The Lords of Flatbush

The Lords of Flatbush (stylized on-screen as The Lord's of Flatbush) is a 1974 American drama film directed by Martin Davidson and Stephen Verona. The film stars Perry King, Sylvester Stallone and Henry Winkler. Stallone was also credited with writing additional dialogue. The plot is about street teenagers in leather jackets from the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.[3]

The Lords of Flatbush
Official DVD cover
Directed byMartin Davidson
Stephen Verona
Produced byStephen F. Verona
Written byMartin Davidson
Gayle Gleckler
Stephen Verona
Sylvester Stallone (additional dialogue)
Starring
Music byJoe Brooks
Paul Jabara
Joseph Nicholas
CinematographyEdward Lachman
Joseph Mangine
Edited byMuffie Meyer
Stan Siegel
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • May 1, 1974 (1974-05-01) (United States)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$380,000[1]
Box office$4 million (rentals) (US/Canada)[2]

Plot

Set in 1958, the coming of age story follows four Brooklyn teenagers known as The Lords of Flatbush. The Lords chase girls, steal cars, shoot pool and hang out at a local malt shop. Chico attempts to win over hard to get Jane while throwing over easier to get Annie. Stanley seemingly impregnates his girlfriend Frannie, who pressures him to marry her. Stanley eventually agrees to marry even after finding out before the wedding that Frannie was never pregnant. Butchey Weinstein is highly intelligent but hides his brains behind a clownish front, in order to fit in with the gang. Wimpy Murgalo is a loyal follower in awe of Stanley, eventually becoming best man at his wedding.

Cast

In addition, other notable names amongst the supporting and background performers include co-director Martin Davidson in a cameo as Mr. Birnbaum, future Academy Award-winner and disco superstar Paul Jabara as Crazy Cohen, future Golden Globe-winner Ray Sharkey as a random student and future Emmy Award-winner Armand Assante as a random wedding guest.

Production

Casting

Richard Gere was originally cast as Chico but was fired due to conflicts with Stallone during rehearsals. In a 2006 interview Stallone explained:

We never hit it off. He would strut around in his oversized motorcycle jacket like he was the baddest knight at the round table. One day, during an improv, he grabbed me (we were simulating a fight scene) and got a little carried away. I told him in a gentle fashion to lighten up, but he was completely in character and impossible to deal with. Then we were rehearsing at Coney Island and it was lunchtime, so we decided to take a break, and the only place that was warm was in the backseat of a Toyota. I was eating a hotdog and he climbs in with a half a chicken covered in mustard with grease nearly dripping out of the aluminum wrapper. I said, "That thing is going to drip all over the place." He said, "Don't worry about it." I said, "If it gets on my pants you're gonna know about it." He proceeds to bite into the chicken and a small, greasy river of mustard lands on my thigh. I elbowed him in the side of the head and basically pushed him out of the car. The director had to make a choice: one of us had to go, one of us had to stay. Richard was given his walking papers and to this day seriously dislikes me.[4]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 67% based on reviews from 12 critics.[5] On Metacritic it has a score of 53 out of 100 based on reviews from 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6]

Quentin Tarantino calls it "a pretty good film...the first time I was introduced to the New York independent low budget film aesthetic."[7]

See also

References
  1. AFI Catalog
  2. "All-time Film Rental Champs". Variety. 7 January 1976. p. 50.
  3. Tarantino, Quentin (2019-01-07). "The Lords of Flatbush". New Beverly Cinema. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  4. Knowles, Harry (2006-12-16). "Stallone answers December 9th & 10th Questions in a double round - plus Harry's Seen ROCKY BALBOA at BNAT!!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  5. "The Lords of Flatbush (1974)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  6. "The Lords of Flatbush". Metacritic. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  7. Tarantino, Quentin (22 December 2019). "The Lords of Flatbush". New Beverly.
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