OK - I have to ask: Did you like (or do you now) The Billy Jack movies?

[The Straight Story]

There were 4 (Born losers, Billy Jack, Trial of Billy Jack, and Billy Jack goes to Washington - a sort of spook/remake of Mr. Smith goes to Washington).

I own the whole set and an autographed book by 'Billy Jack' on the making of the movies. For some reason I love those movies :)

[RagingInMiami]

1. I loved the original

it's a classic

EDIT: By that, I mean I love "Billy Jack". Was Born Losers the original?

[BigMcLargehuge]

4. Born Losers was the original

it had the best dialogue of the films too.

[RagingInMiami]

14. I remember Born Losers vaguely as a kid

But Billy Jack is a movie I've seen countless times. He was a true bad ass in that movie. And I loved the song too.

[salin]

28. I have never heard of "Born Losers"

where would I find it?

[The Straight Story]

6. Planning a marathon watching of them in a few weeks

Commentary and all (as well as twin peaks).

Billy Jack seemed like a liberal series, worth watching.

Born losers was the first.

[The Straight Story]

8. His book was interesting -http://www.billyjack.com/

http://www.billyjack.com/

Discussed how they came up with the idea, how they tested and marketed it, and so on.

[ET Awful]

2. I only ever saw Billy Jack

and I liked it. The acting was bad, the filming was bad, the locations were awesome.

I've been meaning to get the other three movies (I have Billy Jack on DVD), but just haven't had a chance yet.

[BigMcLargehuge]

3. Born Losers was good

Billy Jack was half good... the hippy/dippy school half was awful... The other Billy Jack flicks were terrible.

At least he, via the teaching of Bong Soo Hong, brought Hapkido to the states.

[cavanaghjam]

5. Wasn't it Firesign Theatre

that did a bit about a show "brought to you by Billy Jack dog food, the kind Billy Jack eats"? God, they were funny.

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. I only saw Billy Jack and Trial of Billy Jack.

They were not really my type of movie, but they were great. And then there was....

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.

On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.

Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there."

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

[The Straight Story]

10. An Awesome song, and the reason I remembered the movie so long

I finally found the website, http://www.billyjack.com/, and ordered the movies and book(s).

Not the best of movies, but sooo reminds me of those days.

[shesemsmom]

9. I loved them all. I wish they would replay

them back to back. That would be great

[The Straight Story]

12. See Here: (and 'billy jack' on Kerry)

http://www.billyjack.com/

Some of the topics on this site:

* The frightening results of an in-depth person-to-person poll of Swing voters in key states.
o As of today, Kerry loses by 1 million votes … because voters think he’s too weak
o The only possible way Kerry can still win this election – focus on the strength of his Administration

* Why what Kerry did in 1971 instead of being an act of betrayal was an incredible act of heroism and love of his fellow troops
* By giving back the oil, Kerry builds a new coalition of world powers … and all troops come home in six months with honor
* The failure of Kerry’s campaign to tell how Bush has massacred the environment
* Bush vs. Kerry: An explosive psychological profile

[alphafemale]

11. Love Billy Jack - Whining, snivling bully Bernard reminds me of *.

There's even a physical resemblance.

[The Straight Story]

13. See post 12 :) (n/t)

[alphafemale]

26. Thanks. Not sure how to link back to that topic though.

I read from one of your other posts here that you are a '65 baby.

I'm '64. I think the film has the softest soft for those of us in that age range.

I also think some of the film's cheesiness is part of its charm.

They weren't the greatest actors. They weren't pros. But they were honest.

And the line about "this side of my foot, and that side of your face, and nothing you'll be able to do about it"...?

Classic.

[Z_I_Peevey]

15. Watch them every time they're on!

When I think of Billy Jack....I just go berserk. Yep.

I'd love to have the whole set. I've never seen Billy Jack Goes to Washington. I think I have the soundtrack, though. I'd have to go digging into the stax of wax to be sure.

[The Straight Story]

17. If you can, buy it, if not let me know

I will see if i can help ya out. I have the whole set, I dunno - just reminds me of a simpler time in life. I can send you the originals I have to view if things are not going well and you can't buy em right now.

[Z_I_Peevey]

21. Oh, that's so sweet.

I could never allow anyone's original ANYTHING into the zoo I call home. I'd be too afraid my kids would misplace or damage it.

When the universe decides it's time to me to see/have the movie, I have no doubt I'll run across it at a Goodwill or yard sale somewhere.

(DU'ers are so freaking cool. Thanks for the thought.)

[Bark Bark Bark]

16. Billy Hack Movies Are Teh FUN!

The movies? Garbage. But hilarious garbage!

And even funnier are the real-life adventures of Tom-Tom McLaughlin, Billy himself and the writer/director of the series (as well as "The Master Gunfighter" and MST3K favorite "The Touch Of Satan" under a pseudonym).

He was a Mel Gibson with bad timing; he vomited up his lunatic conspiracy theories and Christ-complex back when people recognized such things for what they are.

If you pop by BillyJack.com, you can sample the insanity. (He purports to be a Kerry supporter, but he's clearly an ABB type with more in common with Nader.)

At one time, he proposed a "Billy Jack V" in which Billy uncovers child molestations at a day-care center. Naturally, this would've probably have ended with Billy snapping everyone's bones before getting shot by police, who are conspiring with the molesters.

Sadly, this was never made, and I have to settle for "Barracuda," "Parts: The Clonus Horror," or "Battlefield Earth."

EDIT: WHOA! Thread got busy while I was typing! When I started, there was only one message!

[The Straight Story]

19. I have the Master Gunfighter on VHS somewhere

A riot :) While I agree he is ABB he was more supportive of Kerry and understanding than some on the whole thing. Kerry was not perfect (see threads here from primaries) but was who we had to work with.

At least he was not a * supporter. Movies were hokey, but they have a deeper meaning to some (like me) because I saw them during a time when they were relevant. Today they look bad, but I saw Born losers at the drive in, and billy jack as well. Looking back such movies helped me be more progressive and open minded.

[Maple]

18. The scene where they

all stood and turned their backs and covered their heads...beautiful.

Peaceful, silent, tremendously effective.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. No

Don't mean to offend any fans here, but I think they are some of the worst movies ever made. And that song - One Tin Soldier :puke:

[Maple]

22. People remember them

so obviously they hit a nerve.

[The Straight Story]

23. When were you born :)

I can understand your sentiments. I was born in 65, hell star wars was top O' the line movie in those days(77) in special effects and all.

The world was a mess in those days to youngsters like me. Billy Jack was cool. We didn't have computers, vhs, cable (except maybe tele-cinema later on). You either watched the three networks or saw movies. In it's day, it was pretty cool. Compared to today, not so cool. But as a young boy Billy Jack seemed larger than life, and just. Politics, vietnam, man going to the moon, and so on were the talk of the day. This movie fit well into that time slot for me.

[WCGreen]

24. We use to get sooooo Stoned to go and watch a Billy Jack

Movie at the Midnight flicks....

I really liked the Billy Jack and the Trial of Billy Jack when I was 13 or 14 but, man they really didn't stand up to the test of time....

The trail of BJ was the worst, it crammed every social ill of the late sixties, early seventies into one movie....

That is the one that started out with the Mai Lia like incident isn't' it?

Born Loser was just plain awfull....

they use to show it a lot on hat USA UP all night show.....

[The Straight Story]

25. They suck so good :)

Yeah, hokey. But they do address a lot of things movies today seem to gloss over.

I wince when I watch them sometimes, but I love them too. He tackled things we seem to ignore in the movies of today. That is ok, movies don't have to have a message - but back then it seemed like the norm to me. His movies, after all these years, still strike a chord with me. Life was bigger than money and politicians, the little guy was important and had power.

Biased? yeah I am :) Guess I am getting old.....

[WCGreen]

29. Yea, we loved Billy Jack, The Longest Yard and

Walking Tall....

All about vigilante's when you come right down to it...

The darker side of hippiedom....

Howard Hessman in those hokey "cool" school moments are classic. I think he was the only person in that whole ensamble who could act....

Billy, please Billy, don't stoop to their level.....

But we all knew he would, we all were waiting for him and Bufford Pusser to get the guys who exploited everyone around them and get them real good......

[salin]

27. saw Billy Jack (the first one) for the first time last month

enjoyed it, despite the corny (and obvious) depiction.

Should I try to find (and watch) the others?

[Kenneth ken]

30. I remember Born Losers

I saw it in the theaters when I was maybe 12? - I knew right away that guy shouldn't have bumped his VW into that motorcycle.

Most everything after that went right over my head; but I do retain half a dozen or so vivid images of that film. I'd see it again if I could find it to rent. Saw it once to buy, but didn't think I really wanted to own it.

:hi: