspective. The commentary and above featurette are shared with the DVD release of the film. All other extras (discussed below) are exclusive to the Blu-ray format. “Money, Money, Money: The Rise and Fall of Wall Street” (1080p, 50 minutes 29 seconds) is an engrossing making of documentary (and educational experience); a five-part look through the legacy of the first film, the real-life economic implosion in 2008, the new sequel, and more is an absolute must watch. The first few chapters are a bit fluffy and overlap with some of the other material on this disc, but the latter-half of this docu is really great stuff. In “Unfinished Business” Stone, screenwriters Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff, a number of film critics, and some of the cast discuss the unexpected success of the original “Wall Street” (1987), the origins of the sequel (which date back to the early nineties), and the importance of respecting the legacy of the earlier work. The second chapter, titled “Gordon Gekko is Back”, has Michael Douglas taking center stage, talking about the character and his, decidedly different, approach to the role in the sequel, while reflecting what made Gekko such a captivating figure in the original. In “Lifestyles of Excess” production designer Kristi Zea and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick discuss creating the look of the film, noting some really interesting contrasts (and similarities) to the first film, and how the world of business fashion has changed over the past two decades. Shifting gears a bit is “A Tour of the ‘Street’” which has historians and tour guides providing context to some of the more important buildings and locations in the Wall Street quarter of Manhattan. Finally, the last, and perhaps most important chapter, called “Trends, Schemes and Economic Collapse” provides a nice overview of the financial crisis – how it happened, why it happened, and who’s to blame – with the help of analysts, journalists, traders, and, yes, even Oliver Stone. There are also 15 deleted and extended scenes (1080p, 29 minutes 31 seconds) that were removed or trimmed from the final cut for various reasons. There are a few interesting bits and pieces here, but nothing too essential. Oliver Stone offers optional audio commentary on all of the scenes, which I suggest giving a listen to. Stone’s thoughts on the material, if sometimes dry and sporadic, are informative and far better than the usual “we cut this for time” BS. He offers harsh criticism of some of these scenes and rationally explains the reasons for their exclusion. Examples from the near-30 minutes of excised material include an extended club sequence, a misplaced would-have-been awkward Donald Trump cameo, a deleted subplot involving another financial firm, Jake giving a tour of the green-energy plant, some extended dialogue bits, a longer version of Jake selling his apartment and more. As I said, nothing here is essential viewing, but with Stone’s commentary on this collection of scenes make them definitely worth a watch. 5 excerpts from Fox Movie Channel’s “In Character with…” program are included. “In Character…” is an EPK-ish featurette in which actors discuss their characters for various Fox releases in between broadcasts of Fox films on a Fox network. The self-explanatory featurettes are: - Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko (480p, 5 minutes 35 seconds) - Shia LaBeouf as Jake Moore (480p, 4 minutes 21 seconds) - Carey Mulligan as Winnie Gekko (480p, 5 minutes 4 seconds) - Josh Brolin as Bretton James (480p, 5 minutes 51 seconds) - Frank Langella as Louis Zabel (480p, 5 minutes 20 seconds) An exciting teaser trailer (1080p, 1 minute 36 seconds) and more traditional theatrical trailer (1080p, 2 minutes 26 seconds) for “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” round off the disc-based, film-centric extras. Bonus trailers for Douglas’ “Solitary Man” (1080p, 1 minute), the Tony Scott-does “Speed” (1994)-on-a-train flick “Unstoppable” (1080p, 2 minutes 30 seconds), and the truly unappealing “Love and Other Drugs” (1080p, 2 minutes 26 seconds), as well as promos for the FX Network (1080i, 1 minute) and Fox Digital Copy (1080p, 50 seconds) play before the menu. A submenu marked “Sneak Peeks” contains additional bonus trailers for “The A-Team” (1080p, 2 minutes 26 seconds), “Cyrus” (1080p, 2 minutes 20 seconds), “Never Let Me Go” (1080p, 2 minutes 26 seconds) and a spot called What’s Hot on DVD” (1080i, 1 minute 27 seconds) which turns out to be a general promo for FOX television. A “Digital Copy: How to” (1080p, 3 minutes 35 seconds) spot is pretty self-explanatory. This visual guide to the world of Fox Digital Copies is a bit pointless – if you’re going to want to load a digital copy of a film onto your iPod, iPhone, iPad or WMV-enabled device, you sure as hell already know what the technology is; and you certainly don’t need a special feature to tell you how to use it. Finally 20th Century Fox makes use of BD-LIVE to offer a few additional exclusives – available in either download or streaming varieties. “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” includes the IMDB-powered “Live Lookup” trivia track, a short featurette titled “The Return of Bud Fox” (720p, 3 minutes 46 seconds), a snippet from the making-of documentary actually included on the disc dubbed “Gordon Gekko is Back” (720p, 2 minutes 58 seconds), and a redundant theatrical trailer (720p, 2 minutes 26 seconds). Access to the studios online portal of trailers and promotional material is also provided via a tab called “What’s New.” DISC TWO: The second disc houses an iTunes and WMV-compatible digital copy of the film. Honestly, I’m of the David Lynch persuasion when in comes to movies on the iPhone, but I guess for those who have long commutes or whatever, this is a solid bonus. Why studios continue to waste resources by pressing an additional disc, however, I’ll never understand. Cloud-based downloading seems like a far more efficient mode of distribution for a small, heavily compressed, standard def video file.
Packaging
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” arrives on Blu-ray for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment as an attractive 2-Disc Collector’s Edition. The film and special features are contained on a Region A locked BD-50. The second disc – a DVD-5 – houses a Digital Copy. An elaborate (and surprisingly thick) cardboard slipcover, with an additional front flap with inside text, slides over an Elite eco-case.
Overall
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” isn’t ever going to be a certified classic like its predecessor. It just isn’t. But the sequel is a surprisingly good, if totally unexpected, film with a great cast and (mostly) praiseworthy performances. I think the critical backlash that befell the film is unwarranted (although some of the criticism, valid); the sequel isn’t a remake of “Wall Street” (1987) and it doesn’t really try to be. Stone’s purpose was something else entirely. The plot is strictly melodrama focusing on people, relationships and redemption; not the scathing social commentary that director Oliver Stone used to be so good at – but again, I didn’t hate it for that. The Blu-ray is excellent, with near-perfect video, very good audio and a nice helping of (largely format-exclusive) extras. Recommended. --------------------------- Support us by purchasing this disc online at Bluraysforeveryone.com, they specialize in store exclusives and limited editions both new and used, plus have a wide range of new releases and catalogue titles. Join their reward program and earn points towards your purchases. Best of all for overseas customers they are customs friendly and offer great cost-saving shipping options. Check them out for some cool limited editions. 
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