mark-55961
Having come of age in this time; I remember this movie fondly. I think it's very representative of the times. I saw it at a drive-in movie. Geez; I miss those passion pits. Lol!!! We were actually naive enough to think we could change things. HA!!! Then came the Watergate scandal, the seemingly never ending Vietnam war dragged on and on, despite protest after protest; and public opinion against it. The system really is rigged against us; and unfortunately it ain't gonna change. I'm just glad I'm now on the downhill slide. God Bless and good luck young people; you're going to need it. Pardon me; just ramblings from an old fart; who is sick and tired of the political crap and hatred today. Peace to all.
Wuchak
Shot in 1969 and released in 1971, "Billy Jack" was hugely popular with the counterculture at the time.Made independently by Tom Laughlin and his wife Delores, the story revolves around a New Mexican town and the "Freedom School" located on the nearby reservation, which is run by Jean Roberts (Delores). When the school provides sanctuary for an abused pregnant teen, her father -- a deputy of the town -- stirs-up hostilities. Jean responds with pacifism while her man, Billy Jack (Laughlin), fights fire with fire."Billy Jack" contains numerous worthy elements, but it's hampered by really lame skit performances at the Freedom School. Howard Hesseman ("Dr. Fever" from WKRP) takes the lead in most of these overlong and tiresome skits. One or two (at the most) would've been tolerable, but they overdo it. Yet "Billy Jack" delivers if you can look past this serious flaw.The title sequence is stirring with "One Tin Soldier", covered by Coven. Shortly later there's an excellent showdown sequence in the town where Billy Jack confronts the persecutors of the kids. Laughlin is an intriguing Rambo-like protagonist, a full dozen years before Rambo debuted in "First Blood". It's interesting that Billy Jack became so popular with the hippies since he's an ex-Green Beret, rejects the concept of total pacifism and has short hair! As it turned out, Laughlin was right to opt for the short haircut because it's a timeless look, whereas Hesseman looks horrible and seriously dated with his hippie mullet.There are some quality action scenes with Laughlin showing off his martial arts skills, but this is mostly a drama. As such, people viewing "Billy Jack" purely for the action will be sorely disappointed.Thankfully, much of the drama is good and even insightful. Billy's relationship with Jean (Delores) is refreshing in that Billy doesn't opt for the clichéd hot babe. Don't get me wrong, Delores has a nice body, but she's a far cry from Megan Fox. The question is raised at the beginning of the film as to whether they love each other and the ending effectively answers this. By the way, Tom and Delores have been married since 1954 and have 3 children -- I love it when couples stay together.An interesting topic is addressed: The pregnant girl, Barbara, comes off pretty obnoxious at first. She's disrespectful to her cop father and flaunts her dallyings with casual sex (no wonder he's ticked off, but this doesn't excuse his abuse). She starts to develop a relationship with a native student at the school, but she questions why he hasn't made sexual advances. He humbly informs her that sex isn't the reason he loves her. Somewhere along the line Barbara obviously confused sexual interest with love, but this guy demonstrates that sex is best as an offshoot of love & commitment.Then there's the fascinating debate between Billy and Jean as to which tactics are better: A peaceable attitude that only resorts to violence when necessary (i.e. limited pacifism) or absolute pacifism, which refuses to ever turn to violence in response to evil. Contrary to the complaints of the film's critics, this movie is not hypocritical in that "it preaches pacifism while occasionally showcasing violence." It's only Jean and, by extension her school, that supports total pacifism whereas Billy advocates limited pacifism, only resorting to violence when justified."Billy Jack" shows that total pacifism does not work. It supports the balanced position advocated by the New Testament. Some erroneously think that the New Testament supports the idea of absolute pacifism, but it doesn't. Jesus' ministry team had a treasury box with loads of money and some of his workers carried swords for protection from thieves and murderers. Not to mention that Jesus got a whip and chased all the greedy fools out of the temple -- throwing over tables, swinging the whip and yelling. This caused the legalistic religious leaders to fear him and plot murder (Mark 11:12-18). Harmless pacifists don't inspire fear and provoke murder plots. Also, Romans 13 clearly states the righteous laws of human governments are God-ordained for the purpose of punishing criminals, including the right to execute when appropriate. The majority of sane Christians realize this, but there are a few extremists who refuse to be balanced with the Scriptures on this matter and insist that conflict and especially armed conflict is never appropriate. "Billy Jack" shows that some people are so degenerate and evil that radical opposition and even execution are sometimes just reactions.The film also delivers in the area of women with the aforementioned Susan Foster standing out as the stunning Cindy. There's a great scene at the end with Cindy brandishing a rifle while wearing a jean jacket and purple hose and... it's just a great look, lol.The film also explores spiritual issues: The youth of America rejected the religious indoctrination of their culture because it largely devolved into sterile, powerless, em-bondaging legalism. Billy Jack turns to Native mysticism and draws parallels to biblical Christianity. I'm not saying I agree with every jot and tittle of his claims, but some of them are interesting and he makes some valid points.Another good point is the decision of the writers to not paint all the townspeople as ee-vil rednecks. The sheriff's a quality soul and many of the folks of the town respond positively to what the Freedom School is doing.Unfortunately, the ending feels padded with the overlong standoff, but the climax sort of makes up for it. In any event, "Billy Jack" is a worthwhile period piece if you can overlook the horrible skits at the Freedom School.The film runs 114 minutes and was shot in New Mexico, with some parts in Arizona and California.GRADE: B
bkoganbing
One of the great iconic movies of the 70s Billy Jack came out right at the beginning of the decade and resonated powerfully with audiences, especially the young. Tom Laughlin who originated the Billy Jack character in The Born Losers was so powerful in the part that audiences wouldn't see him as anything else afterward. An interesting victim of his own success.It all starts with young Julie Webb coming home after running away from her brutal father Deputy Sheriff Kenneth Tobey. She's now pregnant as a result of too much free love in the hippie culture of the times. When Tobey proves to be as brutal as before, Webb takes refuge at a school on the Indian reservation run by Delores Taylor.The reservation and its protector Billy Jack is where we are introduced to the title character. Bert Freed who is the local kingpin in the area has organized a hunt of mustangs on the reservation for some quick money from dog food companies. Never mind that A: he's trespassing and B: that the mustangs are protected by law, he's above the law. Freed's played some truly rotten specimens in his career, but in Billy Jack he's at his worst.And the third villain of the film is David Roya who is Freed's son and a real branch off the rotten tree. As Freed constantly puts his son down, Roya goes in for some depravity that even Freed might squirm with.Billy Jack in protecting his people and there way of life and others unable to protect themselves emerges as an old fashioned straight up hero in an increasingly complex world where the bad guys sometimes aren't recognized for what they are. Not in this film though, evil is plainly labeled.Taylor's school is some kind of progressive education dream. Today she'd be a charter school and probably find willing backers. At that time though she's worried that if Laughlin goes overboard the resulting backlash will hurt her school. She sacrifices a lot for that ideal.Billy Jack the movie is firmly rooted in the times it was made, but it still has an enormous appeal for today's audiences.
LCShackley
I was a high school sophomore when this movie came out. It was one of the iconic movies of the period, but I managed to miss it until 2013 when I caught it on cable TV. All I knew about its content was what I learned from the Paul Simon SNL parody "Billy Paul" which ran a few years after the film's release. I had the impression that it was a sort of violent revenge film along the lines of "Death Wish."Instead, it's a 2-hour reminder of how truly awful the hippie era was, full of pretension, naiveté, new-ageism, and horrid folk songs that make you want to pull a Belushi with the guitar player. The plot itself takes about 60 minutes to unravel; the rest is filler, featuring "music" or improvised comedy by the 60s troupe "The Committee" (including Howard Hesseman under a stage name). The clichés flow freely, and the characters are all cardboard cutouts, but at least things are livened up by a few good fight scenes featuring the "pacifist" Billy Jack. It's the kind of movie you'd expect when a husband/wife team writes a script, then give themselves the starring roles and the director's chair. With any luck, this film will cure any nostalgia you may still have for the late 60s/early 70s.
