copper1963 Cool Jackets. Cool Script. Cool Poster. What more do you need? A story would be nice. Technicalities. Blown up from a 16mm print, Director Stephen Verona's earthy look at 50's teenagers warrants another viewing. I saw this movie many moons ago, as a skiff made from nostalgia begins to creep over me like fog from the shores of Coney Island. In the 70's, as a kid, I was heavily into the music and the culture of that period. Three quarter's of our greasy gang, "The Lords of Flatbush," went onto bigger and better things. Two of them became superstars. One died. When I saw the do-wop trailer on the DVD, I was transported back in time to when I was eleven years old again. It also brokered memories of those Crazy Eddie's commercials: the one, in particular, with the five greasers singing do-wop in a high school boys' restroom, which played endlessly on New York City's local television stations back then. My favorite scene (in the movie) is the one involving the verbal exchange between Henry Winkler's character and the owner of the candy store. It's the best acted scene in the picture--and the most poignant. We find out that Winkler has the smarts and the talent (he's an artist) to escape the neighborhood. I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. A young Sly Stallone is excellent as well. He has many of the flashier scenes in the film. I believe he wrote that showy, somewhat out of place, scene, toward the end of the picture, with Perry King and Stalone's pigeon coop featured prominently. It's more than a little obvious. Afterall, he did get screen credit for writing "additional dialog." Stalone's whiny fiancé is a riot. Her accent--devoid of "r"s--is right on pitch. Susan Blakely is a tease. The worst sought of turn-off for a teenage boy. King deserves better. If you are looking for a slick coming-of-age flick here you may wish to skip this movie. However, with an open mind and some wistful thoughts, you may be entertained for ninety minutes. Go for it.

icreeem Okay, I was only eleven years old and very much a Fonzie fan, leather jacket and all...but stopped short of being an actual punk (Dad saw to that!)...so it was exciting to me to see this movie, with the guys wearing greasy hair and leather jackets and Chico riding a two-tone Harley Road King (I may be wrong there, but it's what I remember). I wondered why a suburban kid like me couldn't find some hard-edged friends to form our own gang like this. The word gang, of course, had a different meaning then.Seeing the film again years later, it is easy to see why it was no big hit, although it is enjoyable enough to sit through and marvel at the youth of the better-known actors (Stallone, Winkler and King), and the absolute "cheesy-ness" of the 50's-imposter soundtrack. The brawl with the football team seems so unnecessary; but that's what jealous young boys do...the "walkin' tough" among buddies is something I could relate to, strength and POWER in numbers. And Chico's relentless knocking at the chick's chastity belt and morality...yet another thing that is easy to relate to. But overall I see that it is not brilliantly acted and rather amateurish. That's okay, as there are some scenes that do stand out, such as Chico's realization that adulthood is every kid's dreaded inevitability but one needs not be limited by this approaching fear (his scene with Stanley on the roof); the jeweler's feeling mortified after Stanley's threat to write on his tombstone that he was so foolish as to sell his girl a sixteen-hundred-dollar diamond ring; Eddie's telling Butchie that his foolish pranks and immature friends are no place for a young man who is smart enough to be a collegiate (putting his "two cents" in).Butchie getting run over is just a reminder that no matter how tough a guy is, with and without his buddies, Life throws some unavoidable disasters your way and there's nothing you can do about it.Not a bad character study, especially in Stallone's character. My favorite scenes are of him cackling with his pals after he "allows" his girl and her friend to leave the diner ("Did I say you could go?....you can go."); and his throwing the rival gang member against the pool table, terrorizing him and dismissing him from the pool hall...and giggling, as if to say to the viewer that he looks like one bad dude but is in reality a gobble who uses his tough facade for just a little bit of fun!I bought the DVD for cheap and from time to time I like to enjoy this film, knowing to only take it for what it is, a harmless guilty pleasure.

vitaleralphlouis When LORDS OF FLATBUSH was made Columbia Pictures was still a free corporate entity, still a smaller Hollywood studio, and still the all time champion at winning Best Picture of the Year Oscars. But it had just endured a couple of years of dreadful mismanagement, making awful and expensive re-makes of their classics and other expensive duds. They were hundreds of millions in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy.Into this scene comes David Begelman, one of the most harshly criticized studio heads in history (for forging a $2000 check, of all things). Begelman made Lords of Flatbush and several other low-to-medium budget pictures, all of which were cleverly marketed and well received by the public. Within a few years, Columbia Pictures repaid its debt and soared into profitability. Shares went from under $2 to the $78 per share --- at which time Coca Cola swallowed up Columbia and the independent, scrappy spirit fell away, as did their quality. Now swallowed again, this time by Sony, they'd never again have real spirit (unless you think Spiderman is a good movie.) FLATBUSH brought us Sly Stallone, Henry Winkler, Susan Blakely; and in the long-run was the turning point for Columbia.

outoftheblu This is Grease without the pop music, the glitz of commercialism or the poor costumes. One thing that makes any stage or movie production is the ability of the watcher to believe that the characters are actually not acting, but living the part they portray. Lords of the Flatbush fulfils this criteria as the audience is taken back to the 1950's. Strangely enough, the 1950's wasn't all about driving around in pink Cadillacs and wall to wall Elvis Presley. Lives had to be led life had to be faced, complete with it's problems and struggles. This wonderfully understated film shows all that and more. If you liked the idea of Grease, but found that it's presentation was about as believable as rocking horse droppings, then this film will satisfy your need much more than it's more celebrated counterpart can ever do.