âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ is a 2013 film that tells the story of financial criminal Jordan Belfort. It still remains relevant in audience circles. This is not surprising, because the picture became one of the best joint works of the director-acting duo Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. The plot, basic information, interesting facts and audience reviews about the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street" - all this you will find in this article.
Summary
The plot of the film âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ revolves around the real story of the broker Jordan Belfort, who in a short time became a millionaire, committed a number of financial crimes and was arrested.
The film begins with the famous Black Monday of 1987, when there was the largest market crash of industrial stocks in history. Shortly before this event, Jordan Belfort got a job as a broker in a prestigious investment bank. After the collapse of stocks, this bank was closed, and Belfort, on the advice of his wife, became a broker of a small company and quickly realized that the banal, to some extent fraudulent âsmugglingâ of small shares to random customers brings quite significant revenues in a short time. Together with his partner Donny, as well as several other energetic friends, in 1989, Jordan opened his own over-the-counter brokerage firm called Stratton Oakmont. The company quickly begins to make huge profits, and at the beginning of the new decade, Forbes magazine proclaims the young millionaire "a Wall Street wolf."
The main character quickly "spoils" under the weight of cash flowing in an endless stream: he spends less and less time at home, throwing grand parties, taking drugs of all stripes and having fun with elite prostitutes. Even the office life in Stratton through the efforts of Belfort is not like a routine: girls of easy virtue march to entertain brokers in the middle of the working day, alcohol flows in a river, cocaine streams in the mountains, and Belfort and his entourage have nowhere to go with the cash. It comes to the fact that one of the entertainments they choose is throwing a dwarf in a special suit into a target set in the middle of the office.
At one of her parties, Jordan Belfort met a dazzling model named Naomi, with whom she immediately entered into a romantic relationship. He divorces his wife and soon marries a new lover. In this marriage, Belfort gives birth to a daughter named Skyler.
Of course, large and quick cash profits could not stay away from the attention of the FBI - agents begin an investigation into the protagonist. Not wanting to share his wealth with the state, Belfort opens an account with a prestigious Swiss bank in the name of his wife's aunt Naomi. For some time, money was successfully transferred there, but Donny's irresponsible behavior reveals a scam.
Seeing that the case smells of jail, Jordan's father asks his son to leave Stratton, transferring the post of CEO to him. But literally crazy from drugs, big money and a sense of impunity, Belfort remains at his side. For another two years he manages to lead his previous lifestyle, but then, having collected enough evidence, the FBI agents arrest him during the filming of the company's commercial.
Upon learning about this, Naomi filed for divorce and left home, taking his daughter with him. Belfort decides to cooperate with the FBI and testifies against his colleagues - the very next day, all his money, property and Stratton Oakmont itself are under federal arrest. Thanks to cooperation with representatives of the law, the prison term of a financial criminal is only three years in prison.
Below you can see the official trailer for the movie âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ.
Production
A tender was announced for the right to film the story of Jordan Belfort, for which Warner Brosers and Paramount Pictures Studios had to compete. Both giants immediately nominated the actors for the main role: if Warner Brosers Studios won the tender, the main character would be played by another famous Hollywood actor - Brad Pitt. Also, the producers of Paramount initially wanted to see Martin Scorsese in the director's chair, but he refused when the conditions appeared to limit his creative freedom in the filming process. For some time, the studio tried to involve director Ridley Scott in the project, but he was not interested in the material. Paramount Pictures made concessions, allowing Scorsese to shoot a picture that fell under the "18+" restriction, and the work began to boil.
Earlier, the director of the film âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ Martin Scorsese has already worked with Leonarodo DiCaprio in four full-length films.
Filming began on August 8, 2012 and was carried out in New York, Kloster and Harrison. Beach scenes were shot at Sands Point, while office scenes were shot in a specially equipped abandoned building located in Ardsley.
During filming, the film involved real chimpanzees, a lion, a snake and a goldfish, as well as dogs. Scorsese's refusal to resort to computer graphics in the image of animals led to a wave of indignation from organizations that protect nature. It is worth noting that the character of John Hill imitated eating a goldfish, while the prototype of the character actually ate a colleague's goldfish.
Specifications
Exactly three hours will have to spend the audience in front of the screen while watching âThe Wolf from Wall Streetâ, as its timing is 180 minutes. Most of the film was shot in analog format - despite the fact that Martin Scorsese is a longtime film supporter in the cinema and always tries to use only it in his work, digital scenes had to be used in scenes using chromakey and insufficient lighting. The language of the picture is English, all the shooting took place in the USA. The budget for the work amounted to 100 million US dollars, and this amount paid off at the box office almost four times - the final fees amounted to 392,000 694 dollars.
In addition to Paramount Pictures, the film embodied the collaboration of film studios such as Red Granite Pictures, Appian Way, EMJAG Productions and Sikelia Productions. As planned, in theaters he came out with a restriction of â18+â and a category R rating of MMPA.
Prime Dates
For the film âThe Wolf from Wall Streetâ, 2013 was not the first year in all countries - this is due to the decision to release the picture at the very end of the year, and therefore not all states were able to find a place for him in the New Yearâs movie net. The first screening took place in New York on December 17, 2013, but the world premiere was scheduled for December 25 - from that day the film went on in all cinemas in the USA, Canada and France.
In Russia, the release date of The Wolf of Wall Street was February 6, 2014. On the same day, the film premiered in Armenia. The most belated was the release of the picture in Lithuania - here the audience could see the story of Jordan Belfort only on February 21, 2014.
Actors and roles
As mentioned above more than once, in the film "The Wolf of Wall Street" Leonardo DiCaprio played the main role - Jordan Belfort. Most of all, this actor is known to viewers for the films "Titanic", "Aviator", "Gangs of New York." Both critics and viewers agreed that DiCaprio did an excellent job with his role. Almost everyone was sure that for her the actor would certainly receive the cherished Oscar statuette, but, unfortunately, they were mistaken.
For the Australian actress Margot Robbie, âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ has become a ticket to fame. At that time, she was 23 years old, and this was her debut in the main female role. The actress brilliantly coped with the image of Naomi Lapaglia, Belfort's second wife (real name is Nadine Caridi). Of course, the role of Robbie did not differ in complex drama - all that was required of her was to look dazzlingly sexy. However, no one can deny that in the movie âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ, Margot Robbie was not a âdecorativeâ actress, as is often the case in crime dramas. She really was able to create a deep and interesting image of a woman who knows her worth.
He managed to reveal his serious talent in "The Wolf of Wall Street" and John Hill - a performer previously known exclusively for comedic roles. In the picture, the actor who played in the films âA little pregnantâ, âIn the Spanâ, âEscape from Vegasâ, âMilitantsâ and others, played the role of Belfort's best friend and partner Donnie Azoff. In fact, the prototype of this character is called Danny Porush - it was supposed to keep his real name in the plot, but Porush threatened with a lawsuit if this happened. It is worth noting that participation in this film earned John Hill the second Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress in his entire creative career, as well as other film awards, but the actor did not receive a single prize.
In the movie âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ, the list of actors who played secondary roles also deserves attention. What is only Matthew McConaughey (by the way, the Oscar winner in 2013 for another film), who appeared in the episodic role of the first exchange boss Jordan Belfort!
Other celebrities included expressive Rob Rainer as the father of the protagonist, Jean Dujardin as a banker, John Favreau, who played lawyer Manny Riskin, and Jordan Belfort himself, who briefly appeared in the form of the organizer of the enrichment seminar.
Russian dubbing
Who voiced Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street? All Russian fans of this actor have long known that his "official" dubbing actor for many years is Sergey Burunov, an artist in cinema, theater and dubbing. Before the role of Belfort, the Burunov gave his voice to Leonardo DiCaprio in the films Aviator, Island of the Damned, Beginning, Django Unchained, The Great Gatsby and others.
The character played by John Hill in the Russian version of the film was voiced by Diomid Vinogradov - earlier he had already duplicated the heroes of this actor in the film "Warriors" and the cartoon "Megamind".
And the dubbing of Tatyana Shitova, who âplayedâ the heroine of Margot Robbie, may be familiar to the audience of the film if they use the Yandex application âAliceâ, since it was she who gave the application her voice. Subsequently, Robbie again âspokeâ with Shitovaâs voice in the films âSuicide Squadâ and âTonya Against Everyoneâ.
Soundtrack
A particularly attentive viewer while watching can count more than sixty songs involved in the musical content of The Wolf of Wall Street. In any case, the exact number of soundtracks was reported by the composer Howard Shore. On the day of the New York premiere of the picture, an official soundtrack album, released on Virgin Records, appeared on the shelves. Of the more than sixty compositions involved, only sixteen entered this disc, among which were:
- Cannonball Adderley - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!
- Elmore James - Dust My Broom.
- Billy Joel-Movin 'Out (Anthony's Song).
- Eartha Kitt - C'est Si Bon.
- Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Goldfinger.
- Bo Diddley - Pretty Thing.
- The Lemonheads - Mrs. Robinson and others.
Awards and nominations
Despite as many as five prestigious Academy Award nominations in 2013 (best film, director, adapted script, male roles of the first and second plan), not a single Wolf of Wall Street received any awards. However, the picture did not remain completely without awards: the American Film Institute recognized it as the best film of the year, the National Council of Film Critics of the United States included in the top ten and awarded a screenwriter, and prizes in the nomination for Best Actor from Golden Globe were prepared for Leonardo DiCaprio and Critics' Choice.
The Real Story of Jordan Belfort
Memoirs of the same name, on which the film âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ was shot, were written and published by Jordan Belfort in 2007 and 2009. Despite the fact that after the events described in the picture, the fraudster was sentenced to four years in prison, he spent only 22 months in prison and was released in 2000.
Having got rid of all his addictions, but having failed to adapt to the life of the average American, Belfort published two memoirs, and then began to conduct business seminars. And this despite the fact that he still owes the state an amount in excess of ten million dollars.
It is worth noting that âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ is the second film about Jordan Belfort: in 2000, Ben Yanger's picture âBoiler Roomâ was released on the screens, which was also based on the life story of the famous broker.
Quotes
âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ, like many of Martin Scorseseâs films, was immediately scrutinized by the audience immediately after being released. Some of them are funny and are perceived exclusively in the context of what is happening on the screen, while others, on the contrary, are thoughtful and may well live separately from the film. The best quotes from The Wall Street Wolf are presented below.
Without action, the best intentions in the world will remain intentions.
Good news spreads quickly, and bad news instantly.
The cheapest product is the opinion of others about you.
I would like to love at least something as much as I hate everything.
As a society, we are smarter than ever, just technology has given the right to vote to an unintelligent mass.
"Give me an autograph!" - "I have no pen!" - "Buy a pen from me!"
Most people, even in a film about their lives, would play a supporting role.
Risk is a cure for old age.
You know, when you have a yacht, like a villain from Bond, you sometimes want to be in the image.
Interesting Facts
The description of âThe Wolf from Wall Streetâ, like any other significant film, will not be complete without a handful of interesting facts told by the creators and participants of the filming process.
- Leonardo DiCaprio dreamed of playing Jordan Belfort since 2007, immediately after reading the broker's memoirs. During preparations for the shooting, as well as throughout the filming process, the actor met regularly, talked and consulted with Belfort.
- Joana Lumley, who played the role of Aunt Emma, ââis one of Leonardo DiCaprio's favorite actresses. In the scene of the kiss of Emma and Jordan, the actor was so nervous that he had to make 27 takes.
- In all the scenes of cocaine use, the actors sniffed crushed vitamin B tablets. It was not just a harmless drug substitution, but even useful, as it actually replenished the artists on the set.
- The bizarre montage of the film, which separates the "sober" and "narcotic" states of the protagonist, was contributed by the cameraman, Rodrigo Prieto. He decided to use anamorphic lenses in scenes where Belfort was high and shot everything else using spherical optics. Thanks to this, having watched half of the film, the viewer subconsciously determines the characterâs state - even before he finds out whether he accepted something or not.
- It is curious that the actor John Hill received a fee at the minimum rate of the United States Film Actors Guild for working in this film, namely 60 thousand dollars excluding taxes. He himself set this condition in order not to lose his place in the film, as he really wanted to star in Martin Scorsese. Later, Hill joked that he would even be ready to act in film for free or pay the director to approve him for the role in his film.
- A particularly attentive viewer may notice that throughout the picture, the abusive word Fuck, as well as its variations, are pronounced 506 times.
- Margot Robbie was very shy and nervous before filming the scene in which she appears in front of Leonardo DiCaprio in a half-naked form. To relax, she had to gulp three shots of tequila.
- All the members of the crew were included in the list of guests invited to the wedding, which Jordan Belfort handed to the FBI agents.
Critics Opinion and Rating
Reviews of the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street" from professional critics were mostly positive and even enthusiastic. Many boldly called the picture the best in the career of Martin Scorsese at least in the last 20 years, the play of all the actors involved, highly artistic camera work and great sound were highly appreciated. Among the claims to the film, film critics mainly featured only an unreasonably long timing, the lack of need for too detailed erotic and narcotic scenes, as well as excessive (in their opinion) romanticization of the lifestyle of a person who is a real criminal.
The movie rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website is very good - 77% based on over 200 reviews. On the IMDB website, the picture received an even higher rating - 8.2 out of 10. The rating on the Kinopoisk domestic resource coincides with the results of Rotten Tomatoes - 77% positive.
Viewers reviews
The ratio of positive and negative reviews of the movie âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ on the Russian site âKinopoiskâ - more than 300 positive and 80 negative, as well as 60 neutral. It is worth noting that the same percentage of opinions is found on all resources where it is possible to watch and comment on this picture.
What did the Russian audience like about this work by Martin Scorsese? Of course, most people managed to catch the directorâs message and understand that there is no romanticization of the Belfort criminal in the film, and his lifestyle can appeal to only those who are already predisposed to excesses, profligacy and illegal entertainment. This was especially easily understood by avid fans of Scorseseâs work, who knew that he often used the theme of quick and easy enrichment and uplift in his films, which, as a rule, did not bring happiness to the main characters and ended in a loud fall. Of course, in this case, the story is somewhat distorted by the fact that the main character is a real person, not so punished by fate and continuing to lead a comfortable life. But the audience understands - this has nothing to do with the film.
But, unfortunately, among the audience who fell in love with The Wolf of Wall Street, there were those who sincerely considered the biography of Jordan Belfort to be worthy of respect and imitation, who did not hesitate to write so directly. Some of these viewers even called the character Leonardo DiCaprio his hero, "a real peasant", a man who knows how to live his life and "to the fullest." Reading such opinions makes it clear that those critics who rated the film negatively were not completely mistaken about the romanticization of the image of the criminal.
It is not surprising that the majority of viewers who left a positive opinion found not only the director's work and plot outstanding, but also the game of Leonardo DiCaprio. Many wrote that this person, already now a living legend of modern cinema, in this picture simply surpassed himself, creating the image of a living person with his own, albeit incorrect view of life, handsome and disgusting at the same time.
Negative audience reviews of the movie âThe Wolf of Wall Streetâ generally coincide with the claims of professionals. A sufficiently large number of viewers were not even able to watch the picture to the end, either tired of the duration, or unable to withstand observing the cheerful excesses of the main character in absolutely everything that he encounters in life. Someone recorded in the film's minuses an absolute hostility to the protagonist, in which the only advantage is DiCaprioâs âpretty appearance,â someone, on the contrary, firmly decided that Scorsese does not condemn, but supports the lifestyle of Jordan Belfort.
Well, those viewers who decided not to go to extremes and leave a neutral comment agreed in this opinion: this film by Martin Scorsese is certainly a masterpiece in many aspects and deserves attention. They paid this attention, admired the acting and the beauty of the frame, but nothing more. Itâs just that this part of the audience does not like this genre of films, in any case, without belittling the virtues that are present in them and without offending those who fully liked Wolf of Wall Street.