The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013)

[Luke M]

Do we really another movie where DiCaprio plays a rich dude, toasting a glass in the air while modern day hip hop music is playing in the background?

[Murdoch]

Yes

[rohming]

all the ways i don't need The Great Gatsby are the ways i need The WOWS.

[felipe]

Anachronistic means "not of the time period," so a cut off of Kanye West's new album is certainly anachronistic to a film that takes place fifteen years ago. The characters can't listen to music from the future.

Even if the film is set to modern hip-hop, that doesn't mean the characters are listening to it. Dustin Hoffman isn't actually listening to a song called Mrs. Robinson, you know.

[wigwam]

But his character could listen to Simon & Garfunkel and imagine his predicament in such a song

Anyone read where Marty would pace his trailer all coked out during Raging Bull blasting the Clash and imaging making Gangs of NY w/ them as blatant anachronistic soundtrack? Woulda been so cool

[Forrest Taft]

If I recall correctly, this topic is discussed in Scorsese on Scorsese, and his opinion is that it's lazy to use contemporary songs to score a period picture, and that if a movie is set in, say 1975, no songs released after 75 should be used. To clarify, he was of course talking about movies, not trailers.

[Jeff]

Anachronistic means "not of the time period," so a cut off of Kanye West's new album is certainly anachronistic to a film that takes place fifteen years ago. The characters can't listen to music from the future.

Even if the film is set to modern hip-hop, that doesn't mean the characters are listening to it. Dustin Hoffman isn't actually listening to a song called Mrs. Robinson, you know.

Yes, I understand that. My comment about the characters not being able to listen to it was related to the post above mine, which I quoted.

I don't find it anachronistic at all since it's likely all what the characters in the film listen to.

As I said, I don't have a problem with it. I was just clarifying that it is, in fact, anachronistic.

[felipe]

Is it anachronistic when U2 plays in Gangs of New York or end credits don't count?

[Cold Bishop]

McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Now lock the thread.

[TheDudeAbides]

Been busy for a while so I didn't respond, but my comparison of the music in the trailer for this film and Gatsby was three fold.
1) I dislike anachronistic music; on occasion it works really well, especially in an oddball or experimental films or in specific moments, but it rarely works well after often feels really out of place
2) I don't like it when music is chosen that doesn't fit the feel of the film; hard to say in regards to Wolf of Wall Street because it hasn't been released yet, but it stuck out like a sore thumb in Great Gatsby, even compared to the other anachronistic songs in the film like the Lana del Rey song or the song by The XX which actually both fit the overall mood and feel of the film that Luhrmann was going for. The Jay Z song and the Beyonce song really stuck out IMO and did not feel right whatsoever. I'm assuming they were chosen because Jay Z was a producer and pushed Luhrmann into choosing them (or worse because Baz actually thought they would work).
3) It may be petty, but I really hate Kanye and Jay Z. Two pompous, self absorbed assholes who think they are, to quote Jay Z "the ma-fuckin greatest". Kanye might make some really good hip-hop tracks (and I do like a lot of his music) but he as a person is the epitome of everything I hate. To hear his music in my favourite director's film trailer stings. Especially because I consider Scorsese to be a man of class, someone above using music made by scumbags. But again this is a purely personal and petty reason.

[Matt]

3) It may be petty, but I really hate Kanye and Jay Z. Two pompous, self absorbed assholes who think they are, to quote Jay Z "the ma-fuckin greatest". Kanye might make some really good hip-hop tracks (and I do like a lot of his music) but he as a person is the epitome of everything I hate. To hear his music in my favourite director's film trailer stings. Especially because I consider Scorsese to be a man of class, someone above using music made by scumbags.

The Rolling Stones and Phil Spector, however, have always been paragons of modesty and selflessness.

[FakeBonanza]

2) I don't like it when music is chosen that doesn't fit the feel of the film; hard to say in regards to Wolf of Wall Street because it hasn't been released yet, but it stuck out like a sore thumb in Great Gatsby, even compared to the other anachronistic songs in the film like the Lana del Rey song or the song by The XX which actually both fit the overall mood and feel of the film that Luhrmann was going for. The Jay Z song and the Beyonce song really stuck out IMO and did not feel right whatsoever. I'm assuming they were chosen because Jay Z was a producer and pushed Luhrmann into choosing them (or worse because Baz actually thought they would work).

I actually found the excess and obsessive consumption championed in the modern hip-hop music to perfectly suit the film, particularly the scenes in which it was used. I actually think it is a case, given the style of Luhrmann's film, that this choice of music more effectively accentuates the visuals of these sequences for a contemporary audience. To use period music, such as jazz, might've actually dulled the effect of those scenes. I do not think they were chosen because of any pressure from Jay-Z, but rather because those songs draw an appropriate parallel between the time in which the film is set and this particular cultural moment (in which hip-hop is a dominant medium).

I should say that I was not at all impressed with this musical direction when I saw the trailers, but in the context of the of the film itself I found it highly effective.

[Roger Ryan]

...Dustin Hoffman isn't actually listening to a song called Mrs. Robinson, you know...

Actually, his character whistles the tune in one scene of THE GRADUATE!

Very few directors have better taste in using popular songs in their films than Scorsese, so I'll wait to see what the end result is.

[Brian C]

3) It may be petty, but I really hate Kanye and Jay Z. Two pompous, self absorbed assholes who think they are, to quote Jay Z "the ma-fuckin greatest". Kanye might make some really good hip-hop tracks (and I do like a lot of his music) but he as a person is the epitome of everything I hate.

You know who is the epitome of everything I hate? HITLER.

[domino harvey]

What do you have against highways

[TheDudeAbides]

The Rolling Stones and Phil Spector, however, have always been paragons of modesty and selflessness.

In regards to the Rolling Stones, they have always publicly appeared to be somewhat modest, they don't act like they are the greatest thing ever, even though they are one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Kanye and Jay Z have egos big enough to plug the grand canyon, they act like they are the greatest, most important human beings of all time, like they are so much better than everyone else. Their massive egos and inflated sense of self worth is something I really can't stand, I'm sure Mick and Keith know they are amongst the greatest musicians of all time and think they are great, but they at least have the dignity and respect to feign modesty in public.

In Regards to Spector, touche. Even before Phil Spector murdered Lana Clarkson in cold blood he was a very weird and deeply troubled reclusive egomaniac. Maybe the reason why I gave Scorsese a pass on him is because of how well Spector's music complements his movies and his style, I mean can you imagine what the Copacabana scene in Goodfellas would be like without Then He Kissed Me or the intro sequence to Mean Streets without Be My Baby? Or maybe its because his love of Spector produced music came from a period before Spector's troublesome personal life was well known. Or maybe its because Spector is one of the greatest producers of all time and I've decided for some reason to separate his musical genius from his personal life; the wall of sound technique he became known for is incredible and songs like be my baby, then he kissed me and river deep mountain high are some of the best produced songs in the history of popular music.

[MichaelB]

British viewers often find the trailer for Pale Rider laugh-out-loud funny.

I won't spoil it for them, but

Spoiler

the music is the main theme from Channel 4 News, one of our leading serious news programmes.

[sighkingu]

The Rolling Stones and Phil Spector, however, have always been paragons of modesty and selflessness.

In regards to the Rolling Stones, they have always publicly appeared to be somewhat modest, they don't act like they are the greatest thing ever, even though they are one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Kanye and Jay Z have egos big enough to plug the grand canyon, they act like they are the greatest, most important human beings of all time, like they are so much better than everyone else. Their massive egos and inflated sense of self worth is something I really can't stand, I'm sure Mick and Keith know they are amongst the greatest musicians of all time and think they are great, but they at least have the dignity and respect to feign modesty in public.

In Regards to Spector, touche. Even before Phil Spector murdered Lana Clarkson in cold blood he was a very weird and deeply troubled reclusive egomaniac. Maybe the reason why I gave Scorsese a pass on him is because of how well Spector's music complements his movies and his style, I mean can you imagine what the Copacabana scene in Goodfellas would be like without Then He Kissed Me or the intro sequence to Mean Streets without Be My Baby? Or maybe its because his love of Spector produced music came from a period before Spector's troublesome personal life was well known. Or maybe its because Spector is one of the greatest producers of all time and I've decided for some reason to separate his musical genius from his personal life; the wall of sound technique he became known for is incredible and songs like be my baby, then he kissed me and river deep mountain high are some of the best produced songs in the history of popular music.

You sound like you don't like rap music. I'm sure someone older than you finds tha' Stones egotistical.

The trailer's great, I now have high hopes for this picture.

[JabbaTheSlut]

The movie's about hubris, Kanye's about hubris. A good match.

[Professor Wagstaff]

New Trailer

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Length per the French distributor: 179 minutes. So even after the running time brouhaha, this is still Scorsese's longest narrative feature to date (though I'm betting Casino will come out ahead if you don't count closing credits).

Edit: 173 minutes without credits (this article also confirms the movie won't go out with an NC-17, as if there was ever any question of that). Someone else will have to work out how long Casino runs without credits.

[Jeff]

Apparently this went over very well at two SAG screenings yesterday, and there are plenty of giddy tweets to attest to that.

Pete Hammond moderated one of the Q&As and reported on the rapturous response.

I would label the movie “Scorsese Satyricon” , a wild ride full of contemporary debauchery to say the least (DiCaprio compared some of it to Caligula) , with a fine ensemble and a frenetic pace that belies its three hour running time. And even at that length it never lags. It is the perfect companion piece to Goodfellas and puts Scorsese right back in the thick of the Oscar race, if Academy members, particularly older ones, can deal with the almost non-stop parade of sex , drugs, nudity and rock and roll. Violence, a Scorsese staple in this type of film, is missing but there are a number of remarkable set pieces including a storm-driven yacht voyage that has to be seen to be believed (Rob Legato supervised the Special Effects team). An NC-17 was avoided by some reported judicious cutting but its hard to imagine the stuff that didn’t make it in considering the edgy material that did.

There are also the performances, including two sure to gain Oscar recognition for Di Caprio and Hill. As many observers I talked to noted DiCaprio in fact has simply never been better in the signature role of his career as Jordan Belfort , the out-of-control Wall Street hot shot who is at the center of this story. Leo just knocked someone out of the Best Actor lineup making an impossibly difficult year even more difficult. It would be unthinkable to imagine he won’t be in the top five. And Hill, hilarious and memorable as his co-hort in white collar crime is equally great, an almost certain second Best Supporting Actor nod for the actor

At age 71 Scorsese is rare among directors at that age, clearly at the top of his directorial powers. He seems energized by the material and the script from Terence Winter. It is a perfect companion to films like Goodfellas and Casino.

Apparently in addition to good performances in small roles by Matthew McConaughey and Jean DuJardin, actor/directors Rob Reiner, Jon Favreau, and Spike Jonze all turn up as well.

[domino harvey]

Two-time Oscar nominee Jonah Hill

[rs98762001]

Strange thing is that Hill actually gives - by far - the most memorable performance in the movie. He's hysterically funny and occasionally touching.

Otherwise this is overlong and excessive, and especially in its first half feels a little too much like an aging director desperate to recapture - even surpass - the vitality of his youth. There is a point I suppose to all the non-stop, ear-splitting scenes of partying, sex, drug use and Belfort's endless Knute Rockne speeches to his growing sales team in that they're a perfect reflection of its characters and the era in which the film takes place, but that doesn't make it any less tiresome at times. Its frenetic pace and editing style makes Goodfellas look positively geriatric, yet crucially it lacks that film's heart and full-blooded characters; additionally, its overall rise-and-fall arc is something that has been done countless times before, not least by Marty himself. It feels like he's trying to outdo himself in spectacle, much like Fellini did at times in the later part of his career, and it all gets sucked up into a noisy, soulless vacuum that still has enough surface razzle-dazzle to remain entertaining.

Having said that, it is fucking hilarious. Not in a creepy After Hours way, but in a genuinely uproarious way, which is especially surprising after the extremely solemn Shutter Island and Hugo (both of which I probably prefer to Wolf). And there are a couple of breathtaking sequences in it, one in particular with DiCaprio and Hill wacked out on particularly potent Qualudes, that rivals anything Scorsese has done before.

[mfunk9786]

Jonah Hill tops In Contention's list of supporting actor frontrunners, suggesting he's a sure thing to be nominated and currently the favorite to win:

01. Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
02. Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
03. Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
04. Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks)
05. Will Forte (Nebraska)
06. Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
07. Daniel Brühl (Rush)
08. John Goodman (Inside Llewyn Davis)
09. James Gandolfini (Enough Said)
10. Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners)