Throughout 2011, Wall Street has been a household word. With the economy still in shambles, seemingly at the hands of fast and loose stock market trading, there are many opinions about the vaunted Manhattan financial center.
For many people, Wall Street is symbolic of unchecked greed and excess at the expense of innocent people. Others see the country's economic woes as symptomatic only of people's inability to live within their means. For them, Wall Street remains symbolic of all that is good about America's capitalistic roots.
Fortunately, Hollywood has something for everyone in this recession no matter whether you are a Wall Street cheerleader or hater. These movies have chronicled evolutionary changes on Wall Street through modern years with mesmerizing clarity in many cases. We're not talking about Tim Syke's penny stocks, these movies are about the titans of Wall Street. The characters in these movies have been indelibly seared into the American consciousness; woven into popular culture like golden strands.
We know you 're recession-weary, and looking for a diversion if even for just a couple of hours. For your viewing pleasure, we've compiled some of Hollywood's greatest attempts to make sense of Wall Street culture.
Here are our top 5 movies about Wall Street:













