Independent Lens

Open Outcry (3x9)

Air date: Nov 02, 2001

In the securities markets, virtually everything is now automated as we increasingly trade online. But the legendary, hyper-charged sense of danger and controlled chaos of the trading pits survive at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. There, traders still scream "buy" and "sell" orders in a frenzied system known as "open outcry." This documentary captures the language and atmosphere of what may be the last gasp of a centuries-old ritual.