This is one of those films that has stayed in my memory over the decades.
When I saw it in 1971, the Vietnam was was dominating the headlines and those who were in their early twenties were very aware that young men (and women) of a similar age were caught up in a war that seemed senseless and endless. Billy Jack is a gripping film that I suspect now shows its age. Like other commentators I would agree it should be seen in the context of the time when it was made and compared to the production values of those times. Now it is perhaps a piece of social history but nonetheless well worth seeing if you have missed it. The martial arts sequences do not dominate the film but add most effectively to its drama. They stand as a metaphor for those who were against the values that had allowed such a destructive war to occur. Perhaps it is that bit that makes this film transcend its time - for many of the same motives have led to the senseless war in Iraq.
When I saw it in 1971, the Vietnam was was dominating the headlines and those who were in their early twenties were very aware that young men (and women) of a similar age were caught up in a war that seemed senseless and endless. Billy Jack is a gripping film that I suspect now shows its age. Like other commentators I would agree it should be seen in the context of the time when it was made and compared to the production values of those times. Now it is perhaps a piece of social history but nonetheless well worth seeing if you have missed it. The martial arts sequences do not dominate the film but add most effectively to its drama. They stand as a metaphor for those who were against the values that had allowed such a destructive war to occur. Perhaps it is that bit that makes this film transcend its time - for many of the same motives have led to the senseless war in Iraq.