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.
In the early 1990s, Jordan Belfort teamed with his partner Donny Azoff and started brokerage firm Stratford-Oakmont. Their company quickly grows from a staff of 20 to a staff of more than 250 and their status in the trading community and Wall Street grows exponentially. So much that companies file their initial public offerings through them. As their status grows, so do the amount of substances they abuse, and so do their lies. They draw attention like no other, throwing lavish parties for their staff when they hit the jackpot on high trades. That ultimately leads to Belfort featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine, being called "The Wolf Of Wall St.". With the FBI onto Belfort's trading schemes, he devises new ways to cover his tracks and watch his fortune grow. Belfort ultimately comes up with a scheme to stash their cash in a European bank. But with the FBI watching him like a hawk, how long will Belfort and Azoff be able to maintain their elaborate wealth and luxurious lifestyles?Written by
halo1k
This is the first film for producers Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland under their Red Granite banner. According to them, they decided to finance this film as a challenge in response to the idea that no studio was willing to finance an explicit, over-the-top sex-laced film with a large budget (produced at around $100,000,000). Aziz and McFarland were formerly investment bankers, and the bulk of the funding came from their investors' contacts in Mid-West Asia. One company in particular, a development fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) led by the Malaysian then-Prime Minister Najib Razak (and Aziz' stepfather), contributed an alleged $64 million. This was following mediation by Malaysian businessman Jho Low who had befriended Leonardo DiCaprio and learned of the difficulties of financing the movie through traditional means. Ironically enough for a film about financial corruption, both Razak and Low later got embroiled in a scandal when they were charged of siphoning 1MDB money to their own accounts to finance their lavish lifestyles (Low even went into hiding). The producers finally paid $60 million in a settlement over charges that the film had been financed by embezzled investor money. See more »
Goofs
Jordan explains to Donnie that you can't get drunk on non-alcoholic beer because of the absence of alcohol in it. This is not entirely true. Non-alcoholic beer does contain trace amounts of alcohol. By law, non-alcoholic may not exceed 0.5% by volume. See more »
The film opens with a Stratton Oakmont advertisement hosted by Jordan Belfort. The film title appears only at the ending. See more »
Alternate Versions
News reports in local media have said the version of the movie showing in Abu Dhabi cinemas removes 45 minutes of content. Aside from nudity and sexual situations, most of the edits come from the film's 600+ curse words. Time Out Abu Dhabi reported offensive language was removed by "either by muting the audio temporarily or chopping chunks from scenes mid sentence, which produces a jarring effect for viewers." See more »
The last few Scorsese pics left me a little disappointed. I had begun to think Marty had become a 'gun for hire' and that his brilliance may have been spent (his earlier works were some of the best movies ever made). I attended a screening of The Wolf of Wall Street this evening, and was expecting to be unimpressed. I am happy to say I was completely blown away. This pic is Marty at his best. I laughed, I cringed, I related (with fond memories as well as a bit of guilt) and I TOTALLY believed every unbelievable moment. A good book, a great screenplay and a delightful cast were formed and molded into what I believe should get Scorsese a best director Oscar, and likely a Best Picture Award for the movie. Leo DiCaprio has grown into a versatile actor and his creation of this super hero dirtbag's roller coaster ride in this crazy (true) story is really honest and delightfully entertaining. Jonah Hill pulled out all the stops too and this is definitely his best work. Thank you Mr. Scorsese for delivering the goods so brilliantly!
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The last few Scorsese pics left me a little disappointed. I had begun to think Marty had become a 'gun for hire' and that his brilliance may have been spent (his earlier works were some of the best movies ever made). I attended a screening of The Wolf of Wall Street this evening, and was expecting to be unimpressed. I am happy to say I was completely blown away. This pic is Marty at his best. I laughed, I cringed, I related (with fond memories as well as a bit of guilt) and I TOTALLY believed every unbelievable moment. A good book, a great screenplay and a delightful cast were formed and molded into what I believe should get Scorsese a best director Oscar, and likely a Best Picture Award for the movie. Leo DiCaprio has grown into a versatile actor and his creation of this super hero dirtbag's roller coaster ride in this crazy (true) story is really honest and delightfully entertaining. Jonah Hill pulled out all the stops too and this is definitely his best work. Thank you Mr. Scorsese for delivering the goods so brilliantly!