Hacker Cinema
The Bonfire of the Vanities
1990 · Film · 125 min
Directed by Brian De Palma
After his mistress runs over a black teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight; A down-and-out reporter breaks the story and opportunists clamber to use it to their advantage.
1 positive2 negative1 mixed3 neutralfrom 7 commenters
Where to watch
No streaming data for this title.
7 comments on Hacker News
A link to just the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7Eup7JXScZyvRftA2Q5hv69XiegDm6tQ
From IMDb:
The 11th Hour (2007, Documentary, 7.2) The Wind and the Lion (1975, Adventure Epic, 6.8) Mr. Nice Guy (1997, Martial Arts Dark Comedy, 6.2) City Heat (1984, Buddy Cop, 5.5) Michael Collins (1996, Docudrama, 7.1) The Adventures Of Pluto Nash (2002, Space Sci-Fi Comedy, 3.9) Chaos Theory (2007, Comedy Drama Romance, 6.6) Mutiny on the Bounty (1962, Historical Globetrotting Adventure, 7.2) Dungeons & Dragons (2000, Adventure Fantasy, 3.7) Return Of The Living Dead Part II (1988, Zombie Horror Comedy, 5.7) The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990, Dark Comedy, 5.6) The Accidental Tourist (1988, Comedy Drama Romance, 6.7) Critters 4 (1992, Horror Sci-Fi, 4.1) Murder in the First (1995, Legal Thriller, 7.3) The Year of Living Dangerously (1982, Drama Romance War, 7.1) December Boys (2007, Drama Romance, 6.5) Waiting for Guffman (1996, Satire, 7.4) Lionheart (1987, Adventure Drama, 5.1) Oh, God! (1977, Comedy Fantasy, 6.6) Crossing Delancey (1988, Comedy Romance, 6.9) Price of Glory (2000, Drama Sport, 6.1) Flight of the Living Dead (2007, Horror, 5.1) Deal of the Century (1983, Dark Comedy Satire Crime, 4.6) Deathtrap (1982, Dark Comedy Suspense Mystery, 7.0) The Mission (1986, Historical Epic Jungle Adventure, 7.4) SubUrbia (1996, Comedy Drama, 6.7) Hot To Trot (1988, Comedy Fantasy, 4.5) True Stories (1986, Comedy Musical, 7.2) The Science of Sleep (2006, Quirky Comedy Drama Romance, 7.2) The Big Tease (1999, Comedy, 6.1)
Tom Wolfe is an absolutely incredible author. Bonfire of the vanities in particular is an amazing read which the film adaptation only barely begins to do justice to. I also think that both A Man in Full and Back to Blood are amazing novels. The thing these books do is bring the fight for status into sharp focus while also remaining very true to life. After reading them you start to see it everywhere and it helps you to understand the actions people take in your own life. Highly recommended.
For most of us from outside the movies books like "The Devil's Candy" (about Brian DePalma's making of "Bonfire of the Vanities") also have a great insight into this.
It really is insane how much work and care goes into these movies (even the bad ones).
Second "The Devil's Candy," even if you're not interested in Bonfire of the Vanities at all.
I haven't read the book or seen the movie (yet) but The Devil's Candy was an incredible look into how badly things can go in Hollywood. You can probably generalize it to any large project where multiple competing interests all have a stake.
I read "Bonfire of the Vanities" many years ago, and thought it was fantastic -- does an incredible job of portraying the different social/ethnic/economic groups in New York during the 1980's, and how these groups view, think about, and interact with each other. Hollywood turned the book into a terrible movie that ruins the story; I would avoid the movie if you have any interest in reading the book.
I don't know much about NYC, but I've read "The Bonfire of the Vanities" (1987 novel; heard the movie sucked...). Anyone plot key points in that? (for example: the car scene of Sherman and Maria, the court house in the Bronx, the Park Avenue apartments). If not, whaddaya whaddaya?
I'm sure you'll get plenty of comments on hacker fiction, so here's some "business" fiction:
* "The Bonfire of the Vanities" by Tom Wolfe. The classic novel of 80s Wall Street at its peak.
* "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis. A pretty terrifying picture of greed and excess, again on 80s Wall Street. If you've seen the movie, you know what to expect -- only in greater detail.
* "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. Some people hate it, but others find it an inspirational novel. The heroes are driven, smart, competitive entrepreneurs; the antagonists are greedy, pilfering government regulators. Whether or not you like this will probably depend on your pre-existing ideological preference.
I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting...