DVD Corner

The Lords Of Flatbush Blu-ray Review

“The Lords Of Flatbush” is an uneven Greaser movie. 

Written by Stephen F. Verona, Martin Davidson, and Gayle Gleckler, “The Lords Of Flatbush” revolves around 4 Greaser high school teenagers (Stanley, Chico, Butchey and Wimpy) in a gang called “The Lords” in Brooklyn in the year 1958. The 4 goof around, cause trouble, engage in fights, crack wise, smoke cigarettes, and form relationships with young women. They don’t take anything seriously and seem unprepared for adulthood, but circumstances force them to start looking ahead to the future. 

Greaser movies were rather popular in the 70’s with classics like “American Graffiti,” “Grease,” and the underrated “The Wanderers.” “The Lords Of Flatbush” isn’t a title you often hear about, but it does have some significance. The biggest talking point is, of course, that it features a pre-”Rocky” Sylvester Stallone and a young Henry Winkler (both “Happy Days” season 1 and “The Lords Of Flatbush” came out in 1974). Winkler doesn’t have a lot of scenes (neither does Paul Mace at Wimpy), but Stallone’s talent as an actor is quite present here. There’s a charisma and an intensity to his performance here. You can tell he’s an actor who is hungry for more. Perry King (who has had a respectable film and TV career) also shines here as the immature two-timing Chico. Another would be star here is Susan Blakely (who is quite authentic as Jane) who went on to be in films and TV series like “The Towering Inferno,” “Over The Top,” and “This Is Us.”

Outside of the cast, this Stephen F. Verona and Martin Davidson directed low-budget indie is a bit hit-and-miss. The first hour or so feels clunky with the montages, the lack of plot, the cheesy songs by Jamie Carr, Jerry Keller, among others. It felt more like a series of adventures that the characters were engaging in even if that was the point. The final half-hour of this coming-of-age story fares better. It’s more focused, the themes are more present, and the film’s best scenes pop up in this period as well (the pigeon scene, the jewelry store scene, Jane and Chico’s final scene, and the wedding). With some more fine tuning, this could have been a more potent teen Greaser story about friendship, adulthood, and change. As is, it stumbles a bit but ends on a strong note. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.85:1 1080p. How does it look? Unfortunately, this is a bit of a rough transfer. Some of the scenes look better than others, but the print is overly grainy, fuzzy, and the color tones are muted. 

Audio Track: DTS-HD Mono. How does it sound? This is a decidedly flat Mono track. The sometimes iffy audio recordings don’t exactly help either. 

The lone extra is a theatrical trailer.

January 11, 2025 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | 70s Movies, Coming Of Age Movie, Greaser Movie, Henry Winkler, Sylvester Stallone, The Lords Of Flatbush Blu-ray Review