The Lords of Flatbush (1974)

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Rocky and Fonzie are minor league hoodlums in 1958 Brooklyn. Hijinx ensue.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Inspired by The Lords of Flatbush.



I'm posting this LINK because the movie The Lords of Flatbush (parts of which I actually saw being filmed) reminds me of the TV commercial LINKED to below. That's my explanation for the LINK below. I'm not sure how much this explanation qualifies as an original thought but youse can decide for yourselves and then write 12 paragraph posts explaining. Maybe youse can come out with like the ten commandments for posting LINKS. And since I think that I'm now required to explain every word I type where there's a LINK on the post, I'll tell youse that that last sentence was inspired by me watching Cecil B. Demille's The Ten Commandments last week. Straight through. No pauses. No bathroom breaks. No snack breaks. Maybe I'll start a movie thread post on that movie.



Also, the lead singer in the commercial LINKED to below reminds me of Ron (Arnold Horshak) Palillo even though it's definitely not him. But he sounds like him and even kinda looks like him.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPQ_HjbzeGUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPQ_HjbzeGU



Come to think of it, with the Horshak look-a-like singer and also, the black dude in the yellow satin jacket, this commercial was probably as much inspired by Welcome Back Kotter as by The Lords of Flatbush. So hey ... there's an original thought or insight for youse LINK judgers. And if it's not original (and how could it be if it turns out that the ad really was Kotter-inspired?) well then at least I thought of it independently, without reading it elsewhere, or anyone telling it to me.





P.S. -- I didn't vote in your poll because I haven't seen this movie in decades. And I guess that's an original thought, too.



P.S.S. -- You didn't vote either.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Do you really have to demonstrate so much persecution? It's just a thing, and as expressed in the thread, not the only practice of coupling of published stuff we oughta be changing.



I just watched this flick for the first time the other day. One of my issues with it is that it makes heavy use of music but it would appear that the songs only sound like 50s tunes and aren't recognizable 50s tunes, like those used in American Graffiti and Happy Days. It sorta looks and feels like a low budget flick.



Also, it's not as good as American Graffiti (by a long shot), but probably better than most Happy Days episodes. I was hoping to see more authentic old Brooklyn locales than I did. The plot isn't all that compelling but admirable in that it doesn't really have one, just the coming-of-age sorta thing in a real way--some guys grow up, some have grown-up-ism forced upon them, others don't grow up at all. The violence could be better. Would have liked more nudity too. Hard time believing a gang with painted leather jackets had only 4 guys in it. I liked Fonzie and Rocky in this movie though. Read where the "main" character of Chico was to have been played by Richard Gere but he didn't get along with Stallone on set and was swapped out--bad blood remains between them ever since. All the characters yell a lot. None of them look like high schoolers.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Do you really have to demonstrate so much persecution?

No. But who else here regularly posts huge chunks of linked articles? Does this forum have to demonstrate so much persecution?

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

it's not a personal thing though it's a community thing.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: it's not a personal thing though it's a community thing.

Directed at me.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

So what? It's not like you're in jail. MFS62 is the main perpatrator of blind link crimes and he's not bleeding all over the film review forum

[batmagadanleadoff]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: So what? It's not like you're in jail. MFS62 is the main perpatrator of blind link crimes and he's not bleeding all over the film review forum

I thought I was being humorous more than anything else.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

How about the Lords of Flatbush? What's up with the fake 50s music?

[Edgy MD]

A four-man gang is a good starter size, though. It's hard to do the doo-wop without at least four guys.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: How about the Lords of Flatbush? What's up with the fake 50s music?

It's cheaper music, probably original stuff recorded specifically for the flick.



Like you said, way lower budget than American Graffiti.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Now that I think about it, Winkler and Stallone were hardly household names when this movie went into production. Lords was filmed before Happy Days debuted and before Rocky went into production and hardly anybody even knew who Winkler and Stallone were then. Same for Richard Gere, who turned down a role.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Yeah this flick's influence outkicked its coverage. As mentioned above Stallone and Gere had it out. According to Rocky, it was over Gere spilling mustard on his stageclothes

[Frayed Knot]

I've never seen the movie although I remember when it came out. My memory tells me that it felt like a cashing-in kind of movie at the time -- hey '50s nostalgia is in, let's rush something out there -- and was

backed by what seemed like a torrent of TV commercials complete with its own faux doo-wop song* playing over the clips.



What I think happened was that they had the movie in the can for a while (IMDB says it was delayed by financing issues so maybe sitting on it wasn't entirely intentional) but, whatever the case, the studio then

hurriedly got behind it in order to capitalize on Winkler's sudden stardom from 'Happy Days' (debut = Jan '74) as well as the general wave of 1950s-era nostalgia going on at the time much of it triggered by the

success of AMERICAN GRAFFITI two years earlier. And, yeah, that flick was set in 1962 but it had a '50s feel to it so that, along with the Ron Howard/Winkler connection, blurred the distinction between

the decades.







* it had to be saturation advertising because I can still remember the awful "lyrics" and I probably haven't heard them in decades!!

The Lords of Flatbush is a moo-oo-oo-vie

About how life was in the Fif-if-if-ties

I don't mean to boast, but you'll dig it the most

The Lords of Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatbush ... Rated Pee Gee

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: * it had to be saturation advertising because I can still remember the awful "lyrics" and I probably haven't heard them in decades!! [***] The Lords of Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatbush ... Rated Pee Gee

Same exact thing here. To this day, I still remember that song, especially the end, where it goes "Rated P.G." -- like I heard it 10 minutes ago. That's never gonna leave my head.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: * it had to be saturation advertising because I can still remember the awful "lyrics" and I probably haven't heard them in decades!! [***] The Lords of Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatbush ... Rated Pee Gee Same exact thing here. To this day, I still remember that song, especially the end, where it goes "Rated P.G." -- like I heard it 10 minutes ago. That's never gonna leave my head.

Here it is:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DkI-WbxbAchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DkI-WbxbAc

[kcmets]

*Cut to Chalie Harper's deck in Malibu where Stallone and Winkler discuss typecasting

over beers and Cuban cigars*

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I like how Fonz blinged up his jacket, obviously inspiring Bobby Munson (also a 50s-era teen and Elvis wannabe) in SONS OF ANARCHY.

[kcmets]

=kcmets post_id=38870 time=1592422721 user_id=53]*Cut to Chalie Harper's deck in Malibu where Stallone and Winkler discuss typecasting over beers and Cuban cigars*

[Edgy MD]

That's some good writing.



Mrs. Stallone: Was that the Fonz I saw leaving?



Sylvester: Eh, he's not such a big deal. Did you know he did Peter Pan?



Mrs. Stallone: You did porn.

[Edgy MD]

Two of the four Lords — Stallone and Perry King — ended up reading for Han Solo.