Rating: 
Summary: simply awful
Review: Sometimes a movie is so bad that it's unintentionally funny. However, that doesn't seem to work with "Billy Jack" because so many people seem take it seriously. I know. I saw it when it came out and I remember many people I knew who thought it was a fantastic movie. I have forgiven them and have moved on with my life. Still, the movie comes to mind from time to time as an example of leftist hypocrisy. The main problem I have with the movie is its' stereo-typic generalities. I realize that this could be a condemnation of 95% of movies ever made but, in this particular case, I figured that the creators would rise above it. Yet here we have a rural Southwestern town of moderate size with all the "bad guys" of the 60's and early 70's. We have the rich man who runs everything, the law enforcement officer who seems to take more orders from the rich man than from his own superior, the redneck rowdies who attack hippies on signal, the spoiled rich kid who could have been "real" but failed to take the right turn, the yes men who all kiss up to the rich man, etc. etc. etc. Then we have the good guys at the "school". This motley crew of misfits is really too much to believe. They are "students" at this school where the only thing that seems to be taught is creativity. Creativity is nice but not as a sole source of learning. Anyhow these hippies seem to always get beat up, harassed or humiliated whenever they go into town. That's where Billy Jack comes in. The kids never stand up for themselves and, frankly, the way the characters are laid out, they'd probably only get beaten up worse if they did. But Billy Jack, a "half-breed" former Viet Nam veteran generally comes to the rescue and kicks some major butt. He's sweet on the "school" director and she is sweet on him. Lots of things happen during the movie. They are designed to make us hate the "establishment" and love the hippies. For example, the movie opens with the bad rich rancher and his followers rounding up wild horses into a corral. They all are ready to shoot these penned-in animals until Billy Jack makes his first appearance and faces down all of these armed men. The horses are freed and the rednecks are mad and it just gets worse from that point on. The rich man's son rapes the "school" director (I hope I'm not giving too much away here) and the force of good (Billy Jack) meets the forces of evil (just about everybody else not associated with the school). Guess who wins. The main objection that I have with this movie is that is disguises violence in a pacifist coating. The same people who would ridicule John Wayne movies as pointless violence seemed to regale the karate beatings delivered by Billy Jack. He was fighting FOR us so whatever he did was OK. I heard plenty of that from my fellow college students at the time the movie came out. The stereo-typing of really bad versus really innocent bothered me as well. We have few people who fit into any sort of middle ground. There's the Sherrif and a few townspeople and that's about it. The "students" seem to be orphans who were abused by society or their own families and have found a haven (read heaven) at this "school". This whole "school" concept is a make-believe extremity of some of the farther-out thought processes at work in those days. Viewed today, I assume that the concept becomes more laughable than it was 30 years ago. Finally, it seems that the whole concept was a self-created "star vehicle" for the creators of the movie. That's not the only time such things have happened (try watching "Good Will Hunting"). However, the whole scope of the work of Tom Mclaughlin and his wife seem to all center around this one character. I've never seen any of his other movies. I don't have to; the titles tell me what I already suspected. If I were to have to come up with one good thing to say about the movie (and if I were a student at the "school", I'm sure that could be my assignment), it would be the very good work of a comedy troupe whose professional name escapes me. You'll recognize Howard Hessman as a part of that group in one of his earliest roles. Well, thanks for listening. After all these years it feels good to get this off my chest.
Rating: 
Summary: Campy But Not Worth Contempt
Review: That any one would feel "pity" for someone who bought the movie for themselves or "contempt" for someone who bought it as a gift seems an "overipe" response. It's a movie. It's an outdated 70's flick that was hugely popular at the time and despite its antiquated sentiments, advocates some simple values that, even in a cheaply made and corny film, are not to be despised. Ideals presented like pacifism, Native American spiritualism and pride, freedom of expression, and animal activism stand in preachy contrast to depictions of racism, bigotry, and violence. But just because they're presented in goofy hippy slang and beads or in a cheaply made film, doesn't mean such ideals and condemnations are not worth advocating. The conflict between Billy Jack's violence and Jean's pacifism goes a lot deeper than just demonstrating Loughlin's martial arts skill. I think the film's also an amusing peak back into an era. IT's not for nothing the film was popular. I think a lot of young people during that period believed in the ideals the film pushes. My students view it and get a huge kick over the preachy messages, corny songs, "don't hassle me man" slang, not to mention the obvious and crudely [done] fight scenes. All in all, certainly not a film to be offended by, and certainly not a film to get worked-up over. Those who take offense to its depicition of violence are most likely still living in 1971.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Movie Ever!
Review: To movie lovers everywhere, I apologize for giving Billy Jack one star -- zero stars was not an option on the review form. This cheaply made flick gets my vote for the all-time worst! A Native-American tribal cop, skilled in martial arts, goes around beating the crud out of people -- even killing. Why? Because he believes in peace! Supposedly, he's defending people against local bigots -- no problem there. But instead, he focuses on defending a liberal school's touchy-feely values. This goofball school makes the best argument yet against the voucher system. Why study math when we can all take mime lessons in order to express ourselves better? I believe in diversity, but here it's used more as a superficial plot device than in any meaningful way. (I use the word "plot" VERY loosely.) Eerily, one suspects that "schools" such as this thrive in places like Boulder and Sedona. The female lead -- Laughlin's homely, off-screen wife -- can't act and looks 20 years older than the star. OK, I know it shouldn't matter that she's ugly, but the point is that she and Laughlin are poorly matched on-screen. The moronic ending features Billy Jack being led away by the police between lines of zit-faced teenyboppers -- fists raised in the archaic "power" symbol -- while the over-ripe song "One Tin Soldier" plays in the background. Moral: 13-year-old girls are wiser than the rest of us, and violence is OK, as long as you support a liberal political and educational agenda. I have only pity for people who enjoy this movie and only contempt for those who give it as a gift. Peace, man.
Rating: 
Summary: One Of The Greatest Movies Of All Time!
Review: The movie Billy Jack was a film industry phenomenon when it was first released. It still retains just as much a powerful psychological and emotional impact today. It is a "hippie western" that preaches the message of peace, love and individualism. Unfortunately this philosophy can be greatly thwarted by bigotedly intolerant, narrow-minded and arrogant people in a very small town.
The "Freedom School" contains many minorities of people: American Indians, long-haired hippies, blacks, socially and emotionally dysfunctional youths, etc. The "redneck" townspeople in this very small southwestern town verbally harass, physically abuse and mentally torture these youths with illegally discriminating behavior.
The half-breed Indian Billy Jack defends these defenseless people by utilizing his wonderful martial arts skills. Billy Jack wreaks righteous revenge on the perpetrators of these injustices. A message that this fantastic and always timely film evokes is this: that the wrongdoing of warped bigotry, devastatingly horrible slander, etc. is not always cured by "turning the other cheek". Sometimes malevolent force has to be destroyed by benevolent force.
The movie Billy Jack has attained a mythic cult classic status. When you consider the very limited budget this movie was created with and the very powerful impact it has had since its first release I would have to rate this film as one of the greatest movies of all time. Its message: " that the majority over the minority and might makes right " can be toppled and corrected by righteous revenge defending the meek is just as vital today as it was thousands of years ago. "The meek shall inherit the earth". The half-breed Indian Billy Jack assisted the meek and weak to inherit their rightful part of the earth in that very small redneck town.
There have been some social instances similar to this social scenario in the movie Billy Jack that have occurred in reality. I can empathize with this movie because I have witnessed a similar situation in my hometown.
Rating:
Summary: Billy Jack: A loner takes on the system
Review: Billy Jack, unlike any other film before or since, illustrates the difference in philosophy between the white man and the native American. In the words of Chief Seattle, "We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of the land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy - and when he has conquered it, he moves on. He leaves his father's graves, and his children's birthright is forgotten." Billy Jack is more than a film about a half-breed defending a freedom school from red-necked bigots. It is about a native american clashing with a materialistic culture whose values betray the earth and simple honest values. Billy Jack is a triumph!
Rating: 
Summary: to get respect you have to fight
Review: this is a film which i had seen and enjoyed when i was barely 8 years old. i have seen it again last week, and after all these years, it still leaves the same impact. i think that critics have misunderstood the real meaning of the 'violence' of billy jack- but hasn't history taught us that to obtain our rights, we have to fight, sometimes literally for them?
Rating:
Summary: Awesomely Pretentious
Review: I was twelve years old when I saw this on the big screen and loved every minute of it. Today I feel a trickle of cold sweat whenever the movie is mentioned. It isn't so much that BILLY JACK is a bad movie as it is an awesomely pretentious one rife with hypocrisy. The story of non-violent native Americans and flower children saved from hysterical cowboys by Billy Jack (who wants to be non-violent but always has to kick butt) is well-intentioned, but from a modern standpoint it is more than just a little embarassing. The production values are so-so, and the cast is merely adequate at best. If you have fond memories of this film, keep them by leaving BILLY JACK in the past: don't see it again. And if you have never seen it... leave well enough alone.
Rating:
Summary: respect of all people
Review: I saw this movie in the 70s and felt it taught us values.
That people need to be judged by who they are and what they do not by color.Today I see the same amount of dis respect given to to native americans. What we still are doing to make them less then us.they have many problems yet they were who where in this town long before any of us. They have so much to offer us in their rich past history if we only would listen.
I see no colors even if I am considered white our blood is red people all have good/not so good in them if we teach violence then expect it to be all around you.Then we ask why.
But at times if you do not stand up for what you beleive is right,we are judged as weak. you can't be bullied it is a fine line.
Even today this movie had good values to live by in the year 2001,the future is in the hands of the kids so we must teach our children love and respect. this movie has it all even a good laugh when my 19 year old son watched they part they talking about the new corvette that Billy Jack had driven into the lake it was $6000 new car, boy that dated the film and made my son get a good laugh out of this hippie film as he called it.
But he watched it more than once here at home so it is a good one for all ages
Rating:
Summary: Defender of the Pacifists
Review: This movie directed by TC Frank (I have always wondered if TC Frank is really Tom Laughlin), is really a movie spearheaded by Tom Laughlin and his wife Delores Taylor, who both star and distribute the movie. This movie is ambitious. It deals with the 60's-70's movements of anti-war, progressive education, and "flower power." As a kid, I liked the movie because Billy Jack was a one man maverick, who stood for justice and bucked up against a corrput system. As an adult, it remains the same. Only, as an adult, it is much harder to watch the sappy and often long sequences of overly preachy liberal sentimentalism. At times the points are well made and at other times it is down right silly. The court room scene is an example of an overly long shot that could have been scaled way down. The movie does well when Billy is the central character. The witty and well carfted dialogue suits this person well. Tom Laughlin is believable as Billy Jack and his personna is a perfect fit. The fight in the court yard square is entertaining and somewhat realistic - rare in the movies. The best of the four movies in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Billy jack is ambitious but limited
Review: Following in the wake of Easy Rider and other movies of the same genre, Billy Jack seeks to leap head first into the turbulence of the early 1970's. It's themes of pacificism, open education, and Native American liberation make it a rather intriguing period piece . And while much of the work is marred by gratuitous violence and melodrama, the plight of disaffected minorities is showcased with a raw, unabashed energy. Like a kick to the head, the movie challenges its audience to consider the chaos of the early 70's and the end of American innocence. The protests and the killing of wild horses are clumsy at times but also deliver a feeling of authenticity--since real life is never choreographed. This was a time when All in the Family and Good Times were daring to make TV audiences feel uneasy. This was a time when TV's Marcus Welby was discussing impotence and sexually transmitted diseases. In short, Billy Jack is a thread in the tapestry of protest that was being felt all over America. Its influence and lasting relevance transcend its weak cinematic acting and direction. This is not great cinema or quality acting but there is a lot of viscera spilling forth in this film and it shouild be watched with other pieces that capture the disillusionment of the time.
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