- 1971
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 54 m
SummaryEx-Green Beret hapkido expert saves wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and helps protect a desert "freedom school" for runaway.
Directed By:Tom Laughlin
Written By:Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor
Billy Jack
Metascore
Mixed or Average
50
User score
Generally Favorable
6.8
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
50
29% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
57% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
70
There's a sweet, naive feeling to the movie even when it's violent and melodramatic and atrocious, and when it's good it's good in an unorthodox, improvisatory style.
63
There are a lot of things in Billy Jack that are seriously conceived and very well-handled. Some of the scenes at the school, for example, with real kids experimenting with psychodrama, are interesting. Some of the action scenes are first-rate. But the movie has as many causes in it as a year's run of the New Republic.
50
The whole picture nicely conveys a Southwestern atmosphere. But much too often, at the cost of plain credibility, it stacks its cards, characters and even credo like any rootin', tootin' Western.
By Howard Thompson
FULL REVIEW 50
Billy Jack is a film of violent contradictions. It is a fortysomething über-square’s tribute to the promise and potential of the hippies, as well as an intensely violent homage to non-violence.
50
Screenplay attempts to encompass too many story facets. Result is that the action frequently drags.
By Staff (Not Credited)
FULL REVIEW 40
A down market youth pic with Laughlin as the half-breed Vietnam veteran who stands up for America's misunderstood youth and operates a sort of one-man Countryside Commission.
By Staff (Not Credited)
FULL REVIEW 25
The material played upon all the best aspects of the socially conscious movements of the 1960s, and then perverted them by preaching that violence is indeed the solution to problems as long as it's for the right cause.
By Staff (Not Credited)
FULL REVIEW User score
Generally Favorable
6.8
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Aug 21, 2021
7
"Billy Jack" acts less like an action hero and more like a symbol of justice for the extremist left. Some may not like the heavy dialogue exchanges, but the topic at hand here is both interesting and controversial. The discussions made me want to participate alongside the youths to thwart against, not the conservatives, but the awful, **** things the police forces and two other numb-nut characters do to the innocent during this film. It is definitely a period piece film (a good one at that) and the political talk remains relevant today. Kudos to Laughlin's hard work on making this low-budget, independent film a success because it is shot very well, has some well done action scenes (even though they're sparse), and it makes use of a soundtrack that compliments the film's visuals, characters, and message.
Report
Production Company:
- Eaves Movie Ranch
- National Student Film Corporation
- Warner Bros.
Release Date:May 1, 1971
Duration:1 h 54 m
Tagline:Would Billy Jack be executed if it had happened in your town?
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Taormina International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Image Awards (NAACP)
• 1 Nomination
