Financial Movies and Shows

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assumer
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Financial Movies and Shows

Post by assumer »

I am hoping to get a collection of movies and TV regarding financial topics, or with a financial theme. I will kick it off, and will edit this post to include movies / shows that others mention. This is clearly subjective, and we can collectively decide if something meets the threshold for having a "financial theme" or not. I hope the moderators allow this topic, because I see this as very actionable in terms of things to watch to entertain ourselves!

Movies: Documentaries: TV / Short Series: Plays / Theatre:
Last edited by assumer on Tue Mar 26, 2013 6:57 am, edited 42 times in total.
fmhealth
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by fmhealth »

Shark Tank. Should be required viewing for anyone serious about business.
henry
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by henry »

Frontline on PBS has had some interesting financial related documentaries. "Can You Afford to Retire, " "Ten Trillion and Counting, " "The Warning, " "The Secret History of the Credit Card, " and "The Card Game" are ones that I remember but there are many more. Available to watch for free streaming on their website. Also I believe available on Netflix streaming if you have it.

NOVA had an interesting documentary on behavioral finance called "Mind over Money" a few years ago.

"I.O.U.S.A" was an interesting documentary about the U.S. national debt. Also on Netflix.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by chaz »

1987 Wall Street was terrific.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by bigirish »

Documentaries:

Maxed Out (2006)
Queen of Versailles (2012)
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sclaus
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by sclaus »

Here are a few more:
Barbarians at the Gate - 1993
The Informant – 2009
Catch Me If You Can -2002
Rogue Trader - 1999

The Flaw – 2011 documentary
Casino Jack and the United States of Money – 2010 documentary
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StormShadow
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by StormShadow »

Freakonomics
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assumer
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by assumer »

sclaus wrote:Rogue Trader - 1999
Any good?
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Rob5TCP
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Rob5TCP »

Interesting list
Thank you.
Valuethinker
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Valuethinker »

Client 9

You have the tapes of the AIG CEO and CFO rigging the earnings. OK it's mostly about politics and Elliot Spitzer's downfall, but there is good financial stuff in there.

Classics include

The Solid Gold Cadillac (about proxy fights)

It's a Wonderful Life (a powerful story about a bank run, and how banking works)

Treasure of Sierra Madre (beautifully captures the nature of speculation and greed)

Heat - those are bearer bonds in that armored car

Plays/ Theatre

Enron by Lucy Prebble
Serious Money
Other Peoples' Money
The Price by Arthur Miller (about the bankruptcy of his father's business)
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (about the work of men in companies)
Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (about diversification, insurance, lending)
Glengarry Glen Ross (as per Victoria, below-- also a fine movie as per OP)

Dealer's Choice by Patrick Marber (again, about speculation, gambling, risk, being the mug)
Last edited by Valuethinker on Mon Mar 25, 2013 6:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Valuethinker
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Valuethinker »

assumer wrote:
sclaus wrote:Rogue Trader - 1999
Any good?
Not bad. The explanation of what Leeson got up to, when he brought down Barings.

Been repeated at Sumitomo (Mr. Copper), at SocGen (Kerviel), at UBS (Abdoli), with that Allied Irish (Anglo Irish Bank?) guy in Baltimore
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by VictoriaF »

Last edited by VictoriaF on Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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bengal22
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by bengal22 »

1.Shane

The Big Bad Land Baron was trying to gobble up the land from all of the poor small business people - farmers. Seems like there were a lot of westerns that had this theme of the big corporation forcing out the small land owners. A common theme was the farmer vs. the cattlemen.

2. Heaven's Gate - underrated flick that focused on the cattle baron's Association that had a death list on the small farmers
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cheese_breath
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by cheese_breath »

The Sting --- talk about scammers
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by gkaplan »

You omitted Trading Places, if I'm not mistaken.
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Wooderson
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Wooderson »

A Canadian show on CBC called The Dragon's Den, similar to Shark Tank.

http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/
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sclaus
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by sclaus »

Owning Mahowny – 2003; based on a true story of bank embezzlement, but mostly about gambling addiction.

Chasing Madoff – 2011 documentary
The Madoff affair – PBS Frontline documentary

American Greed - TV documentary series on CNBC
Fallible
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Fallible »

Delete repeat.
Last edited by Fallible on Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Fallible »

assumer wrote:I am hoping to get a collection of movies and TV regarding financial topics, or with a financial theme. I will kick it off, and will edit this post to include movies / shows that others mention. ...
Great list (especially liked "Wall Street" and the Enron documentary). I would add the '56 movie "Giant" with its overriding theme of big oil and how it transformed lives and whole ways of living.
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bengal22
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by bengal22 »

Fallible wrote:
assumer wrote:I am hoping to get a collection of movies and TV regarding financial topics, or with a financial theme. I will kick it off, and will edit this post to include movies / shows that others mention. ...
Great list (especially liked "Wall Street" and the Enron documentary). I would add the '56 movie "Giant" with its overriding theme of big oil and how it transformed lives and whole ways of living.
Yes, Giant definitely. Maybe we can add Blood Diamond about the diamond trade or There Will Be Blood about the startup of the oil industry in southern California or Woodstock about how a For Profit concert turned into a free concert but yet they made a ton on soundtracks, and a movie, and followup concerts. Seems like most movies have a financial theme.
"Earn All You Can; Give All You Can; Save All You Can." .... John Wesley
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by ddj »

Office Space
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by VictoriaF »

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assumer
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by assumer »

So I wanted to stick to more movies that have a more focused, or exclusively, financial theme, such as those pertaining to the financial industry. If we have a low threshold, then most "robbery" action movies (e.g. "Inside Man") could really be considered, and I'm not sure that's what I'd like this list to include. What do you think?
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bengal22
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by bengal22 »

assumer wrote:So I wanted to stick to more movies that have a more focused, or exclusively, financial theme, such as those pertaining to the financial industry. If we have a low threshold, then most "robbery" action movies (e.g. "Inside Man") could really be considered, and I'm not sure that's what I'd like this list to include. What do you think?
What about Fistful of Dollars with Clint Eastwood. Would that fit? I can't remember his character's name but it seemed to have a distinct financial theme. Even Paint Your Wagon, a later Eastwood masterpiece, involved Lee Marvin and Clint digging a tunnel beneath the town casino and collecting gold dust. But then the whole town collapsed, which I assumed was a metaphor for an economic collapse brought upon by greed and dishonesty.
"Earn All You Can; Give All You Can; Save All You Can." .... John Wesley
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snowshoes
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by snowshoes »

House of Lies: Gods of Dangerous Financial Instruments: an AMZN series.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by muddlehead »

Quicksilver Kevin Bacon 1986 - options trader in SF becomes bike messenger. Filmed scenes where I worked for 7 years - Pacific Stock Exchange Options Floor in San Francisco. I could have been in the movie as an options trading extra. But, trading day ended at 1pm, didn't want to hang out or come back for the approximately 6pm filming sessions. Tennis and family, you know. All the options trading extras in the scenes filmed on the options floor are real live traders. Very cool.
Other movies with great options/futures trading scenes are Rogue Trader (great movie - highly recommend) and of course, the fabulous orange juice futures finale in Trading Places.
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reriodan
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by reriodan »

Margin Call is a great movie :D.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by abuss368 »

You may be missing a very good and recent film: The Wolf of Wall Street
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by abuss368 »

In my opinion, Gordon Gecko is still the best!

I hope a Wall Street III will be made!
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SheReadsHere719
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by SheReadsHere719 »

Reviving this thread - Billions just finished its first season on Showtime; one of the creators is Andrew Ross Sorkin, who wrote Too Big to Fail. Excellent acting.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Hockey10 »

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

If you are planning to build a new house or renovate an existing one, this film takes a comical look at what can go wrong. Of course, every time something goes wrong, it will cost you more :moneybag
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KSOC
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by KSOC »

The Big Short. 2015
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Goldrush
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Goldrush »

A Simple Plan (1998)

From IMDB website:
"When three blue collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash they make a plan to keep their find from the authorities but find complications and mistrust weaving its way into their plan. "

One of my favorite movies. Billy Bob Thornton should have won the Best Supporting Actor for this but lost to James Coburn (Affliction).
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KSOC
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by KSOC »

Goldrush wrote:A Simple Plan (1998)

From IMDB website:
"When three blue collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash they make a plan to keep their find from the authorities but find complications and mistrust weaving its way into their plan. "

One of my favorite movies. Billy Bob Thornton should have won the Best Supporting Actor for this but lost to James Coburn (Affliction).
Loved it.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Fallible »

Money Monster.
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rosylenm
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by rosylenm »

Boiler Room (2000)

Life (2008-2009) has some focus on finance/investing
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Doug E. Dee »

SheReadsHere719 wrote:Reviving this thread - Billions just finished its first season on Showtime; one of the creators is Andrew Ross Sorkin, who wrote Too Big to Fail. Excellent acting.
Great show, season 2 starts Feb 19!
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by bubbadog »

Surprised no one has mentioned Frontline's The Retirement Gamble. Great documentary that really confirmed for me the boglehead way was the way to go.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by aspirit »

Federal Reserve, not federal, no reserve. W/Hunter Green, on Amazon.iirc.
Well put together economic presentation.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by 3504PIR »

KSOC wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:34 am The Big Short. 2015
+1. Also not sure simply having money in the title in some form makes the movie a financial movie, I.e. fist full of dollars or Heat. If robbing a bank qualifies, then the list will be very different.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Elric »

Billions on Showtime. More of a soap opera, but a lot of financial themes and they feature leading investment execs as themselves in guest appearances.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Barsoom »

assumer wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2013 9:21 pm I am hoping to get a collection of movies and TV regarding financial topics, or with a financial theme.
The Profit. TV show on CNBC with Marcus Lemonis.

-B
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by ROIGuy »

"The Big Short".... fabolous movie.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by investingdad »

I really liked Downton Abbey, but I'm unclear on the financial tie in.

Trading Places and Wall Street are classics and It's A Wonderful Life is overlooked for the bank run that sets everything in motion for George Bailey.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by winterfan »

I liked Panic: The Untold Story of the 2008 Financial Crisis. There were a lot of interviews (Paulson, Bernanke, Geitner, Bush, Obama, etc.) and it was really well done.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by InMyDreams »

3504PIR wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 11:58 pm
KSOC wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:34 am The Big Short. 2015
+1.
+1 again (and someone else voted for it too). Should be required viewing by all senior high school students.

Years ago, I watched a series on PBS about banking. It was awesome, and full of insightful information. And there was a credit in the show that it was funded by a court settlement with a banking entity.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Caduceus »

Definitely add Becoming Warren Buffett.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by ROIGuy »

Caduceus wrote: Wed May 22, 2019 11:37 am Definitely add Becoming Warren Buffett.
+1
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by ROIGuy »

Also add in the PBS documentary call "The Retirement Gamble" you can actually get it online for free... Best 52 minutes of TV you'll watch in a long time.
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Re: Financial Movies and Shows

Post by Elena »

A documentary about the latest investment trends in the art world. Art as a commodity, how Koons has a futures market (remember, he began as a desk trader), how multi-million pieces are bartered off the books between millionaires... I flipped out:

The Price of Everything (2018).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mbqcY9g5CM
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