This movie was in the theaters the year I graduated from high school. It was very popular, and every date night seemed to end up seeing this movie. I probably saw it a dozen times or so in the theaters and drive ins. after the second time, it was obvious that this was pretty bad.
It was on the Sony Movie Channel tonight
Holy crap! What a piece of cinematic shit…
Hey! Whatta you got against shit? He gets one point for consistency: all his BJ pix are the same badness.
Billy Jack was a financial success. The movie didn’t cost much to make and a pioneering technique of local marketing drove ticket sales. Still probably looks like chickenfeed compared to modern movie revenue. It fit the times, the 1970s was weird.
Billy Jack paved the way for guys like Chuck Norris to make movies. Then much later Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Karate movies were mostly Asian stars before Billy Jack. Guys like Bruce Lee made them popular. They were often badly dubbed in English. The mouths didn’t match what was being said.
Watch Easy Rider lately? Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? The Stepford Wives? Kramer vs Kramer? The Graduate?
Some movies belong to the times they were made in.
It was awful as movie and story quality go, but it did speak to an age fascinated with native spirituality and hippie love and peace ideals.
Around 1970, Hollywood studios were desperate to find stars and scripts that resonated with the hippie generation, and Billy Jack wasn’t exactly the worst of them. Skidoo, Head and Candy were much worse, and they cost more to make. They eventually latched on to a formula of sorts, resulting in a bunch of movies with Jack Nicholson, Alan Arkin and Elliot Gould. Billy Jack pioneered this type of movie with overblown “relevancy,” counterculture themes, an AM radio-friendly theme song, and ties to improv and sketch groups (The Committee in this case, though other films mined the Second City and Compass troupes). It was awful, but studio releaseds latched on to the elements that worked.
The action parts were good, the hippie parts were crap except for his daughters two songs. And boobs.
The Graduate is still excellent btw.
What, you didn’t stick around for the sequels, The Trial of Billy Jack, or Billy Jack Goes To Washington?
The planned fifth installment in the series, The Return of Billy Jack/Billy Jack’s Crusade to End the War in Iraq and Restore America to Its Moral Purpose/Billy Jack’s Moral Revolution/Billy Jack for President,* was, alas, never filmed.
I guess Metalstorm: The Destruction of Billy Jack and Billy Jack, Too: Electric Jackaloo must similarly be consigned to the wistful mists of “what if”?
*Note: That wasn’t a jab—I swear to god, those are the actual reported titles the man proposed to call the thing.
When I read a thread like this…I just go…BEZERK!
I’m still waiting for Billy Jack Takes Tiger Mountain by Strategy to be released on Blu Ray.
Even back then I wondered if the out of tune guitar that girl played was an artistic choice or just shoddy planning
I disagree about The Graduate.
I made my Dad take me to see Easy Rider when it came out. I so, so wanted a dirt bike and was sure that once Dad saw how cool motorcycles were I could get one.
I chose… poorly. But I did get a motorcycle.
And don’t forget the actual first Billy Jack movie, The Born Losers.
That’s why *Jaws *was so big. The late 60s taught people never to watch a film with only one name in the title.
What worked? This did.
My opinion is that he never really intended to make those movies. He used to put up pleas for money on his website with the promise of using that money for more sequels.
But he was old and out of shape by then, and out of touch as well.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually loved those movies back then. And TL was a cool guy but after the last one it really was over.
Billy Jack: You know what I think I’m gonna do then? Just for the hell of it?
Mr. Posner: Tell me.
Billy Jack: I’m gonna take this right foot, and I’m gonna whop you on that side of your face…
[points to Posner’s right cheek]
Billy Jack: …and you wanna know something? There’s not a damn thing you’re gonna be able to do about it.
sigh Beaten to the punch.
So to speak.
“Relevancy movie”. I’ve was wondering what a good way to describe that 70s style was.