Customer Reviews

Billy Jack

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

A nice upgrade from the 4-disc Billy Jack Collection. The major improvement here is that all 4 films have been digitally remastered in their original widescreen aspect ratio from the original film negatives. The color and the clarity look superb with very little artifacts. Though I just got this set and haven't watched each film in their entirety, I did sample the beginning of each disc and was amazed at how breathtaking and clear the opening scenes were for both "Billy Jack" and "Trial." The transfers for "Born Losers" and "Washington" look just as fantastic. These really make the transfers on the last set look inferior, especially since I played them back to back and did a comparison.

The sound has also been digitally remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. and each film includes both a newly recorded 2005 commentary track from the Laughlin family as well as the original 2000 filmmaker commetary from the last set. The discs come in a slipcase with digipak and each disc has it's own tray with the original poster art for each film beneath the tray and printed on the actual disc. The running times for each are "Born Losers" (113 minutes); "Billy Jack" (118 minutes); "Trial..." (171 minutes); "Washington" (114 minutes).

The set also includes a 5th disc of bonus features. Unfortunately it's not as good as I would've hoped, but I'm not complaining since I'm so impressed with the transfers of the actual films themselves. The bonus features included a very short documentary about the making of the films; Trivia Quiz; several original TV ad for 'Billy Jack" only; Billy Jack Book Excerpt; Cut-Your-Own Fight contest info; Website info; and a photo gallery. Nothing too impressive.

Overall the transfers themselves are widescreens and look and sound amazing, enough for me to say that alone is worth the upgrade.

I have always been puzzled by the hostile reaction of critics to Billy Jack. The puzzling aspect is not the negativity itself, but rather the almost blanket misrepresentation or - to be charitable - misunderstanding, of what the movie is about. Thus potential buyers are disserviced by the prevailing conventional wisdom i.e. "Billy Jack preaches peace while practising violence"; "Billy Jack wants to have its cake and eat it with regard to pacifism"; "the film is hypocritical" etc. In reality, the character of Billy Jack NEVER preaches peace. The only hint of this being true comes when he REJECTS Delores Taylor's view that violence in the face of violent bigotry won't solve anything. Given his instincts as a Shoshone warrior and a Green Beret trained (ironically by the US government) for war - against the extent of brutality of the bigots he faces, there is clearly no room for touchy-feely encounter sessions. These morons are not merely exercising speech, thought or association, but systematic physical violence on the defenceless. So Billy Jack's struggle to reconcile his violent rage with the principles of the Freedom School is a lost cause from the outset(which Billy himself admits when - referring to his efforts to embrace the pacifist influence of the Freedom School - he says to a racist bully, "I try, I really try ... but when I see this girl of such a beautiful spirit suffer this indignity ... I just go BERSERK! ") To critics safely weaned on the quiet, unthreatening dignity of Sidney Poitier, the Billy Jack character threatened equivalent response to oppression that cared neither for the approval, feelings or physical well-being of knowing oppressors. Revolutionary indeed! And while Virgil Tibbs would soak it up, confident his own intellectual superiority will bring justice in the end, Billy Jack will not give an inch of ground to people who had already stolen enough. Result: the bigots NEVER mess with HIM in the first instance - always someone weaker. Yet, it is precisely here that the movie parts company with the character in terms of point-of-view. For while Billy is clear in cause and action, the movie is purposefully less so. In the end, Billy's actions result in his arrest. Whether the actual benefits of his actions (guarantee of the Freedom School's existence; annual gubernatorial progress review of Indian affairs etc.) have been worth the cost or have, in reality, made any real difference to the overall mileu of oppression is left debatable. NOT because the movie "has its cake and eats it", but because there are no glib, easy answers by which to provide neat resolutions. Should Billy be praised, condemned or something in-between? The movie honestly doesn't know and sensibly leaves this to the viewer to decide. Coming from a society where the issue of defensive violence in the face of apartheid brutality was always an ongoing anxiety, the movie's delineation of contradictory but related progressive tendencies did not ring false at all. In fact, its pioneering depiction (try and dispute that!) of race conflict from the point of view of the oppressed was deemed so incendiary by the apartheid government that it was banned (along with Soldier Blue and Jesus Christ Superstar). Yet, even here South of the equator, Billy Jack was a movie phenomenon in the 1970s, as we attended secret underground viewings with our parents - one eye on the lookout for security police raids. Check out the initial, aloof response of US critics at the time and you'll also see life imitating art in ironic ways as critics retreated into their smug class and race cocoons in an effort to bury Billy Jack. Yet today, given its box office numbers and its massive international impact, Billy Jack ranks as the best example of the intermittent disjuncture between film critics and the movie-going public. Billy Jack may seem naive now - and the experimental theatre scenes now suggest Zanuck may have been right (for the wrong reasons) to want them excluded - but its nobility is untainted. Forget the sour mumblings of mainstream critics (the same people who proclaimed True Lies "a quality movie")and make this great movie a part of your collection. As a straight action movie, you'd be hard-pressed to find better contemporaries (yes, Billy Jack may have dated somewhat but has anyone checked out Bullitt or The French Connection recently?). As an action movie with some things on its mind other than fast cars, big explosions and blonde babes, I defy anyone to find me an equal. In any case, the title song ("One Tin Soldier") by Coven is in and of itself worth the unbelievable DVD purchase price. From its spectacular Mustang-rustling opening sequence to Billy's final surrender, Billy Jack remains one of the best examples of independent movie-making at its most threatening to the Establishment. Today, only John Sayles and Ken Loach can still lay claim to that honor. I had been looking for copies of Billy Jack and Born Losers (the orginal Billy Jack movie) for almost 15 years before discovering it for sale on this site. Since receiving my shipment, I have watched them repeatedly and not been disappointed. Neither will you.

Some people just don't get it. Tom Laughlin wrote the script, directed, starred, and controlled distribution for Billy Jack because no major studio wanted to support a film that exposed bigotry and prejudice in Amercian society. Laughlin staged a one man stand against the commercial capitalists who controlled the movie industry and won. Laughlin's unprecendented move to control the film's distribution rights opened the door for future independent film making to reach mass audiences. Laughlin's struggle against studio powers mirrored Billy Jack's inner angst towards violence, peace, and civil libertites. Sure the film's message of a counterculture existing in a deeply rooted, cynical, white Southern/Western community seems overbearingly blatant, but the film still stands firm as a testimony of one man challenging the morals and values that define his world. Who cares if the Indian attire used in the spirtual dance did not comform to the actual Indian dress used in such a ceremony? There have been many big budget Hollywood extravaganzas that neglected to follow proper uniform codes. Check out Tora Tora Tora and many of the medals, stripes, and,insignias used on the military uniforms are incorrect. The fight scenecs in Billy Jack, which Laughlin also coreographed, are exceptional. No film has been able to capture the realistic grace, power, and balance of martial arts evident in Billy Jack. Until Billy Jack no Hollywood film dealt with the inconsistences and racism towards Native Amercian Indians that exists in our country. If Billy Jack's message was too strong and straightforward for the Amercian public to swallow, then these critics should stay home and watch the old cowboy and Indian movies that feature the All-American hero John Wayne. I'll take Billy Jack, I mean Tom Laughlin anyday.

I bought this DVD set and can't say enough great things about these movies AND their creators, Tom Laughlin & Delores Taylor. What wonderful people they were then and are now! They took the chances most people are afraid to take and stood up for what they believed in and I am so greatful to them for that. And greatful for the lessons they have taught me which are as valuable as any I've ever learned in my life. When the singer sings "you are my teacher" at the end of 'Trial of B.J.' I surely can relate!

Back in the 70's these movies literally enlightened and changed my life! And after watching them all over again (including the 'Billy Jack Goes to Washington' which never got released) I have to say I think they are changing things yet again in my life, in ways I never imagined.

I get upset with all the negative comments I read regarding the karate scenes(there are only 2 karate scenes in each, 'Billy Jack' & 'Trial of B.J.') probably less than 5-6 minutes of the total movie, yet people seem to ONLY remember those scenes and not all the PEACE & LOVE demonstrated throughout the movies.
I'd recomend this set to anyone today and feel it's as current now (yes, just listen to the current daily news!) as it was in the 70's. I think all kids in high school should see this also as a lesson. Just look at what the government was up to then as it is now and you may agree.

Any film whose main thread is that it takes an extremely violent advocate of non-violence to truly protect the non-violent, immediately has my full attention and respect. If I could have only been around in the early seventies to watch hordes of stringy-haired American middle to upper class youth cheer, in all seriousness, a denim-clad white guy kicking the living hell out of (and in some cases even kill) anyone who doesn't practice the appropriate level of peace and understanding, I would have truly been in heaven. This movie and it's enduring popularity have confirmed what I have always suspected: disagree with a pacifist and they would like nothing more than to place your head on a pike.

If a person could have jammed anymore sixties clichés into an hour and a half, I'd like to watch their movie, too. Leading the pack would be the connection to "Indians", followed by ear-ringing singalongs at the school.....being bitten by rattlesnakes in a "purification process"....guerilla theater.......expressing yourself......"squares"......and on and on.

Jean is the lady that runs the school and, despite a notable lack of physical contact, is Billy Jack's lady. She is the good cop to his bad and spends a great deal of time doing one of two things: trying to talk Billy Jack out of collapsing your windpipe OR sneering with satisfaction once he actually does it. Jean's philosophy is plain and straightforward: there isn't a problem in the world that couldn't be solved in a peaceful manner if people would just love one another....and if that doesn't work, I'll un-cage Billy Jack and set him out to snapping your limbs like twigs. She also has the most unusual set of sideburns I've ever seen in my life.

There's not been a movie made that I'd rather watch than this one. Buy it. Quickly.

Supposing that you want a set of Billy Jack Movies, this is a good one. For a while, in that era of sartorial horrors known as the 70s, Billy Jack was a very popular film franchise. This collection of all four movies is a great boon for fans. Those who are not fans would have no interest anyway.

The series morphed a great deal over its run. BORN LOSERS took place in Southern California and involved a man protecting a rape victim from bikers. The rest move the story to Arizona and add Indian mysticism to the basic plot of an honest guy protecting others.

The series also varies quite a bit in quality. Production values were worse early on but the films were better. That too is a familiar story.

Individual Synopses appear below:


BORN LOSERS
This was the movie that started the Billy Jack franchise of the early 70s and it is definitely a product of that era in everything from costume to style to dialog to location.

Tom Laughlin plays Billy Jack, a mysterious loner who is part Indian and recently released from the Special Forces in Vietnam. He is trying to get along in southern California but is handicapped with such traits as a conscience. He gets arrested on "vigilante" charges when he saves a young boy from being beaten to death by a biker gang. This puts him off of the good citizenship ideal.

This same motorcycle gang mentioned before has more to its activities than just beating kids bloody. It also like such recreational pastimes as rape. When a group of girls is hospitalized after a particularly brutal rape, the DA desperately wants at least one of them to press charges but all of the girls are frightened of retaliation. The gang victimizes each one further to ensure their silence.

On of the girls is spunkier than the rest. She decides to prosecute and the gang comes after her. She runs straight into Billy Jack's arms and Billy Jack stiffens her resolve and helps to protect her when the local sheriff proves unable to do so.

The action in this movie is understated by today's standards and the fights are really laughable. They do make their points, though and the point of the movie is not action but justice.


BILLY JACK
This is the second of the Billy Jack Series.

It is a few years later (than BORN LOSERS) and Billy Jack is now living on an Indian reservation in Arizona. On the same reservation, there is an experimental school that is short on rules, long on the counter-culture and even longer on hacking off the officials of the local town.

Billy Jack acts as sort of an unofficial protector for the school. He makes a strange compatriot for the head of the school. She is a pacifist who will endure practically anything, including rape, to keep from using violence. Billy Jack, on the other hand, is a former green beret and doesn't hesitate to use violence when necessary.

Tensions build between the school and the town and things come to a head when the runaway daughter of a corrupt deputy sheriff funs off to the school. The deputy wants her back and is willing to do anything to get her, including frame and/or kill innocent people. While Billy tries to protect and, occasionally, avenge, he becomes the target of officialdom and a fugitive.

This story is no more complex than that of the first movie. Neither is it any better acted. Even so, there is something compelling about it.


THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK
BILLY JACK closed with Billy being arrested for manslaughter. This film opens with an extremely long sequence featuring the director of the school Billy was protecting in the last installment, recounting a long list of grievances to a reporter. In this sequence, virtually every hippie stereotype and left wing cause is aired. Intermingled with this retrospective diatribe are flashbacks of Billy Jack's legal trial and prison sentence.

The "trial" referred to in the title does not seem to be the legal one mentioned above. After being released from prison, Billy undergoes a personal trial, replete with Indian mysticism. He is seeking to become a less violent person. This is the backdrop for the real point of the film.

All events lead up to staging a massacre at the school similar in nature to the historic one at Kent State University. The movie is virtually a tribute to those who lost their lives. Little else is accomplished in terms of story or drama.

The movie makes some valid and even good points about the politics of the day and indicts justs about everything associated with "The Establishment". It also back a few losing points of view. Whether these points of view are agreed with or not, however, the film could have been much stronger and made its point better.

This is a very long film. That made it proportionally more difficult to sit through. It is propaganda of its time. It has germs of truth within but those germs are lost with the sledgehammer method of delivering the message.


BILLY JACK GOES TO WASHINGTON
The basic story is right out of the Jimmy Stewart classic. A senator dies and, in a politically pandering move, Billy Jack is appointed as the replacement. The Senior senator wants to make sure that nothing remotely political gets put on his plate. Billy Jack decides to sponsor a bill for a youth camp and the senior senator encourages him, thinking it will keep him out of his hair. Everything falls to pieces, though, when Billy reveals the location of his proposed camp. A nuclear power plant is secretly being proposed for the site. This puts him at odd with the powers that be and results in a titanic struggle of good vs. evil. It just gets nastier when Billy refuses to knuckle under to intimidation.

There are a few differences from the original movie. The bogeyman here is nuclear power and, more generally, politicians. Also, this being a Billy Jack movie, there are the obligatory martial arts scenes starring the newly minted senator.

The movie gets some things right. It is appropriately cynical about Washington and politicians. It portrays corruption as the norm and it does so believably. It also makes an effort to use some sentimental imagery and footage to stir up patriotic feelings. It does not work with this cast.

This is nowhere near as good as the Jimmy Stewart movie but it is quite watchable. It is also much better than THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK.

This 5-DVD set is truly awesome!!! Includes all four "Billy Jack" films in their original Widescreen ratios!!! It also includes a Bonus Disc with extras!!! A very nice well rounded out package!!! Two thumbs up!!! Five Stars!!!

Made in an age of assassination(MLK, Malcolm X, RFK), anti-war activism and Vietnam holocaust, the tragedies of My Lai, Jackson State and Kent State, "Billy Jack" continues to call viewers to an examination of attitudes toward other people, violence/non-violence, educational philosophies, hypocrisy and the vicissitudes of film. We are even challenged to take sides and to enter this bit of "street theatre" on a "what would you do?" basis. This was the era *before* youth and women's shelters, sensitivity training, diversity education, etc. Society has responded to many of the issues presented in the film, some more effectively than others. And the religioius perspective presented looks quaint in the commercialized environment of "commodity spirituality." Still, if the viewer attends to the whole... In the decades after ILM has revolutionized FX and editing, BJ has a dated feel. Nevertheless, this was a very good independent film and still stands up to scrutiny. In the jaded and historically ignorant post-reagan nineties, BJ ought to be viewed as an educational film.

The story follows an unlikely and not wholly likeable hero through external and internal struggles with the culture and society of his time. Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, et. al give performances and "message" scripting that is hard to beat. Camp, yes, with generous touches of magic and fantasy. But this is camp designed for the hearts of those with "ears to hear and eyes to see." I heartily recommend it for older teens and adults.

The one star reviews cutting down at the knees the inconsistent behavior of praising peace at a cost of viloence, are naive and short sighted. THAT IS THE POINT! Helllooooo! Has anyone looked, read ," American Democracy" or looked at the White man's plight preaching peace, serenity at the cost of lives , religion and nonetary gain. Even in this era, sad to say have not changed at all.

This movie was very brave, unique, and risky. Shame on the narrow minded individuals that cannot see the message for the perceived blatent hypocrisy. That was the point.

This movie should be viewed by all that have a passion to reach out to the victims of the world, the minorites and those that have been unfairly treated.

Dan Williams, author of, " Above His Shoulders."

You don't get/watch this movie for the production values. You don't get this movie for the 70's nostalgia or the flower-power hippie esque themes.

You get this movie because of a very simple thing. Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. This movie is about having the courage to do what's right - no matter the cost.

Billy Jack is the archetype of the great protector who turns to violence because sometimes it's the only way. And this movie is the 300 of the seventies.

Ironic how true it all rings when we look at the battles Tom Laughlin had with hollywood and with the government when it came to making and screening the Billy Jack Movies.