Guest Chinatown Kid Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I remember seeing the Billy Jack films starring Tom Laughlin years ago and liking them quite a bit. I seen the 35th anniversary edtion Billy Jack collection on amazon which includes all the films in the series and decided to order it. The first one, The Born Losers, I remember being quite a nice little action film with Billy taking on a ruthless motercycle gang. It had very little if any martial arts in it though. The next one, Billy Jack, featured the famous fight in the park with Laughlin being double by Master Bong Soo Han who dishes out some nice kicks. I wasn't crazy over the hippie politics in this one but the message against racisim was a good one. The 3rd in the series, The Trial of Billy Jack, I can't remember much about except for a great fight at a dinner banquit which features some great hapkido kicks and a cameo by Bong Soo Han himself who gets in on the action. Also remember Billy letting a snake repeatedly bite him in some kind of Indian ceromony and a shooting massacre with a bunch of students too. The last in the series, Billy Jack Goes to Washington, I've never seen before but I heard it has no action at all. I'm still curious to see what it's like though. Anybody else remember these films and if so what is your opinion of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted May 5, 2006 Member Share Posted May 5, 2006 I believe the movie Billy Jack was the first time I had ever seen martial arts on film. I remember this was shown on network TV when I was a kid, maybe in 74 or 75? Yeah, the hippie politics are kind of dated, but Tom Laughlin definitely had some screen presence. I've caught it recently in the last few years, and I still say that fight in the park is an extremely well-filmed martial arts scene. I think I saw The Trial of Billy Jack a long time ago, but I don't remember it that well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest killer meteor Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Billy Jack Goes To Washington have a VERY limited release then disapeared without a trace for 20 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chinatown Kid Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 I just got the dvd's yesterday and on the Billy Jack Goes To Washington Disk it says the film was never released theatrically, Laughlin seems to think the government had the movie squashed because of it's portrayal of corruption in the senate but hell he wasn't telling us anything we didn't already know. Laughlin did have good screen presence and made a great hero for the common man and champion for equality but I can tell his martial arts skill level wasn't too high but that's what Bong Soo Han was for and he really made Laughlin look great. I think my favorite is The Trial of Billy Jack as far as the action scenes, and the original Billy Jack movie as a whole. The first movie in the collection, The Born Losers, is the film that first introduced the Billy Jack character and it's a nice, gritty little action film in it's own right with Billy taking on a Hell's Angels type motorcycle gang. As far as I know, Billy Jack was the first American martial arts movie hero. I also read a while back that there were plans for a remake of Billy Jack and that Keanu Reeves was being considered to star in it but I don't know if it fizziled out or what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest killer meteor Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 More info here - www.badmovieplanet.com/un...ev256.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chinatown Kid Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 Thanks for that link, interesting info. Sounds like Laughlin might have been a pain in the ass to deal with, at least concerning the studios.:lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dion Brother Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 The real reason BILLY JACK GOES TO WASHINGTON wasn't released was because the early trade reviews were horrible. And who could blame them, the movie is as exciting as watching paint dry. I believe the government pulled it as much as I believe his 13 year old son directed THE MASTER GUNFIGHTER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chinatown Kid Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Yeah I wasn't too impressed with Billy Jack Goes To Washington because there just wasn't enough action to keep me interested, the movie only has one fight scene with he and Jean (played by his real life wife) taking on a bunch of thugs that just tried to attack a young girl( played by Laughlin's real life daughter). Actually this movie was a remake of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington with the Billy Jack character taking the place of the character played by Jimmy Stewart in the original. The basic story is still good, but you just expect more action in a Billy Jack film. I've never seen The Master Gunfighter but from what I've heard about it I should consider myself lucky to have not seen it. From what I have heard about the movie Laughlin wanders around the West with a six-shooter and a Samurai sword and it's as boring as the day is long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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