The Lords of Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatbush...
Now for some modern Flatbush history...sound on!! If you know anyone who remembers the 70s well, you may have had this song sung to you when you told them you live in Flatbush.
A low-budget movie released in 1974, “The Lords of Flatbush” was based on writer-director Stephen Verona’s real-life experiences growing up in Flatbush as part of a motorcycle gang that used to go by the name. Panned by critics (Variety said it was “burdened by irrelevant action” and “carries neither warmth nor particular interest for the various characters”), it was a HUGE hit with fans, due in small part to the catchy jingle that appeared in its commercial.
Although Verona wrote the original script, much of the dialogue was improvised on the spot by its original leads, Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere. But the two didn’t get along, and when it lead to a physical altercation on set, Gere was let go and replaced with Perry King, known by some people (like me) as the dude who starred in every single Lifetime movie ever in the 1990s.
Henry Winkler also has a small part. When he was done filming, he auditioned for Happy Days and, doing his best Sly Stallone impersonation, landed the immortal role of The Fonz. Meanwhile, Stallone went on the write and star in Rocky, and has credited his creation of Rocky directly to The Lords of Flatbush—the film also served as proof to Rocky’s financiers that Stallone could act and not just write.
The movie later made the rounds as a TV movie, introducing it to tons of young fans, including Quentin Tarantino. He later wrote:
[W]atching The Lords of Flatbush when it came out was an interesting (in retrospect) experience. Not least of which because it was the first time I was introduced to the New York independent low budget film esthetic. Before I saw Mean Streets, I saw The Lords… (and gritty as it was, Mean Streets had a bit of Warner Brothers gloss, even if it was just they could pay for Rolling Stones songs). Before I saw Claudia Weil’s Girlfriends, I saw The Lords…, before I saw Jim Jarmuch movies, I saw The Lords, before I saw Smithereens, I saw The Lords. And I liked it, and my friends liked it. Though we all felt a little gypped that Fonzie didn’t have more to do.
Although some of the interior scenes were shot out on Long Island, at least some of the exterior scenes were indeed shot in Flatbush, including in front of Tilden High School (according to the Brooklyn Born blog).
Verona later wrote a book about his experiences making The Lords of Flatbush, and has given some interesting interviews.
The catchy TV jingle triumphantly celebrates what’s basically date rape, and as I’ve seen enough movies filled with casual misogyny to last me the rest of my life, I won’t be seeing the film. But if you go rent it on YouTube, tell me what you think!
Perry King and Sylvester Stallone doing what they do best — hasslin’ ladies — in The Lords of Flatbush.