Rating: 
Summary: Billy Jack is back, but the DVD does lack...
Review: I'm not sure I was even in school when this film came out, but I remember seeing it in the theater and several times in syndicated re-runs. As a young girls, I thought Billy Jack was cute and I nursed my secret crush through all of his films. This movie is a look at a time where people were grappling with society and social responsibility. At the time, it may have seemed to stir up questions, but now, it is a nostalgic look at a time that was to self-involved to understand the situation it was in. Now its funny to watch, in the manner that it deals with the conflict of pacifist teens looking for identity and the good 'ol boys of the past. The fight scenes are tame by today's standards, but are still entertaining. How many action heroes today have the elaborate precurser to a fight like Billy Jack's removing of his boots?
The negative aspect of this DVD is that it is merely a DVD version of the VHS. The only benefit is that you can advance by scene. No trailers, no news clips or interviews. This is a shame since the DVD medium allows for so much more, and especially since there has been recent revisiting of Tom Laughlin and the Billy Jack story by the E! cable channel. Recently, I was in the store and saw a Billy Jack set which had all three movies in it. It claimed to have additional footage. So, I would recommend looking for an alternate version before purchasing this. For my disappointment in the DVD, I'm giving this a 3 star rating.
Rating: 
Summary: A misunderstood classic
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars back in '71; now...well...
Review: Poor Bernard. Yes, he had the baZERK coming to him in the ice cream parlor. But Billy and Jean should have tried to reach out to him afterwards and get him into the freedom school for "outcasts" since his father was so mean to him. After all, he didn't really want to shoot the horsies. But the plot writer never gave the poor guy a chance to turn good.
By the way, you youngsters, that fight scene in the park was one of the BEST karate scenes filmed to date at that time!!!
I rented this movie recently and am embarrassed at the fact that it was 1 of my 2 all-time favorites for so many years. It's completely silly to me now. But I'm giving it 5 stars for old time's sake and to remind me of how goofy I used to be for loving it.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat dated, but entertaining!
Review: I watched this movie as a 10 year old and found it to be an awesome movie. Upon further review, I found that this movie lost some of it's touch. The movie seems dated with all the hippies walking around. But, Tom Laughin as Billy Jack makes the movie work. BTW, the original Billy Jack movie was "The Born Losers" back in 1967. It works!
Rating: 
Summary: Movie is still good, but the DVD is a waste of DVD space
Review: I bought the Billy Jack 4-DVD set for my wife for Christmas. While I thought the movies were ok, the commentary track is sometimes out of sync with the movie (I'm referring to the commentary track for "Billy Jack"... I haven't seen the others yet w/commentary). So when Tom & Delores say something like "that guy right THERE" the scene is already past they were referring to. It gets re-synced at times but really is very sloppy overall. Most noticable is when the sheriff and deputy go to the Freedom school to look for Barbara and are sung to by the kids. The commentary track is way out of sync with the movie there. Also, Tom goes WAY overboard in his praise of Delores' performance. A little praise is fine but remember that your audience wants to hear background information on the movie, not constant self-admiration... and I do mean constant ! We had to strain to catch the little tidbits of interesting info in between Tom's deluge of acolades for his wife. Also in the promotion for the website, the word "marriage" is misspelled. There is so little "extra" features on these DVD's that it hardly seems to be a good use of the medium to put "Billy Jack" on these, except to get them to market I guess. In some DVD's I get the feeling that the producers really put their finest efforts into the DVD production and other times I get the feeling that the movie was thrown onto DVD to get it into the market. The Billy Jack collection has the look and feel and lack of content of the latter. We'd like to have seen a seperate documentary on the "ghost religion" for example or an on-camera interview with Tom & Delores for the silver anniversary of the release of Billy Jack. Too late now...
Rating: 
Summary: Not as naive a movie as you might think
Review: This film captures the ideals of racial equality of the late 60s tempered by the realities of living in America in a waning civil-rights era of the early 70s. Billy Jack returns to the reservation after a tour in Vietnam to find tension between the students of the Native "Freedom School" and the local townspeople. Some townspeople are motivated by fear and distrust, others buy old-fashioned racism. Billy Jack defends the students of the Freedom school, violently if need be. The hippie, anti-racism/fascism message is not subtle. However, the answer to the world's problems does not lie in the simple "love one another" mantra of the the peace movement. Billy Jack gets respect and some degree of safety for the students at the Freedom school only by kicking the racist antagonists in the face. At the same time, taken too far, a confrontational approach doesn't make it all better..even if you have the moral authority. Billy Jack finds this out as he is surrounded by the authorities, wounded and bleeding to death in a shack. It takes courage to fight back, and it takes just as much to realize that black and white responses to life's challenges do not amount to functional solutions to those problems. As stated in some reviews of this movie, some of the acting and music leave much to be desired. However, we know that in real life people don't act as emotionally convincing as actors portray them, and the bad hippie songs actually make the movie believable. The improv-theatre scenes are a bit corny, but honest and quite amusing. A few are excellent, actually. The movie is honest about violence, race, and sexuality. I think it would be viewed as politically incorrect today, in spite of its hippie message. The opening scene where wild mustangs are coralled against the visual backdrop of a Southwest canyon and the musical background of Coven's anti-war anthem is quite moving. A very beautiful movie, and one of my favorite movies of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Admirably Violent Non-Violence
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Saw the DVD last night. Never saw the movie before.
Review: My husband is 10 years older than I, and saw the movie in elementary school with his mom. I had never heard of Billy Jack or Tom Laughlin before. I appreciate all the comments here for breaking open and examining each piece of the film's method and message. The woman who wrote about the racist depiction of Native American activism and spirituality had a good point. The person who said, hey, people loved it for the action and not the message (hence the bombing of the second movie) also had a good point. Although I found Laughlin worth watching, my own fondness was more about the message of the school and its teacher. Sure, it was wrapped in some overly sappy lines and placed in a school of overwhelming (read "nauseating") peace and love. However, the core message of refusing to toss out "bad kids," creating opportunities for learning through tapping into one's previously undiscovered creative interests, standing up to those who abuse their power and authority, and reexamining and discarding the race-rules about who we are supposed to hang out with---well, those messages are still worth listening to today.
Rating:
Summary: Now.. and then
Review: Billy Jack was one of the first films to use mass media oversaturation as an audience draw. Curiousity led many to the theatre. It remains as a more successful independent film. That it also spawned sequels shows that it did make a hit with the audience. Sequels are "The Trial of Billy Jack" and "Billy Jack goes to Washington." Do a search on the Web for Billy Jack - he's got a bonafide Web page. Why not? So does everybody else! In it's time (1971) Vietnam was still very much a reality, pacifism and violence were central issues of the day. Cynics have decried the amount of violence in the film against it's pacifist message. But, there are good fights and bad fights - that was part of the central message of this film. It's retained enough of a cultural memory to be successfully lampooned in the cartoon "Pinky & The Brain" episode "Brainy Jack." Though now somewhat dated, the struggle of righting wrongs and standing up to prejudice and bigotry are still much with us some 27 years later. Viewed in this context, the video's message is still very much needed. All in all a good video. And one tin soldier rides away...
Rating:
Summary: For A 1971 Film It Still Makes The Grade
Review: I love this movie the first time I saw it, and I still love it today. This movie portrays a time when racism was really rampant; when people were searching for meaning in their lives, and when people still believed that good might triumph over evil. Tom Laughlin turns in the performance of a lifetime in this film. I plan on checking out the other Billy Jack movies, but I doubt any will match up to this one. If any of you amazon.com reviewers can think of one, let me know, please. God Bless! Happy movie watching and book reading everyone. www.therunninggirl.com
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