Floored (film)

Last updated
Floored
Directed by James Allen Smith
Written by Andrew McAllister, James Allen Smith
Produced byJoseph Gibbons, Steve Prosniewski, Karol Martesko
Starring Bobby Ansani
Jeff Ansani
Ron Beebe
Cinematography Chris Baron
James Allen Smith
Edited by Andrew McAllister
Music by Stefan Nelson
Release date
  • September 1, 2009 (2009-09-01)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Floored is a 2009 documentary film about floor traders of the Chicago futures exchange trading floors, which were becoming obsolete due to electronic trading. Directed by James Allen Smith, the film runs for 77 minutes. [1] [2]

Contents

The film was released in September 2009, as economies were recovering from the Great Recession and just before the 2010 flash crash. Ironically, the documentary was widely available on video sharing sites before its official "web premiere" on September 6, 2013.

Critics have suggested a meta-fictional subtext to the documentary, linking the film's storyline about Chicago traders to the plight of independent filmmakers in a time of the declining influence of film festivals and the ubiquitousness of free internet content. [3]

Synopsis

Director James Allen Smith interviews several long-term traders, including many successful traders, to gain an insight into the industry. One trader compared floor trading to hunting for rhinoceros in Africa, saying "It’s not fun unless you can die". [4]

Reviews

The documentary has a 60% rating from 5 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. [5]

In May 2010, it was reviewed by The New York Times . [6]

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References

  1. "Floored". TV Guide .
  2. Steinberg, Julie (May 7, 2010). "Scenes From the Chicago Trading Floor: James Allen Smith on his Documentary 'Floored'" . The Wall Street Journal .
  3. Sears, S. (August 24, 2009). "Going Hollywood in Chicago" . Barron's .
  4. "Floored". Time Out . 15 January 2010.
  5. "Floored". Rotten Tomatoes .
  6. Webster, Andy (May 7, 2010). "Review: Chicago's Open-Outcry Traders" . The New York Times .