@Dace Solo Dude Anthony Joshua, current HW champion and Olympic gold medalist, got inspired to start boxing after watching Rocky. I dare say he's not the only one.
It’s not just that, it’s the fact that he wants what he wants and goes for it no matter the cost. Most people are too scared and cautious to ever even try for they want in life and he is the anthesis of that.
@@mysticmac5555 It is the fact that only those in the know can do a lot of damage with that info. You can dump on a lot of people, pension funds(big no-no), and other countries investors.
@Darim Bartosch This very witty twist Gekko gave Bud was just ingenious . I thought PT Barnum came up with the fool and his money but I googled it and it was a poet named Thomas Tusser . Barnum is credited with the sucker born every minute but like so much in the past that is disputed . Anyway Gekko was correct
“ Greed, for lack of a better word, is good” The way Michael Douglas delivers that line exudes 1980s corporatism. Nobody else could capture that essence like him. Such an iconic line.
@@patrickc3419 ok maybe it’s not unknown at all but it definitely doesn’t have the popularity it deserves among most people. The average person will definitely know The Godfather or Die Hard but most likely not Wall Street. Among critics and business people its a lot more popular.
@@thetimemaster1475 My GUESS, and obviously I don’t intend to put words in your mouth, and you were in the right direction with the movies you mentioned, is that it was a milestone in that it had a different kind of villain. It was released at a time when movie bad guys (Ivan Drago, Hans Gruber, The Predator, The Terminator, etc) involved violence. Gordon Gekko was a whole different, new kind of bad guy; rather than murder someone, he would destroy them financially, for the sake of his own monetary gain.
Michael is utterly brilliant in Wall Street and falling down. Should have had the Oscar too for the latter. But his best service to film was bringing one flew over the cuckoo's nest to the screen for which as Producer he also won the Oscar for Best Picture. Not too many have achieved that feat.
The character himself explains in the movie why people like Gordon Gekko, because he's essentially a guy from a blue collar background who made it and even though he made it the upper crust above him still sneer and try to trip him up.
That's actually a perfect analogy as to why the establishment seems to hate Donald Trump and why millions of working class voters love him. Even though Trump himself is a billionaire and his policies (despite his rhetoric) have actually been very favorable to the rich (tax cuts and deregulation), at the expense of the majority, his 'cult of personality' in how he portrays himself (as a 'right-wing nationalist outsider') has seared into the psyche of most Americans, those that are in love him and those that despise him. Many of those in the latter category that sneer at him, is due to the fact that he came from 'newer money', he supposedly faked his college entrance exams, his artistic taste in most things are very gaudy, he likes to eat dry steaks, he is uncouth (arguably racist), and is an avid fan of WWE, not to mention spending more time on Twitter than 'acting Presidential'. Despite his flaws, millions of working-class voters are still emotionally drawn to Trump, due in large part to the major outrage that is expressed by those in the establishment and left, due to just his mere political presence. It's also rather fitting that there is a deleted scene in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, in which Gordon Gekko, recently released from jail, has a cordial conversation with Trump himself, while getting a haircut at a seemingly pristine barbershop in NYC. Two longtime New York Baby Boomer real-estate tycoons just casually sitting and chatting at a barbershop together. This film just speaks on a whole another level in today's chaotic times.
@@gabenewell6998 Trump's father was very wealthy and Trump inherited millions of dollars. Gekko's dad was a blue collar guy who had nothing. How can you compare the two. Gekko and Trump are nothing alike.
@@gabenewell6998 Trump is not a self-made man. He is a low-class moron/liar and a classic snake-oil salesman in the grandest tradition of that concept. His appeal to the undereducated/intellectually-lazy is obvious; they see him as a vision of themselves
Man it feels so sad to see Michael get old and have slurry speech at times. I wish this kind of talent could be frozen. This guy's presence on screen and his characters are legendary. He's my favorite method actor in Hollywood. He truly gets into the script and his characters are compatible with his looks.
Father time is gonna bite our asses eventually. Nevertheless, Michael has always been a hell of an actor and in Basic Instincts he did a tremendous performance.
Kirk is way better. I’m surprised you haven’t seen a lot of his filmography (I’m assuming because his filmography makes his son look like a joke by far and you wouldn’t be saying this had you seen His fathers work) his father put him on that track of greatness. Good actor but Brando and his father are wayyyy better especially in terms of method. Also refer to DeNiro etc.
I got into finance largely as an influence of this film. Its not all that its cut out to be. Boring work and lots of overfindent people who think they are smarter than they really are. Not to mention lots of cut throat people who will step on you to get ahead without a second thought.
He was supposed to be the villain but the character , the lines and douglas' performance were way too iconic, therefore he become a hero and inspired millions
I cant believe Oliver Stone was shocked that he inspired so many to go to Wall Street to be a Gordon Gekko. He never meant the character to be inspiring. If that was hos goal he failed badly. Like you say there probably has been a million plus head off to wall street and many of them, greedy scumbags who leach off the productive capacity of others.
With all due respect, Gekko, with no premeditated intentions, became a form of an antihero himself... At the end, exposing the real motivations behind the type of personality that seeks the fast buck. So, in this case, reality surpasses the fiction, making him a well define stereotype that thousands identify with.
People like Gekko because what he really represents is life. It has no mercy. It gives no quarter. It's rewards come through balls and the strength to take what you want, at any level. Gekko really was right.
what kind of lecture is Cronwell giving when he's losing 60M a quarter? A lecture on losing money, jeez if this guy owned a funeral parlor no one would die.
Gekko had go-getting never-say-die energy, a witty turn of phrase, a great tailor indeed, and simply lurrved being a villain. Alan Rickman had the same in his smooth European way as Hans in Die Hard, also from 1988.That was an excellent year for smooth iconic villains!
That movie was an irony of Wall Street just like Death wish was an Irony of gun self defense and was also very popular. Wall Street is a good inspirational story of capitalism to most people in perspective.
Gordon Gekko speaks the truth, believes in himself, he doesn't take shit off of anyone, a self made man, and a survivor and prevailer over adversity. A successful role model for everyone.
@@80s_Boombox_Collector if they are partnered up with the current administration to produce, transport and deal fentanyl there's not much of a difference. The politicians are also allowed to legally engage in insider trading and they can destroy jobs any time they want by jacking up interest rates. I'll believe Gordon to be the bad guy when I see him printing up trillions and stuffing them into his pocket like our friends in Washington do.
People (Americans) love Gordon Gekko because he is the embodiment of the American dream, a powerful success no matter how little morals he applied or how it affected others, how temporary it was, how unsustainable it was, and what it did for society. Pure selfish success.
I gotta monitor my blood pressure so what ever you do. Don’t upset me. In 45 seconds the microprocessor computes you systolic and diastolic pressure. Cost effective. Less than one visit to a doctor.
It is the true portrayal of the character Gordon Gekko and the power behind the performance, the subtlety and the gravitas. But my favourite is Andrew Shepherd in American President.
He’s determined, passionate, disciplined, and his will to win is unrivaled. If he were a basketball player he would be Jordan or Bird waging psychological warfare but his court was Wall Street.
Micheal Douglas did a first class performance as Gecko ! First class actor in many parts as I still watch the streets of San Francisco series which he was in !
@@mbogucki1 A CEO who gets a golden parachute after being sacked for poor performance or bad behaviour is just wrong. However, I may swallow such asshole more than union leaders who are not working (part of the workforce). It turns me nuts how little union bosses work. At least they should be working in the plants where the workers they represent are working at. You can't just get half-a-million dollar salary (from workers' dues) and spend your mornings golfing and sitting down for negotiations maybe 6 or 7 days the entire year.
"Greed is good" is a favorite used quote by Kevin O'Leary, a Canadian billionaire and star of Shark Tank and Dragon's Den. Whatever you think of Gekko or O'Leary, the "Greed is good" quote has stuck.
@@RideAcrossTheRiver Linda O'Leary (wife) apparently was boating home from a party a little drunk and slammed into a pontoon boat full of stargazers killing two. Kevin O'Leary apologized to the families but there are some lawsuits in the works for millions $$$. The police are investigating. That's all I know.
The line is an actual quote! Oliver Stone took it from a star arbitrageur called Ivan Boesky. Boesky gave the commencement address at UC Berkeleyˋs school of Business Administration in 1986 and famously said “ Greed is good by the way… you shouldn’t feel guilty” . Eventually he was charged with fraud and ended up paying his dues in jail.
Ghekko's embodiment of the 'greed is good' mantra is interesting in itself. It's the combination of charisma and ruthlessness to the character; who at times seems to genuinely believe what he preaches.
In the "Greed is Good" Speech he says that Greed is Good in all aspects of life... greed for life and education and love... etc. The better word for it is "Self-Interest" I showed my oldest daughter this speech, just the other day and explained to her the meaning. the speech isn't evil or bad in any way... its profound.
What people don't realize is that the guys on Wall Street that idolize Gordon Gecko didn't think he was the hero. They knew he was the villain, they just didn't care.
The way Gekko chuckles after Bud Fox says 'Maybe you ought to read Pinocchio ' always got me lol'n ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oDD1tW59Mjg.html
There's a phrase for him in that character in how he played it AND characters like him like Wolf of Wall Street And others [ Smooth Operator 👌 ] he was Smooth like water
We love it because when Steve Jobs says “stay hungry” is inspirational when Gekko says “greed is good” is the same thing just a twist of words (for lack of better words lo)
Trump made his money in real estate not stocks, bonds and futures. Funny, how you failed to mention Joe Kennedy short selling/insider trading the 1929 crash and making the Kennedys very wealthy in the process, why is that?
@@pulsarlights2825 1. Trump did NOT make his money through that. Lol. He inherited it. He was a millionaire by age 3 because of his family putting assets in his name. You have no idea what you're talking about. 2. Who gives a fuck what the Kennedys did when he brought up Trump? What's your point? The Kennedy family being shit has nothing to do with Trump being shit.
@@Swagtildawn 1) So Trump didn't make one cent on his own, all he has was from his family? I'm calling bullshit on that one.... 2) I brought up the Kennedys because I suspect he is being a partisan jackass, what the FUCK does the Trump Presidency have to do with a movie made in 1987?
I remember being in an airport lounge in the 80's and there was a group of young Gekko wannabes all talking loud and wearing the suspenders. I suspected they were really just insurance salesmen.
It's because he was completely unapologetic about expressing his greed. We all have greed, but we're taught from day 1 that expressing greed is bad. GG was that middle finger to authority. Yeah, he got caught, but the juice was worth the squeeze.
I like Gordon Gekko in the first Wall Street because he was a ruthless savage Machiavellian realist! I love Gordon Gekko in the second Wall Street because he was the anti-hero who came in like a phoenix rising from the ashes to save the day! From the suits, the style, the accent, the body language, the suave mannerisms, and the smile - Gordon Gekko is the BMF of Hollywood financial movies! Thank you Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas for giving us Gordon Gekko!!!
It’s crazy that Wall Street is his only Oscar nomination. Falling Down, The Game, Traffic, The Wonder Boys, The American President. Should have at least 3 or 4 nods.
Dear Douglas, you are a titan of an actor! you've brought entertainment and joy to millions and we thank you for it! but don't give in to the temptation to become "political" publicly, because you have no clue what you are talking about, while people listen to you more than others who do know what they are talking about, on subjects like capitalism, democracy, finances, etc.
not all people wanna like Gordon gecko. I think this sentiment is the kind of thing he finds disgusting. Quite uniquely American I think, this assumption that everybody wants to be like Gordon Gekko, or someone similar. I bet the majority of people on earth have no interest
old wrench The wealthy are wealthy because they save and make smart investments. Less than one half of one percent get caught for insider trading. Your ignorance is really on full display with your comment.
Greed (Capitalism) > Envy (Socialism), or at least more sustainable, but I prefer cooperative capitalism as taught by the late Berny Dohrmann of CEO Space International. We should all be working for each other’s success AND our own, and be grateful when anyone succeeds.
By the 80's cynicism had taken over our culture. So, rather than civic virtue - people identify with taking what you can to improve your station in life. Add great clothes, trappings, style, and great lines - of course Gordon Gekko became iconic. G.G. is the anti hero and true core of the film.
Michael, we all love Gordon Gekko because you got charisma coming out your ***, man! It had nothing to do with the clothes, I guarantee you! Gekko is loved because of YOU! 💚💚
Sometimes you get the opposite effect when you are trying to portray a certain message. Some characters are just simply remembered, revered, and are legendary. Gordon Gekko + Michael Douglas = Brilliance. We didn't care much about Bud Fox in that movie. We all wanted a piece of Gekko's world. From rich to poor across the board, everybody who liked Wall Street LOVED Gordon Gekko.
It was your iconic performance and the ingenious script. That was the brilliance of the movie, it made you understand how people can be seduced by greed and charisma to do things they absolutely know are wrong.
