For me, it's when Bud Fox walks into the office after defeating Gekko's plans, but everyone's just dead silent. The camera follows him past the Marv, Lou, and the rest, all the way to Bud's office where he is arrested. Then the camera leads Bud Fox and the cop out of the office in a humiliating walk of shame. The looks on the cop's and Bud Fox's faces fit the scene perfectly, and the final line delivered by Bud is humourous in its timing and irony.
shareIt's a tie between:
1. The redecorating scene. Just witnessing the excess of the decade unfold before me is mesmerizing. That, and I tend to wonder what self-respecting interior decorator uses exposed brick wallpaper.
... and ...
2. Bud's first visit to Gordon's office. It's everything from the access to his inner sanctum, to the view, to the conversation (Bud selling out Blue Star for a piece of the big time).
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Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas.
When Daryl Hannah is wearing the pink hat with the strings dangling from it.
shareMine is when Bud visit's Gekko's office for the first time and both the audience and Bud are overwhelmed by the shark tank-like environs where Gekko conducts his predatory business practices. I also like how nonchalant Gekko is with both his clients and partners. It's a good exposition scene that lays the groundwork for Bud's rise and ultimate fall.
(¯`i´¯)´·¸.)‹^›
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the scene where Bud finds otu the real intentions of gekko and goes to his office to confront him. Best speech ever...
*spoiler*
especially where he talks about the truth of financial arena and stock market
Bud Fox: How much is enough?
Gordon Gekko: It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a zero sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply transferred from one perception to another.....The richest one percent of this country owns half our country's wealth, five trillion dollars. One third of that comes from hard work, two thirds comes from inheritance, interest on interest accumulating to widows and idiot sons and what I do, stock and real estate speculation. It's *beep* You got ninety percent of the American public out there with little or no net worth. I create nothing. I own. We make the rules, pal. The news, war, peace, famine, upheaval, the price per paper clip. We pick that rabbit out of the hat while everybody sits out there wondering how the hell we did it. Now you're not naive enough to think we're living in a democracy, are you buddy? It's the free market.
*spoiler*
haunting
mine is the scene with bud, gekko and the lawyer were at gekko's house and gekko said that "the stakes are going up. no mistakes" and bud said "piece of cake gordon" and he puts his sunglasses on while it get real bright and fades to the next scene with bud & darien. she was talking about what she wanted and bud asked "why stop there?" and she said she doesn't and fades to the squirrels on the trees with the background music playing throughout
shareI loved Gekko's scene with Teldar Paper, lighting a bonfire under the vanities of those vice presidents and CEO's who were essentially robbing the company and shareholders out of millions due to their inefficiency and maintenance of their status quo.
And his is the one speech that shines a bright light regardless of whether he actually believed what he was saying.
I would like to hear Stone's opinion on that speech.
I'm holding everyone to a higher standard- a standard much higher than my own
The variety of answers in this thread shows just how many great scenes there are in this movie. I just watched it for the first time and every moment of this movie was great. I think the most powerful scene for me was the part where bud visits his dad in the hospital. I nearly cried in that scene.
shareThe "Who am I?" scene. The moment Bud realizes his morality and the perfect song leading up to it (Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place).
shareReally? I thought the "Who am I" line was INCREDIBLY cheesy and badly delivered (though I can't blame Sheen - NO ACTOR could have delivered that crappy line convincingly).
For me, that line is right up there with "You can be my wing man anytime" and "Permission to shake the hand of the daughter of the bravest man I have ever met".
A very fine assessment, whoppingraj. I always hated that line too. It would have been much more convincing for him to look around his condo and ask "what the hell have I become?" while staring at all the ugly crap in his home.
If Stone wanted that scene and that kind of self-questioning, he should have kept it as is without any lines at all- just better non-verbal acting.
The "who am I?" line wasn't written well, wasn't staged well, and it makes me wince horribly. It's almost as bad as the "You never had the guts to stake your own claim" line.
I sure hope there's better writing for the sequel.
I'm holding everyone to a higher standard- a standard much higher than my own
I have 2. When Carl argues with Gordon at Bud's place and
Bud confronting Gordon about wrecking Bluestar.
Because it's WRECKABLE alright!??!?!?!.....
....The illusion has become real and the more real it becomes the more desperate they want it. Capitalism at it's finest....and what i do, stock and real estate speculation. It's bulls**t.....we picked that rabbit out of the hat while everyone sits out there wondering how we did it....
The scene is epic. I. Love. That. Speech. Michael Douglas was brilliant.
Well what are the use of my brains if I'm tied up with a dumb cluck like you?
Too many to name. Gekko on the street with Darian showed what a boss he was. And I loved Gekko freaking when Bluestar was going up. When he shoves the chair and says, "When I find the sonofb-tch that leaked this, I'm gonna gouge out his eyeballs and suck his f-ckin' skull!" How can you not like the character? He and Hans Gruber were two epic villains, back-to-back. A rarity.
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The two minutes of screen time that followed the line: "Hi I'm Lisa"
share18 for 500,000?
SOLD!!!!!!!
The euphoria the market makers are in is incredible! Also love Marv's line: "Another 30,000 OUT!"
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