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Chessmann Inner circle 4242 Posts |
Ok, wonder how many of you remember this movie. I saw both this and its predecessor, "Billy Jack", on the big screen. I had not quite hit my teens when "Billy Jack" came out.
I remember liking "Billy Jack" very much. I saw "Trial..." when it came out 3 years later...and couldn't really remember much about it or what I thought of it. So I watched it tonight. It was just a train wreck of a movie. - message movies don't often work well. - the movie is almost 3 hours long and SO much screen time, particularly early on, is devoted to various causes that - apparently - Taylor and Laughlin felt strongly about. There's just a lot that doesn't add to the movie, and really slows things down. - the good supporting actors who were in "Billy Jack" (such as Kenneth Tobey and Bert Freed) were not in this one. I read that some weren't brought back because "Trial's..." makers didn't want to pay them. Remember this being specifically true with Bert Freed (the original Posner)...can't remember for sure about the others. The acting, overall, is exceptionally sub-standard. - after awhile, the "every person related to the Freedom School is great/every establishment person is Satan" gets a little old. I'm exaggerating about Satan, but not by much. - Did I mention that the acting was bad? - The actual trial of Billy Jack takes up about 10 minutes of screen time. This isn't a knock, just interesting. For a fun review of this movie: - click here: http://www.jabootu.com/tobjintro.htm - read, or scroll past the reviews of "Born Losers" and "Billy Jack". - read the sentence that immediately proceeds the "Click Here" at the bottom of the page. And then, click there. Enjoy!
My ex-cat was named "Muffin". "Vomit" would be a better name for her. AKA "The Evil Ball of Fur".
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Bob1Dog Inner circle Wife: It's me or this houseful of 1159 Posts |
Never saw the "Trial" because I thought the original BJ sucked. I saw Billy Jack when I was in the military back in the day. It was a low budget movie with the flower power, hippie, peace, love, kumbaya message of the sixties. And the acting was some of the worst out there....except maybe when Joan Crawford appeared in one of her late career movies, Trog. Wow, what a disaster THAT thing was!
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?
My neighbor rang my doorbell at 2:30 a.m. this morning, can you believe that, 2:30 a.m.!? Lucky for him I was still up playing my drums. |
Dr. Van Van Mojo Special user 570 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-12-15 01:31, Bob1Dog wrote: Yeah, what a terrible message. I'd sure hate to see that whole peace and love thing catch on. |
Chessmann Inner circle 4242 Posts |
Hmmm... If you thought the acting in "Billy Jack" was bad (I disagree with you here, with some exceptions), you might REALLY want to consider avoiding "Trial..." I really can't emphasize this enough!
My ex-cat was named "Muffin". "Vomit" would be a better name for her. AKA "The Evil Ball of Fur".
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Bob1Dog Inner circle Wife: It's me or this houseful of 1159 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-12-15 01:59, Dr. Van Van Mojo wrote: So Sunshine, do you think that given the state of the world today that this particular message is working?
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?
My neighbor rang my doorbell at 2:30 a.m. this morning, can you believe that, 2:30 a.m.!? Lucky for him I was still up playing my drums. |
Bob1Dog Inner circle Wife: It's me or this houseful of 1159 Posts |
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On 2012-12-15 02:00, Chessmann wrote: We can agree to disagree. I saw BJ a long time ago and I really didn't think much of the acting, or maybe, even more important, I knew nothing of the particular actors/actresses in the movie and simply didn't think they were that good compared to my view of the world back then. I'll have a look at it and let you know if I change my mind; fair enough?
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?
My neighbor rang my doorbell at 2:30 a.m. this morning, can you believe that, 2:30 a.m.!? Lucky for him I was still up playing my drums. |
Chessmann Inner circle 4242 Posts |
Bob, I thought that Bert Freed (Posner) and Kenneth Tobey (the deputy, whose daugher was a key figure in the movie), along with the Sheriff and Tom Laughlin were all good. Not surprisingly, the the first 3 were very successful, veteran actors. Didn't care for Delores Taylor (though her speech after the rape was very well done) and some of the other very minor characters were inexperienced. But again, "Trial" really has very, very little acting chops to show for its many supporting characters.
My ex-cat was named "Muffin". "Vomit" would be a better name for her. AKA "The Evil Ball of Fur".
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ed rhodes Inner circle Rhode Island 2885 Posts |
When I lived in New York ('75 - '84), for years there was a poster painted on the wall of a building in upper Times Square.
"Billy Jack Goes To Washington." I'm not talking grafitti here. This was a legitimate, production based poster. I guess that particular movie never got made. *** Oh no, wait; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075754/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4 I guess I'm wrong. Although I certainly don't remember seeing any theaters running it.
"...and if you're too afraid of goin' astray, you won't go anywhere." - Granny Weatherwax
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Mr. Mystoffelees Inner circle I haven't changed anyone's opinion in 3623 Posts |
They were going to do Billy Jack goes to Washington, co-starring Rick Perry and Bill Clinton, but did a musical instead, with Elton John and Billy Joel...
Also known, when doing rope magic, as "Cordini"
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rockwall Special user 762 Posts |
I really liked the original Billy Jack, but of course I was quite young and easily influenced.
It appears there's a reason you, (and I), didn' realize Billy Jack Goes to Washington had been made. "By 1977, audiences were turned off by the Billy Jack phenomenon since you couldn't separate the character from the actor (that was by design). In fact, the film had sneak previews in L.A. and Omaha, Nebraska, and then disappeared completely (most fans of the series had not heard of this sequel). Originally, it was 155 minutes yet, on video, it is no more than 2 hours. According to Tom Laughlin (who ran for Governor of California when Schwarzenegger ran), the film was taken away from his hands by the government. On the whole, "Billy Jack Goes to Washington" is a reasonably entertaining film that is worth seeking out, especially if you are a conspiracy buff." |
Bob1Dog Inner circle Wife: It's me or this houseful of 1159 Posts |
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On 2012-12-15 02:58, Chessmann wrote: Like I said, I saw BJ only once and that was a long long time ago. I can't even relate to the actors and actresses you named except for Laughlin. I do plan on having another look at it; thanks for starting the thread.
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?
My neighbor rang my doorbell at 2:30 a.m. this morning, can you believe that, 2:30 a.m.!? Lucky for him I was still up playing my drums. |
Chessmann Inner circle 4242 Posts |
Yes, "Billy Jack Goes To Washington" was completed and released...sadly, it doesn't even live up to "Trial...".
My ex-cat was named "Muffin". "Vomit" would be a better name for her. AKA "The Evil Ball of Fur".
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FatHatter Regular user I'm here you're there and that's that. 137 Posts |
Hey Chessman, "The Trial of Billy Jack" maybe the worst movie ever. To think of the things I could have done with that time, lol.
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motown Inner circle Atlanta by way of Detroit 6127 Posts |
I saw both Born Losers and Billy Jack when they came out. For me Born Losers was the better of two in terms of production values and acting.
While I don't think anyone would call Tom Laughlin or his wife good actors, I think Billy Jack had the right feel for those times.
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain |
rockwall Special user 762 Posts |
I don't remember ever hearing of Born Losers and didn't realize until you mentioned it that is was the first 'Billy Jack' movie.
Some other interesting stuff about Billy Jack and Tom Laughlin that I didn't realize until this thread prompted me to learn a bit more. "When adjusted for inflation, it is,(Billy Jack) as of 2007, the highest-grossing independent film of all time." "The second sequel, The Trial of Billy Jack, released in late 1974, was also a huge box office, if not as big a critical, success." "However, Laughlin's unique promotion of the film was its real legacy. Unlike most films of the era which opened in only a few cities before gradually spreading across the country, The Trial of Billy Jack opened in cities nationwide on the same day and commercials were broadcast for it during the national news. The film's promotion forever changed the way films are marketed and has been called "the first blockbuster"." Tom Laughlin is 81. |
NicholasD Inner circle 1458 Posts |
Born Losers had it's share of bad acting, but it's been my favorite of the "Billy Jack " series. Jeremy Slate played the gang leader and Jane Russell was the mother of one of the young girls. The main female lead was a relative unknown who's acting was pretty lame, but I've always watched these to see Billy Jack give the bad guys what's coming to them.
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motown Inner circle Atlanta by way of Detroit 6127 Posts |
I tried the other day to get Born Losers through Netflix, but it wasn't available. All this talk about the movies, made me want to see it again.
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain |
w_s_anderson Inner circle The United States 1226 Posts |
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On 2012-12-15 01:31, Bob1Dog wrote: LOL! Your right Bob, but in my experience all of the subsequent ones have done so as well...LOL |
Bob1Dog Inner circle Wife: It's me or this houseful of 1159 Posts |
Ya know WS, I thought that was a pretty good line myself, but no one picked up on it.
What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?
My neighbor rang my doorbell at 2:30 a.m. this morning, can you believe that, 2:30 a.m.!? Lucky for him I was still up playing my drums. |
Chessmann Inner circle 4242 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-12-16 23:11, motown wrote: For Christmas a few years ago, my brother gave me the 4-DVD set of all the movies!
My ex-cat was named "Muffin". "Vomit" would be a better name for her. AKA "The Evil Ball of Fur".
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