The Bonfire of the Vanities

Directed by Brian De Palma. Screenplay written by Michael Cristofer.

Quotes

Sir Gerald Moore: I was at dinner last evening, and halfway through the pudding, this four-year-old child came alone, dragging a little toy cart. And on the cart was a fresh turd. Her own, I suppose. The parents just shook their heads and smiled. I've made a big investment in you, Peter. Time and money, and it's not working. Now, I could just shake my head and smile. But in my house, when a turd appears, we throw it out. We dispose of it. We flush it away. We don't put it on the table and call it caviar.

Peter Fallow: If you're going to live in a whorehouse, there's only one thing you can do: be the best damn whore around.

Peter Fallow: Caroline, you devil.

Caroline Heftshank: Peter, you pig!

Judge Leonard White: Let me tell you what justice is. Justice is the law. And the law is man's feeble attempt to lay down the principles of decency. Decency! And decency isn't a deal, it's not a contract or a hustle or an angle! Decency... decency is what your grandmother taught you. It's in your bones!

Taglines

• Take one Wall Street tycoon, his Fifth Avenue mistress, a reporter hungry for fame, and make the wrong turn in the Bronx... then sit back and watch the sparks fly.
• An outrageous story about greed, lust vanity in America.

Main cast