Film fans have been given a reason to stay in this week, as one of Martin Scorsese’s highest-rated and most talked-about movies has just landed on BBC iPlayer – and it’s completely free to watch.
The legendary director is known for some all-time classics like Goodfellas, Taxi Driver and Mean Streets, but now one of his most modern hits is being made available to stream without a subscription.
It’s a film that caused a stir when it was first released for its morally dubious characters, outrageous comedy and lots of illegal white powder.
That film is The Wolf of Wall Street, Scorsese’s 2013 semi-biographical drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio as stockbroker Jordan Belfort.
Set in the money and drug-fuelled world of 1990s Wall Street, it follows Belfort’s rise up the ranks from trading penny stocks to one of the biggest firms in New York, and his then sharp fall as greed and excess take over.
The film, partially based on a true story, is a favourite with fans and has gone down as one of Scorsese’s most popular and DiCaprio’s most memorable roles.
At nearly three hours long, it’s definitely not a short watch but it’s packed with some memorable scenes, fast-paced dialogue and a plot that will keep you far away from being bored.
Alongside DiCaprio are standout performances from Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie and Matthew McConaughey, helping make the film one of the biggest box-office hits of Scorsese’s career, making more than £300 million in cinemas.
Audiences in particular began to rave about the film almost as soon as it was released, becoming one of the most favourited films on the review website Letterboxd and receiving a “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
One reviewer left a frank review after giving it a nine out of 10: “Have you ever partied hard and wondered how you would party hard if you had copious amounts of money and a group of just as crazy as you friends?
“I think this is it and then some. Forget good taste, forget politically correct and go along for a freight train on steroids of a ride, have a good laugh along the way. Casting is spot on, have seen this over a half a dozen times and not bored yet.”
But not everyone thinks the film is much of a masterpiece. One viewer, leaving a five out of ten, said: “I thought it would be a much better movie.
“The acting was okay, the filming was okay, but about halfway through, I began thinking that maybe there was a better use of time than watching this.”
Now that it’s streaming on BBC iPlayer, anyone with a TV licence can watch it for free at home. Whether you missed it when it was first released or simply fancy a rewatch, it’s an easy way to catch one of the most talked-about films of the past decade.