Pre
The most striking thing about this film to me is all of the allusions and parallels to Goodfellas. Before we begin the main feature, let’s take a quick look at the opening of Goodfellas:
Post
cf, the opening scene of The Wolf of Wall Street:
Both films are narrated by a hero/criminal who’s ultimately caught and nostalgic for the ‘old days’ when they lived a life of crime, above the law.
Like Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street depicts a world of drugs, money, sex, and power. Except the ultraviolence is gone, and the criminals live on wall street, in corporations and banks largely protected by the law. Only the most egregious and flagrant offenders are prosecuted, because they make dumb mistakes, and believe themselves to be above the law.
Bonus
Sound and Silence in the films of Scorcese (I put this at the end because there are some spoilers):