MovieChat Forums > The Lords of Flatbush (1975) Discussion > Why is there an apostrophe in the title ...

Why is there an apostrophe in the title on IMDB?


The name of the movie is "The Lords of Flatbush", like it says on the poster, video, book, script, etc. - not "The Lord's ...". Who registered it as "Lord's" at IMDB? It's WRONG.

Why would there be an apostrophe in the original title? It's not grammatically correct! There's no letter being omitted (as in the "i" in "there's") and it's not a possessive case, indicating they owned anything! It's a plain MISTAKE in the original registration, but the obstinacy to change it at IMDB is incredible!

Can someone tell me why there is such a reluctance to correct it? Was the original movie made with the mistake in the title? If you search for an exact match on Google, for example, the ONLY place that has this movie with an apostophe is IMDB.

Why can't someone CORRECT this!

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because if you see the movie, on the back of their jackets they have it as:
LORD'S OF FLATBUSH".

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...which is still gramatically wrong.

Lords means there's more than one of 'em.
Lord's shows possession. It doesn't fit.

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Is that the reason IMDB has it wrongly titled? What they have on the back of their jackets isn't the name of the movie, it's the name of their club/gang - in the movie... Also, if this is the case, did anyone consider they might be trying to show the gang's somewhat ignorant/uneducated/dropout attitude. Doesn't mean we have to emulate it! A lot of people who have not had a proper education do add apostrophes in the weirdest of places, because they don't know any better... You can see it on public signs ("Cafe's") and in ads, or as they would call them: ad's (but then, of course the ' would replace "vertisement".)

On the downside, when searching for the movie, because it is one of the first items that shows up on search engines, because IMDB is the only place that has the apostorphe, it could be seen as giving IMDB that "uneducated lot" stamp.

The correct name of the movie is on the poster, video, script, etc. and should not be as an ALTERNATIVE title! - Someone probably mistook that connecting decoration line as an apostrophe, and after that, it's the law!

That's all I wanted to point out, y'all.

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You're right, of course. Lord's of Flatbush drives me nuts! All IMDM needs to do is look at the poster picture next to the title! But it seems to be impossible to get IMDB to change this egregious error.

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The Lord is of Flatbush suggests that Flatbush is an abode of the Lord, therefore "The Lord's of Flatbush" would be grammatically correct as would "The Lord's of Heaven" for example.

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But.....there is not one Lord.....it's a gang....plural.

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That is exactly what I thought.

And, it applies to the plot - each member of the gang is a L-rd of Flatbush.

The young men are all L-rds of the little world they live in.

The word is a metonymy, rich in meaning, L-rd not only means creator, ruler, leader, it also encompasses one who walks the path of righteousness and one who is expected to rise far beyond commonality (great expectations) and one whose existence is of prime importance.

The L-rd is a common young man on the verge of adulthood, each young man is a L-rd-in-the wings waiting to enter the world.

The L-rd who rules the world is a L-rd of Flatbush, a L-rd born in a small neighbourhood struggling with moral issues and "sin" and coming adulthood, the L-rd came from the same common town, the young men and the L-rd are in the same predicament, struggling with the same moral issues, lost, finding their way, making mistakes.

The young L-rds are expected to rise above their circumstances, they are expected to achieve a better life than their parents, they are expected to not make the same mistakes their parents made, but they are human and they fall. Young men ont he verge of adulthood are expected to rise about commonality and mistakes just as Jesus rose above are

They are the future of mankind, they are destined to go out into the world to live, work, procreate, rule, fail, make the world go round, but they fall into the world, unprepared and premature and burdened with mistakes (the same mistakes repeated perpetually since the beginning of humankind), but nevertheless they are still L-rds, their lives are relevant and have meaning no matter what, mistakes and all, they are the L-rds of Flatbush, the L-rds of New York, the L-rds of this world, making the world what it is.

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Because that's what the onscreen title says.

http://burkeman3.home.comcast.net/lords.jpg

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Bill DeLapp, a reviewer for the Syracuse New Times, refers to: " The Lord's (APOSTROPHE IS CORRECT) of Flatbush". http://newtimes.rway.com/films/deuces.htm

Leonard Maltin also lists it as The Lord's of Flatbush in his "Video and Movie Guide".



I don't think I want to go to the pictures. Oh?Why not? I've seen everything worth seeing.

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look up the trivia section (although i think it's a crap excuse)

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[deleted]

As I read it in the book, they ordered the jackets, and when the box was opened, Butchey noticed that there was an apostrophe that shouldn't be there, but nobody else seemed to care.

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Knowing for a fact that Sly is a Christian, what if the apostrophe is intentional and refers to being owned by The Lord?

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[deleted]



It doesn't matter if the grammer is bad with the title. That's how it was intended.

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[deleted]

No, it just indicated that they were poor at spelling.

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Hey, let's all complain about "The Pursuit of Happyness" being wrong too.

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Wow, your getting all bent out of shape because of an apostrophe? Get a life.

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[deleted]

Don't overlook the fact that they typed "your" instead of "you're" !


I told you when I came I was a stranger

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It was me who submitted that it be changed to "The Lord's of Flatbush" a couple of years ago and I've never looked at this page since I checked that it had been updated. What a fuss!

Because, as another poster helpfully pointed out (and gave us proof), that is exactly the way the title card is displayed, and the title card is what IMDb looks to as to the definitive titling of any movie ( misspelled or not). Not the poster, DVD cover or anything else.

I know it isn't correct and that the apostrophe shouldn't be there, but I was so amazed on spotting a movie title card with such a glaring error that I had to submit it!

The story about the gang's jackets they had specially made being misspelled sounds credible, and as I recall that the movie title shown at the start of the end credits had the correct punctuation.

Now if I can only get "Don't Open 'Til Christmas" changed...

http://aycu06.webshots.com/image/22085/2002767672690714218_rs.jpg

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This Youtube clip show the title fo this film :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fexN9uPtXTw&feature=related
At 0.19 you see it is Lord's.

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Could the name of the club contain a contraction referring to a deity? "The Lord is of Flatbush." After all, the film opens with the Pledge of Allegiance. Oh well, nevermind.

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