Wall St Films & Documentaries

BILLIONS

Starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, a series about a hedge fund king constantly trying to tilt the markets in his favor. The show exposes viewers to hedge fund managers' genius and dirty tricks and U.S. attorneys' relentless pursuit of these managers. It offers a look into the way financial markets work at the extremes and how the system is played by its richest participants. The series is laden with investing and financial terminology.

WALL STREET

Gordon Gekko is a composite character in the 1987 film Wall Street and its 2010 sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, directed by Oliver Stone. Gekko was portrayed by actor Michael Douglas, whose performance in the first film won him an Oscar for Best Actor. Known by his famous quote, "Greed is good," Gekko is reportedly based on multiple real-life individuals on Wall Street, including corporate raider Carl Icahn, stock trader Ivan Boesky, and investor Michael Ovitz.

TRADING PLACES

Upper-crust executive Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and down-and-out hustler Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) are the subjects of a bet by successful brokers Mortimer (Don Ameche) and Randolph Duke (Ralph Bellamy). The brothers frame an employee of the Dukes, Winthorpe for a crime he didn't commit, with the siblings then installing the street-smart Valentine in his position. When Winthorpe and Valentine uncover the scheme, they set out to turn the tables on the Dukes.

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

In 1987, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) took an entry-level job at a Wall Street brokerage firm. By the early 1990s, while still in his 20s, Belfort founds his firm, Stratton Oakmont. Together with his trusted lieutenant (Jonah Hill) and a merry band of brokers, Belfort makes a huge fortune by defrauding wealthy investors out of millions. However, while Belfort and his cronies partake in a hedonistic brew of sex, drugs, and thrills, the SEC and the FBI close in on his empire of excess.

LEHMAN BROTHERS - THE BANK THAT BROKE THE WORLD

A gripping documentary that explores the rise, risky practices, and eventual collapse of Lehman Brothers, a prominent investment bank. It highlights the bank's role in the 2008 global financial crisis, examining its involvement in the subprime mortgage market and complex financial instruments. Through interviews and analysis, the film reveals the profound impact of Lehman Brothers' downfall on the global economy, making it a captivating exploration of a significant financial disaster.

THE FALL OF BEAR STEARNS

A compelling documentary that delves into the downfall of Bear Stearns, a renowned investment bank. The film examines the events leading up to the bank's collapse, exploring its history and strategies. It sheds light on Bear Stearns' risky practices, particularly its heavy involvement in the subprime mortgage market, and how these factors contributed to its demise. With insightful interviews and analysis, the documentary unveils the impact of Bear Stearns' collapse on the financial landscape, making it a captivating exploration of a significant event in the financial industry.

CRYPTO: THE WORLD'S GREATEST SCAM

Bitcoin to Blockchains, to NFTs, to Web 3.0. it's time to find out if it's really about all the hype or just part of one of the greatest scams in human history.

BILL GROSS - THE TWO TRILLION DOLLAR BOND KING

Bill Gross is a living legend: King of the two trillion-dollar bond empire! In this documentary, we learn about how he rose to the top and fell from his throne.

JPMORGAN HOW ONE MAN FINANCED AMERICA

America's transition into a global financial superpower is unthinkable without the contributions of John Pierpont Morgan. J.P. Morgan: How One Man Financed America is a fast-paced and informative portrait of the banking giant whose financial prowess brought the country back from the brink on several occasions throughout history.

CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin and JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon on the 2008 Crisis: In a conversation with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon details the events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. Ten years later, he says he doesn’t trust doing business with Washington because “the next government can do whatever they want.”

PANIC: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS

This documentary looks at the factors that led to the 2008 financial crisis and the efforts made by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Timothy Geithner, and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke to save the United States from an economic collapse.

DONALD TRUMP AN AMERICAN DREAM

This documentary tells the story of modern America through the life of one man - President Donald J. Trump. The four-episode series shows how he has embodied many movements that have shaped American society since the 1960s, including capitalism, political disenfranchisement, reality TV, and social media. The show traces Trump's rise in the 1970s, when he built Trump Tower, through his expansion into casinos in the 1980s, financial problems in the early 1990s, and turning his attention to politics in the 2010s, including his decision to run for the White House and Making America Great Again.

MONEY MONSTER

Lee Gates is a Wall Street guru who picks hot stocks as host of the television show "Money Monster." Suddenly, during a live broadcast, disgruntled investor Kyle Budwell storms onto the set and takes Gates hostage. He tells Lee that he lost everything on one of his tips. As Gates tries to plead with Kyle, he's also using an earpiece to communicate with his producer in the control room. Together, they must figure out how to defuse the situation and disarm the angry young man.

A FAMILY MAN

Dane Jensen is a hard-driven headhunter who works at a cutthroat firm. When his boss pits him against the equally driven Lynn Vogel, Dane gears up for the professional battle of his life. When his young son is given a harrowing diagnosis, Dane is suddenly pulled between achieving his professional dream and spending time with the family that needs him now more than ever.

THE FAMILY MAN

High-powered Wall Street bachelor Jack Campbell lives in the fast lane until he gets the shock of a lifetime when he wakes up one morning in suburban NJ next to Kate (Tea Leoni), the girlfriend he left 13 years ago. Now, Jack's entire world is turned upside down. He's got two kids and traded in his Ferrari for a minivan while trying not to lose his mind. Can an upscale, downtown player survive in middle-of-the-road suburbia? And what does it take for a once single-minded exec to become The Family Man in this hilarious comedy about second thoughts and second chances?

HUSTLERS

Inspired by the viral New York Magazine article, Hustlers follows a crew of savvy strippers who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.

WARREN BUFFET HBO DOCUMENTARY

Legendary investor Warren Buffet starts as an ambitious, numbers-obsessed boy from Nebraska, becoming one of the world's richest and most respected men.

BANKING AND BITCOIN

Bitcoin is the most disruptive invention since the Internet, and now an ideological battle is underway between fringe utopists and mainstream capitalism. The film shows the players defining how this technology will shape our lives.

THE WIZARD OF LIES

In 2008, stockbroker, investment adviser, and financier Bernie Madoff made headlines around the world when he was arrested for perpetrating perhaps the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.

EQUITY

An investment banker (Anna Gunn) tries to work her way up the Wall Street ladder while a prosecutor (Alysia Reiner) keeps an eye out for corrupt practices.

THE BIG SHORT

In 2008, Wall Street guru Michael Burry realized that several subprime home loans were in danger of defaulting. Burry bets against the housing market by throwing more than $1 billion of his investors' money into credit default swaps. His actions attract the attention of banker Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), hedge-fund specialist Mark Baum (Steve Carell), and other greedy opportunists. Together, these men make a fortune by taking full advantage of the impending economic collapse in America.

MONEY FOR NOTHING INSIDE THE FEDERAL RESERVE

Filmmaker Jim Bruce traces the history of the Federal Reserve through extensive interviews with federal officials, economists, and historians.

ARBITRAGE

As he approaches his 60th birthday, New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) is the picture of success -- at least on the surface. In reality, Miller is in over his head, trying desperately to sell his empire to a big bank before the authorities and his family uncover the depth of his fraud. Unexpectedly, a critical error forces Miller to juggle family, business, and crime with the aid of a former associate, but a detective's (Tim Roth) suspicions mean it may already be too late.

TOO BIG TO FAIL

Too Big to Fail is an American biographical drama television film first broadcast on HBO on May 23, 2011, based on Andrew Ross Sorkin's non-fiction book Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—and Themselves (2009). Curtis Hanson directed the film.

SOMETHING VENTURED

The story of how a few individuals built an industry that would finance nearly all of the major technological advancements in the past 50 years with companies such as Atari, Genentech, Apple, Intel, and more.

MARGIN CALL

Margin Call is a story that takes 24 hours at a large Wall Street investment bank during the initial stages of the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

CHASING MADOFF

Securities analyst Harry Markopolos and his investigators spend ten years trying to blow the lid off Bernie Madoff's devastating Ponzi scheme.

THE MADOFF AFFAIR

On Dec. 11, 2008, Bernard L. Madoff confessed that his investment business was all "one big lie," a Ponzi scheme that cost investors $65 billion. In this 2009 documentary, FRONTLINE explored how Madoff became the new poster child for Wall Street gall, greed, and corruption

LIMITLESS

Facing unemployment and his girlfriend's rejection, writer Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is sure that he has no future. That all changes when an old friend gives him a drug that produces enhanced mental acuity. Stoked on the untested chemical, Eddie rises to the top of the financial world and attracts the attention of a tycoon (Robert De Niro) who intends to use him to make a fortune. But terrible side effects and a dwindling supply threaten to collapse Eddie's house of cards.

 

INSIDE JOB

The global financial meltdown in Fall 2008 caused millions of job and home losses and plunged the United States into a deep economic recession. Matt Damon narrates a documentary examining the elements that led to the collapse and identifying key financial and political players. Director Charles Ferguson conducts various interviews and traces the story from the United States to China, Iceland, and several other global financial hot spots.

FREAKONOMICS

A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by economist Steven D. Levitt and writer Stephen J. Dubner. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2010 with a theatrical release later in the year.

THE ASCENT OF MONEY

A Financial History of the World is a 2008 book by then-Harvard professor Niall Ferguson and an adapted television documentay for Channel 4 and PBS, which in 2009 won an International Emmy Award. It examines the long history of money, credit, and banking.

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY

Michael Moore's timely film looks at the successes and failures of the American capitalist system, where the richest one percent have more than the bottom 95 percent combined, a system that claims to reward free enterprise but rewards greed. He coaxes an explanation of what derivatives are from experts.

THE BANK

The Bank is a thriller about banking, corruption, and alchemy. The movie follows the story of a talented mathematician who becomes a key player in a powerful bank. As he climbs the ranks, he uncovers a web of corruption and deceit within the institution. Faced with moral dilemmas and personal danger, he must navigate a treacherous landscape to expose the truth and protect his own integrity. With intense suspense and thought-provoking themes, "The Bank" offers a thrilling exploration of greed, ambition, and the darker side of the financial industry.

FRONTLINE THE WARNING

Frontline offers a detailed look at the roots of the 2008 economic crisis by investigating why government officials refused to regulate emerging derivatives markets that later ruined the financial system.

BREAKING THE BANK

The film centers on the late-2000s financial crisis and the recovery stimulus while indicting the then-current economic order in the United States and unfettered capitalism.

FLOORED

At a time when millions have lost fortunes in the fickle stock market, and fear abounds about the faltering financial system, FLOORED is a gripping, honest look behind the curtain of the trading floor that few have ever seen.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Life is a struggle for single father Chris Gardner (Will Smith). Evicted from their apartment, he and his young son (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) find themselves alone with no place to go. Even though Chris eventually lands a job as an intern at a prestigious brokerage firm, the position pays no money. The pair must live in shelters and endure many hardships, but Chris refuses to give in to despair as he struggles to create a better life for himself and his son.

ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM

This documentary explores the fall of the Enron Corporation, arguably the most shocking example of modern corporate corruption. The company is linked with several illegal schemes, including instigating the California energy crisis to drive up utility prices at the expense of the average American. In a hyper-competitive environment, Enron traders resort to all kinds of underhanded dealings to make money at any cost and keep their high-paying jobs.

BOILER ROOM

Welcome to the infamous "boiler room" -- where twenty-something millionaires are made overnight. Here, in the inner sanctum of a fly-by-night brokerage firm, hyper-aggressive young stock jocks peddle to unsuspecting buyers over the phone -- and are rewarded with mansions, Ferraris, and more luxury toys than they know what to do with. In this unassuming Long Island enclave, Gen Xers chase the green at breakneck speeds, sometimes one step ahead of the law.

AMERICAN PSYCHO

In New York City in 1987, a handsome, young urban professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night. The cast is filled with the detective (Willem Dafoe), the fiance (Reese Witherspoon), the mistress (Samantha Mathis), the coworker (Jared Leto), and the secretary (Chloë Sevigny). This biting, wry comedy examines the elements that make a man a monster.

MONEY, POWER, AND WALL STREET

FRONTLINE'S Money, Power and Wall Street, correspondent Martin Smith interviews leading bankers, government officials and journalists to chart the epic rise of a new financial order and the trouble that followed. As Wall Street innovated, its revenues skyrocketed, and financial institutions of all stripes tied their fortunes to one another. Smith probes deeply into the story of the big banks; how they developed, how they profited, and how the model that produced unfathomable wealth planted the seeds of financial destruction.

ROGUE TRADER

This drama, based on a true story, follows Nick Leeson (Ewan McGregor), a young British man working at Barings, a major investment bank. Sent to Singapore and placed in a position of authority at the bank's branch there, Leeson takes advantage of the thriving Asian market to make risky trades. Before long, he's in over his head and tries to hide the losses. Fleeing the country with his beautiful wife, Lisa (Anna Friel), Leeson eventually has to face the consequences of his actions.

BLACK WEDNESDAY

The events surrounding the fateful day in September 1992 when billions were spent on shoring up the pound, and Britain has been forced out of the ERM, as re-told by some of the leading cast members of the drama.

BARBARIANS AT THE GATE

Based on a true story, this humor-tinged docudrama follows F. Ross Johnson (James Garner), the CEO and president of the massive food and tobacco corporation RJR Nabisco, as he attempts to buy the company. Before long, other major players become involved, most notably ruthless executive Henry Kravis (Jonathan Pryce), which leads to clashes with Johnson. As the bids roll in and Kravis makes his savvy moves, can Johnson win out in this battle of aggressive business tactics?

GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS

When an office full of New York City real estate salesmen is given the news that all but the top two will be fired at the end of the week, the atmosphere begins to heat up. Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon), who has a sick daughter, does everything in his power to get better leads from his boss, John Williamson (Kevin Spacey), but to no avail. When his coworker Dave Moss (Ed Harris) comes up with a plan to steal the leads, things get complicated for the tough-talking salesmen.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

"Larry the Liquidator" Garfield (Danny DeVito) is a corporate raider, deconstructing companies and selling off the parts for a profit. His new target is a small-town cable company that employs most of the town's residents. With everyone's livelihood depending on him, company chairman Andrew Jorgenson (Gregory Peck) hires his sexy stepdaughter, Kate (Penelope Ann Miller), to distract the ruthless raider. Larry takes the bait -- and soon finds that he must choose between Kate and money.

THE INSIDER-TRADING SCANDAL THAT NEARLY DESTROYED WALL STREET

A documentary about Den of Thieves tells the full story of the insider trading scandal that nearly destroyed Wall Street, the men who pulled it off, and the chase that finally brought them to justice. Pulitzer Prize– winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the eighties’ biggest names on Wall Street— Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine — created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions until a team of downtrodden detectives triumphed over some of America's most expensive lawyers to bring this powerful quartet to justice.

THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES

In this adaptation of the Tom Wolfe novel, powerful Wall Street executive Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) is riding with his greedy girlfriend, Maria (Melanie Griffith), when she makes a wrong turn and winds up in the Bronx. She runs over a black boy and drives off without reporting it. When alcoholic tabloid reporter Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis) discovers the story, he knows it will be scandalous and riles up New Yorkers with his coverage of the case, which soon goes to trial.

WORKING GIRL

Savvy New York City receptionist Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) gives her conniving boss, Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), an excellent business tip. Still, Katharine steals the idea without giving due credit to her secretary. After Katharine winds up in the hospital with an injured leg, Tess decides to exact revenge. Pretending to be her boss, Tess initiates a major deal with an investment broker (Harrison Ford) -- but things turn ugly after Katharine finds out what Tess has been up to.

INSIDE THE WORLD OF A BILLIONAIRE SPECULATOR - PAUL TUDOR JONES

Paul Tudor Jones Is an American billionaire hedge fund manager, conservationist, and philanthropist. In 1980, he founded his hedge fund, Tudor Investment Corporation, an asset management firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. How did he get rich? This documentary sheds light on his trading strategy. The legendary forex commodity trader has over $7 billion net worth.

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all - and it's Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashbacks. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he rescues his guardian angel, Clarence - who then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all his good deeds over the years.

ASSAULT ON WALL STREET

Jim, an average New Yorker, lives with a sick but loving wife. Suddenly, everything changes when the economy crashes which causes him to lose everything.