Billy Jack




When policemen break the law, then there isn't any law--just a fight for survival.

If there was ever a time capsule film, this would be it.

Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin) is more or less the main character caught in the middle of a struggle between a small town's bad-guy-older-generation and a nearby liberal school populated by peace-seeking youth. Since the school is on an Indian reservation, they are afforded some protection, but mostly it comes in the form of Billy Jack. He's a mysterious man, half Indian, ex-Green Beret from Vietnam who knows how to handle himself, and will do anything to protect the school from the increasingly violent confrontations with the townspeople.

Dated doesn't even begin to describe Billy Jack. While none of these things are necessarily detracting, its sub par picture and sound quality is more than a little noticeable. Its music all but requires a whole new category of low budget, while also sporting some old school Batman-like sound effects, and even blood that looks like paint. But while all this is amusing, there's also an abundance of ideals that characterized the hippie movement of the times. Some of these are eye-roll worthy, but the film also tackles some relevant issues that will never age. It actually tackles practically every social issue of the last century known to man as well, but the scenes where something terrible happens, or almost happens, reverberate with a power that transcends anything as trivial as production values. The beginning in particular, involving the slaughter of a herd of horses for mere pennies, sets us up for a film that has more than a few uncomfortable elements, to say the least. While Billy Jack represents the more physical battle front, the long (probably almost too long) scenes involving the youths engaged in psycho-dramatic situations or verbal sparring with the community approach the realistic levels of a documentary, as does the rest at times. It doesn't get much more real than that.

Tom Laughlin remains stoic throughout as the titular vigilante. And even though a double did the hapkido fight scenes, they're still simply awesome. In the scenes where he's required to show genuine emotion though, Laughlin is completely human. But it's really Delores Taylor who provides the emotion throughout most of the movie, as the pacifying headmistress of the school. Her reservoir of strength is no greater than Billy Jack's, but by employing it through peaceful means, she is assured the status of a respected character. Julie Webb's part, however, remains woefully underdeveloped, which is a bad thing since her character is what the rest of the story catalyses to.

Uncomfortable is the operative word here as an American society messed up to the extreme, in a time of intense conflict, is laid bare. Dated yes, but it does have a lot to say that's worth listening to at least once.



-The Gnome