Billy Jack

Billy Jack 35th Anniversary Ultimate Collection (Born Losers/Billy Jack/ Trial of Billy Jack/ Billy Jack Goes to Washington)

Born Losers: The first film in which the character Billy Jack ever appeared. Tom Laughlin had written Billy Jack back in the 1950's, but couldn't get anyone interested in a film about Indians - half-breed or otherwise. Tom Laughlin toned down the Indian and political themes in order to get Born Losers made. It became a very successful independent film! Billy Jack: The film that broke the mold. Billy Jack was, once again, the largest grossing independent film of all time. People saw Billy Jack 25 times or more than any movie in history until Star Wars. From the karate to the Native American spirituality, to the Freedom School, to the racial tolerance, few films have ever been this successful or stuck their necks out so far. The Trial of Billy Jack: The Trial of Billy Jack not only broke every box-office record for its day, it forever changed the way motion pictures were distributed. It was for the release of The Trial of Billy Jack that Tom Laughlin created the mega-multiple release that included the first-ever use of national TV advertising for a motion picture. Billy Jack Goes To Washington: Perhaps the most controversial film of all. Twenty years before Senators like Bradley, Rudman, Cohen, and Pell quit saying the U.S. Senate is so corrupt it doesn't work anymore, Billy Jack Goes to Washington told a story straight out of the headlines. At the Washington premiere one Senator exploded, vowing to do everything in his power to make sure Billy Jack Goes to Washington was never released.

Billy Jack

This time-capsule film from 1971 is a perfect example of having one's cake and eating it, too. Written and directed by filmmaker Tom Laughlin--and starring him in the title role--Billy Jack concerns a half-white, half-Indian karate expert who protects a free school built on principles of pacifism by kicking hell out of pesky rednecks. The story actually embraces that tension between Billy Jack's way of doing things and that of the school's founder (Delores Taylor), but their tension doesn't so much lead to an examination of principles as it leads to an excuse for Laughlin to incorporate fight scenes between hippie politics. Crude and brutal, the film is pretty exploitative of a viewer's torn sympathies, and in that way Billy Jack actually anticipates much of the simple-minded, violent fare that followed in the movies of the '70s and '80s. --Tom Keogh

Billy Jack: DVD Collection

The Trial of Billy Jack

Billy Jack

This time-capsule film from 1971 is a perfect example of having one's cake and eating it, too. Written and directed by filmmaker Tom Laughlin--and starring him in the title role--Billy Jack concerns a half-white, half-Indian karate expert who protects a free school built on principles of pacifism by kicking hell out of pesky rednecks. The story actually embraces that tension between Billy Jack's way of doing things and that of the school's founder (Delores Taylor), but their tension doesn't so much lead to an examination of principles as it leads to an excuse for Laughlin to incorporate fight scenes between hippie politics. Crude and brutal, the film is pretty exploitative of a viewer's torn sympathies, and in that way Billy Jack actually anticipates much of the simple-minded, violent fare that followed in the movies of the '70s and '80s. --Tom Keogh

Billy Jack Goes to Washington

SlapHappy: Vol 5 (Funshops / Buster Keaton / Dynamite Teams) Featuring Jack Cooper, Larry Semon, Charlie Chaplin, Johnny Arthur, Lige Conley, Buster Keaton, A Ton of Fun, Oliver Hardy and Bobby Ray, Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin, and Billy Bevan and Andy Clyde

Save 40% and purchase the entire 11 DVD SlapHappy Collection. 30 Half-hour shows on 10 DVDs + SlapHappy: The Movie. Best Value. Search SlapHappy Collection on Amazon! VOLUME 5 of the acclaimed PBS series. FUNSHOPS (EPISODE 1) Here are superb comedies from the other funshops in town. Featuring Jack Cooper, Larry Semon, Charlie Chaplin, Johnny Arthur and Lige Conley. Clips include Lonesome Babies, The Sawmill, Oh What A Man, The Cloudhopper, The Adventurer, Danger Ahead, Open House and Air Pockets. BUSTER KEATON (EPISODE 2) Profiling The Great Stoneface. Also featuring Fatty Arbuckle. Clips include The Goat, Neighbors, The Butcher Boy, The Balloonatic and The Paleface. DYNAMITE TEAMS (EPISODE 3) Silent Comedy's craziest duos and trios! Featuring Lupino Lane and Wallace Lupino, Snub Pollard and Marvin Loback, A Ton of Fun, Oliver Hardy and Bobby Ray, Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin, and Billy Bevan and Andy Clyde. Clips Include Hello Sailor, Dear Ol' Pal, Three Missing Links, Stick Around, Thick and Thin, The Rounders and Whispering Whiskers.

Billy Jack

Billy Jack

This time-capsule film from 1971 is a perfect example of having one's cake and eating it, too. Written and directed by filmmaker Tom Laughlin--and starring him in the title role--Billy Jack concerns a half-white, half-Indian karate expert who protects a free school built on principles of pacifism by kicking hell out of pesky rednecks. The story actually embraces that tension between Billy Jack's way of doing things and that of the school's founder (Delores Taylor), but their tension doesn't so much lead to an examination of principles as it leads to an excuse for Laughlin to incorporate fight scenes between hippie politics. Crude and brutal, the film is pretty exploitative of a viewer's torn sympathies, and in that way Billy Jack actually anticipates much of the simple-minded, violent fare that followed in the movies of the '70s and '80s. --Tom Keogh

SlapHappy: Vol 3 (Al Christie Studios / Larry Semon / Supporting Comics) Featuring Bobby Vernon, Neil Burns, Jimmy Adams, Billy Dooley, Jack Duffy, Larry Semon, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Eric Campbell, Bud Duncan, Wallace Lupino, George Rowe, Bud Jamison, Snub Pollard, Joe Roberts, Vernon Dent and Al St. John

Save 40% and purchase the entire 11 DVD SlapHappy Collection. 30 Half-hour shows on 10 DVDs + SlapHappy: The Movie. Best Value. Search SlapHappy Collection on Amazon! VOLUME 3 of the acclaimed PBS series. AL CHRISTIE STUDIOS (EPISODE 1): Another influential major comedy studio ranking behind Sennett and Roach, with greater emphasis on wacky, situational humor. Featuring Bobby Vernon, Neil Burns, Jimmy Adams, Billy Dooley, and Jack Duffy. Clips include Teddy at the Throttle, Air Tight, The Daffy Dill, Beauty ala Mud, Campus Cuties and Chicken Feathers. LARRY SEMON (EPISODE 2) At one time this wildly eccentric comic ranked only behind Charlie Chaplin in popularity. Also featuring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Clips include The Grocery Clerk, Frauds and Frenzies, Golf and The Cloudhopper. SUPPORTING COMICS (EPISODE 3) The top second bananas of the era! Featuring Eric Campbell, Bud Duncan, Wallace Lupino, George Rowe, Bud Jamison, Snub Pollard, Joe Roberts, Vernon Dent and Al St. John. Clips include The Cure, The Star Boarder, Hello Sailor, Post No Bills, Don't Shove, Thick and Thin, Neighbors, The Best Man and The Waiters Ball.