The Wolf of Wall Street

An adaptation of Jordan Belfort's memoir chronicling his rise and fall on Wall Street and his hard-partying, addiction-fuelled personal life. Welcome to Martin Scorsese’s 22nd feature film, another of his examinations of the rites and rituals of a particular sect, be it the wiseguys of ‘70s Little Italy ( Mean Streets ) or the society scions of late 19th-Century New York ( The Age Of Innocence ). With its rise-and-fall arc, its hedonism and hubris, its gleeful exploration of the dark side of the America Dream, its money, crime and narcs, its sex, drugs and rock’n’roll (though the soundtrack also takes in Madness, Simon & Garfunkel and a fair bit of Euro pop), The Wolf Of Wall Street forms a loose trilogy with GoodFellas and Casino. And if it can’t quite match the energy and quality of those classics, it nonetheless stands as Scorsese’s finest for 15 years. When we first meet Jordan Belfort, he’s more pup than wolf, his lowest-rung job at L.F. Rothschild requiring him only to “smile and dial”. A first-day lunch with big boss Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey, hilarious) sows the seeds of the chaos to come, though: Hanna advises him that the stock market is “all fugazi” while preaching the worthlessness of morals and the necessity of greed, cocaine and, to stay relaxed, jerking off twice daily. Then, on 19 October, 1987, the very day Jordan becomes a licensed broker, the market crashes and Rothschild goes under. Jordan joins a penny-stocks firm in Long Island, employing a bunch of expert salesmen (mainly weed) from his old Queens neighbourhood and making Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill, terrific) VP despite his phosphorescent teeth and shoulder-slung pastel sweaters. The triumphant result is named Stratton Oakmont, and if there’s one thing these guys know how to do, besides sell, it’s party – Jordan blows $26,000 on a lunch, is married to a model, shags prostitutes five, six times a week, and hoovers Quaaludes, Xanax, cocaine and morphine. It’s only a matter of time before the FBI (in the form of Kyle Chandler) come calling… Perhaps deciding the crazed behaviour is enough, perhaps thinking he took stylistic verve as far as it could go in GoodFellas , Scorsese shoots largely with a static camera. His use of whip pans, crash zooms, freeze frames and tracking shots proves so infrequent that Spielberg, visiting the set, suggested he might want to move the camera. But TWOWS is far from muzzled. It is, of course, all part of Scorsese’s plan to charm viewers into accepting Belfort’s outrageously selfish, unthinkingly cruel behaviour. It works, too – more so because Terence Winter’s ( Boardwalk Empire , The Sopranos ) screenplay cleaves to our anti-hero, refusing to investigate the fallout of his misdeeds as he steals from rich and poor alike to line his own pockets (and mirror). It’s a decision some will take issue with, just as some, justifiably, accuse Scorsese of being in thrall to his gangsters. But this is Jordan’s tale, and it’s sold by a magnetic, never-better DiCaprio. A touch too long, yet never slack, at three hours, TWOWS benefits from independent funding, Scorsese’s brass balls and an A-grade cast’s turbulent improvisations to emerge as an epic, boldly broad screwball comedy about the state of America, then and now. Despite the US censors trimming back the screwing and swearing, this is an audacious, riotous epic. Scorsese and DiCaprio’s fifth and best pairing, it’s liable to give the Academy a heart attack.

Decent film, husband loved this as a gift

Quite simply one of the greatest movies ever. It holds no punches. No topic is taboo. No scene is too vulgar. It is about a stock broker called Jordan Belfort who due to economic turmoil gets kicked off of Wall Street and to get work he goes to a smaller firm selling penny stocks over the phone. Wall Street gave small cuts to their staff for every sale they made. On massive stocks. The idea is you can sell tonnes of it and make money for yourself. The smaller guys give bigger cuts for selling piddly amounts of low end stocks. Hence the term penny stocks. The thing is Jordan having just come from the big leagues now realises he can sell crap tonnes of these stocks to unsavvy customers and he takes the bigger cut from relatively nice amounts of stock sales. Over time he expands on his own and gets a team together basically makes millions of dollars. This won't be for everyone though. It is pretty much one massive drug addled party the entire way through. I'll give you a taste. There is one scene where a person in a not even slightly shy manner describes his masturbation habits to Jordan in a restaurant. Another where one of the cast describes his "relations" with the woman who gave him his kids who also happens to be his cousin. One scene where a man has sex with a hooker while about ten people in casual work attire stand around and watch/wait their turn. Scenes of drug taking. More breasts than I think I've ever seen in a movie in my life, as well as plenty of lady parts and even a prosthetic penis. If that doesn't say everything there is to say about this movie I really don't know what will. If any of that doesn't sound like it is for you then chances are it probably isn't and there is probably about ten other things in this movie that I haven't mentioned that WILL also offend you in that case. Everyone else though seriously BUY THIS MOVIE!

PLOT... Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government. Wolf of Wall Street 2013 is a movie you either love or hate, it has a boring subject unless your really into business in a big way but however is a fantastic watch anyway despite the running theme, it has an electric cast and never stops for a second with the wild ride it takes you on, it may seem like 3hrs is a long time but there's plenty to pull you into the story and make it interesting. Its kind of a black comedy although its not really funny, you may snigger occasionally, its usually more serious the majority of the time. if you like a well written tight story with fun characters loosely based on a true story its well worth investing time into, amazing cast especially Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie who are amazing and top of their game, the movie has lashings of violence, drugs, nudity, sex and more drugs! Certainly an adult movie in every way! Unusual choice for an Arrow Video release but they have done a great job as usual. Check it out. Blu-ray picture looks great in HD. Features include commentary, TV spots, gallery, trailer, and plenty interviews and featurettes (117mins) Region B UK. Running time 3hrs. 2013. English language movie. Subtitles English. The limited edition has a great outer hard-box case with the wallet inside featuring a replica bank card, business card and a $100 bill and a nice book, fantastic collectable packaging.

Really good film funny in parts!

Very good movie but the start is basically him saying 'look at me! I'm a millionaire. I'm better than you and I can have as many women and drugs as I want!' BUT, bear with it. As the movie opens up and starts to explain how he got there, the difficulties he faced and the magnitude of what he actually did in THE worst stock market crash there ever was, you begin to see why this is such a great movie. It might not be everyone's cup of tea though. Throughout the entire movie, there's sex (lots of it) drugs (lots of them) and bad language (so much, you'll forget that they're swearing!) The way the film is put together and the comedy element makes for a great watch. You'll want to find out what happens and what the movie is all about when he is forced to find another place to work. Watch what happens there and you will not be able to stop :) All in all, watch this movie. Well worth the money, definitely worth your time (2hours 57mins I think!)

Absolutely loved it! It was hilarious in places. The true story it's based on has obviously been embellished in some places to make it more entertaining but it was still a very funny film places. The only minor beef would be with the silly attempts at pathos. For example ( spolier ) the moment where it comes crashing down and he beats his wife, that wasn't very believable given the way the rest of the script was written. I think DiCaprio plays the slimy, scumbag broker to the hilt, very believable and it has such a superb supporting cast. The film is quite long at nearly 3 hours but it's good see that the story was not compromised in order to satisfy the standard 90 min attention span that most movies are shot for. The lesson, that Belfort himself preaches, is played out perfectly in the film, "Passion is good. Ambition is good. They make people achieve stunning things. Greed is not good."

This is such a great film.....funny, engaging and another one for the Di Caprio scrapbook. He's become quite an actor as you really get into and believe his character in this film. Lost count on how many times I've watched it. Recommended.

Pas de francais

SCORSESE Scorsese é cosi: una goduria per i cinematografari, un po limitato per chi cerca spessore e umanità. Di spessore non ne ho trovato molto (in fondo, su wall street, aveva gia detto tutto oliver stone 30 anni fa, com un film che infatti é stato apprezzato sia dai sostenitori che dai detrattori di quel mondo, tanto é realistico), i personaggi sono buffi, ma non sfaccettati (ovviamente Di Caprio & co, li rendono cool e intriganti perche sono tutti dei grandi attori), e francamente lo avrei fatto finire mezz'ora prima (Scorsese a volte si innamora delle sue storie senza capire che, dall'altra parte, certe dettagli e certe scene possono risultare superflue, vedi tutto il racconto finale che indulge troppo su come va a finire la storia tra lui e lei). E sicuramente ciò che lo rende interessante ma può essere un limite è che Scorsese, pur nel suo stile fiammeggiante, è in fondo un tipo freddo, e lascia poco spazio al "calore" dei personaggi. IL FILM Ma la freddezza è anche ciò che rende Scorsese sempre così esatto e penetrante: guardare i suoi film è come guardare degli insetti con l'occhio di un entomologo. E qui, il suo occhio, si ammanta di uno stile, montaggio, trovate talmente brillanti, che se si pensa che tra Scorsese e la sua fedele montatrice (thelma shoonmaker), fanno piu di 150 anni in due, viene da togliersi il cappello e prendere a sberle tutti quei giovani registi che credono di essere cool, ma dovrebbero solo imparare da questi due. Se solo Scorsese fosse meno freddo e compiaciuto, e, come fa ogni tanto, ci raccontasse personaggi un po meno caratterizzati, più sfumati, magari anche non accontentandosi di raccontarci ambienti chiusi in se stessi (la malavita, il business, ecc) e riuscisse ad essere un po piu universale (cosa che invece Spielberg, per citare altri maestri, fa sempre, anche quando usa la metafora di un ambiente specifico, pur a volte risultando meno "perfetto" di Scorsese) sarebbe ancora meglio. Sarebbe piu caldo e di cuore, e meno freddamente incandescente. É un fuoco freddo il suo, ma indubbiamente fa godere l'occhio e il cervello. IL BLU RAY Che dire? sorprendente e da godersi in lingua originale per apprezzare finalmente il valore di un attore come Di Caprio, uno dei pochi che sa giocare con la voce come Jack Nicholson e qualche altro raro fenomeno

Film absolutamente imprescindible, en DVD o Blu-Ray. Si bien el DVD no lleva extras, la imagen y el sonido son impecables, una auténtica gozada, y a ese precio no hay que pensarlo mucho. Me llevé una grata sorpresa, ya que, tratándose de Martin Scorsese, no esperaba una comedia, y lo es de principio a fin, y además la más divertida que he visto en años. Personajes estrafalarios, guión brillantísimo, intérpretes en estado de gracia... el ritmo y el enfoque recuerda poderosamente a 'Goodfellas' o 'Casino', Scorsese se autoreferencia y homenajea sin complejos y alcanza la perfección. El guión de Terence Winter es para estudiarlo en las escuelas de cine, DiCaprio está mejor que nunca, Jonah Hill para desternillarse, Margot Robbie hace de Sharon Stone, McConaghey pone la película en órbita y ya no decae en tres horas, Rob Reiner es el padre del prota y tampoco tiene desperdicio. A gozar! Yo ya la he visto dos veces seguidas.

Was bought for gift. Haven't heard any complaints

This movie is an absolute masterpiece. Want to know the easiest way to tell? Check the time before watching the movie, then watch the movie, and check the time again. Confused? No, you havn't been trapped in some sort of time warp for the last 3 hours; the movie is just so interesting your brain didn't have time to notice. And no, you won't have any time to prepare yourself either. You're THROWN into the action fast and often, and you'll enjoy every second of it. Yes, this movie sports a running time rivaled only by the likes of Titanic (oh, the irony), but it's a joyride the whole way through. Leonardo DiCaprio deserves every award that it's even possible to win for his performance here. And the duchess... oh my my my the duchess. I won't spoil it for you, but if you get the sudden urge to marry a woman you've never met before, don't worry, you're just alive like the rest of us. There's nary a dull moment throughout the entire show, and unless you're like some of the reviewers who are apparently allergic to adult comedy, you will laugh. You might have to pause the movie just to stop laughing so you can catch your breath. Don't drink any milk while watching, or you can fully expect that it'll be exiting your nostrils shortly. I'll spare you the details, but the movie itself is modeled after real life events surrounding the famed Jordan Belfort. Yes, he's famous, and about half of that fame is probably due to this movie. You're forgiven if you had never heard of him prior to now, as most of us probably hadn't either. Don't let the title fool you folks. This isn't some boring movie set in a New York high-rise where people are calmly talking on the phone attempting to persuade clients into buying stock. That's EXACTLY what I thought when I heard the title of the movie, and even when I gave the movie's posters a passing glance, I failed to observe what the movie was actually about. You won't get it from the title, nor would you have gotten it from the movie's posters (which is now the cover of the Blu-Ray). No, you'll want to look BEHIND DiCaprio to get an idea of the ride you're about to take when you're considering watching this movie. Oh, and even that wouldn't quite get the point across. The kind of chaos you see in the background of the cover is the kind of chaos that only accounts for about 30 seconds of movie time. There's THAT MUCH crazy packed into this movie. This is the kind of movie you've got to watch with friends. Why? Because after (and probably) during watching it, you might find yourself ready to party. This isn't the kind of movie you watch with your mom, and it's definitely not one you watch with your kids. You might want to watch it with your girlfriend/boyfriend if he or she is any fun, and potentially your spouse if he or she isn't the type to panic about excessive raunchiness. Have her call her friends, you call your friends, down a couple of shots before watching, and prepare for the party of the decade. The people who rated this any less than 4 stars just because of the vulgar language and more "graphic" scenes need to learn how to do research. 10 seconds of Googling would have given you every hint you need not to watch this movie if you have a stick up your a... Umm... If you tend to be a little uptight about things. Provided you're not one of those people, you'll laugh, you'll cry, your senses will be abused, your voice will be gone the next day, you'll wonder where the time went after it's over, and you just might watch it again to be sure this movie is just as crazy as it is.