THE LORDS OF FLATBUSH

Blu-Ray review by John Larkin

THE LORDS OF FLATBUSH blu-ray is available to purchase at Moviezyng.com by clicking the image above.

Released in 1974, THE LORDS OF FLATBUSH is a charming, low-budget time capsule directed by Brooklyn born Martin Davidson and Stephen Verona. From today’s perspective, the film stands as both a gritty homage to the leather-clad, motorcycle-riding greasers of the late 1950s and an intriguing glimpse into the early careers of Sylvester Stallone and Henry Winkler, who would soon become household names for their work in HAPPY DAYS and ROCKY respectively.

Set in 1958, in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, LORDS follows a group of high school friends navigating the dramas of their everyday lives. There’s the cocky yet vulnerable Stanley (played by Stallone), the brash tongued Chico (Perry King), and the affable but aimless Butchey (Winkler). Though the plot is loosely constructed, the film works best in its authentic portrayal of youthful camaraderie, machismo, and the yearning for identity and belonging in a pre-counterculture America.

Unlike many nostalgia-driven portrayals of the era, LORDS doesn’t glamorize or caricature its characters. Instead, it opts for a raw, almost documentary flair that captures the bittersweetness of youth, punctuated by awkward romantic entanglements, fistfights, and the looming uncertainty of adulthood. With a doo-woop heavy soundtrack as an auditory backdrop, scenes set in diners, pool halls, and on Brooklyn’s streets evoke a simpler, if not always innocent, time when teenage rebellion was largely defined by loyalty, bravado, and hanging out with your crew.

Watching LORDS today, it’s hard not to be charmed at the early preview of Stallone’s signature on-screen persona. His portrayal of Stanley as tough, brooding, and a little clumsy in matters of the heart is a direct predecessor to his iconic embodiment of Rocky Balboa. Henry Winkler, meanwhile, gives a quieter but equally notable performance as Butchey. His portrayal of the easygoing greaser is imbued with an understated charm, a kind of prototype version for Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli in HAPPY DAYS. Ironically, Winkler has acknowledged that it was Stallone’s swaggering, cool demeanor in this film that heavily influenced Winkler's approach to playing the iconic "Fonz".

While the film doesn't boast the polished production values of its contemporaries, its scrappy charm and earnest performances make it a worthwhile watch for fans of retro cinema and character-driven stories. For modern audiences, the film also serves as a refreshing reminder of how much has changed—and how much hasn’t—in coming-of-age stories. The themes of friendship, romantic love, identity, and the tension between societal expectations and personal desires resonate just as strongly today as they did nearly fifty years ago.

It would have been nice if this new blu-ray release sported some special features, but alas only an original trailer is included. While it's unlikely that there is much, if any, original behind the scenes footage during the making of, it would have been a terrific opportunity to gather 86 year-old director Martin Davidson, Winkler, Perry and Stallone and do a short retrospective piece. Watching the film, one gets the sense that it's surviving players probably have some unique and humorous anecdotes that occurred during the shoot, that might be worth sharing over 50 years later.