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Actors: Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Victor Izay, Michelle Wilson
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Trial of Billy Jack |
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Billy Jack, a half-breed American Indian who preaches peace but is skilled at using martial arts for violence, goes on trial for involuntary manslaughter because he accidentally killed a redneck while protecting Freedom School. He offers a rambling indictment of local officials, racism, and Nixon from the stand and gets a 5-to-15 year sentence. While he's in prison, the school gets increased funding and grows into a complex that includes a TV station, newspaper, expanded class curriculum, and a child abuse center. One of the children helped at the center is a boy whose father cut off his hand in a rage. Free again after four years, Billy Jack has some wild spirit visions, but runs into more trouble with the local townspeople and cops, who hate freedom-loving hippies and Indians. The pressure builds to a violent
climax. Writer, director, and actor Tom Laughlin first introduced his oddball character in the 1967 film "Born Losers," brought him to the fore in 1971's "Billy Jack" (which cost $800,000 to make and grossed $65 million), and pulled out all the stops with this 1974 sequel, cowritten with his costar and wife, Delores Taylor. It lasts more than three hours, and has some lovely location shooting in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, but indulges in much heart-on-sleeve silliness.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The Trial of Billy Jack |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Polit/Social/Race/Gender activism
Yes
Plotlet:
- rrrrrracism!!!!!
Ethnic/Regional/Gender story?
Yes
Main Char. ethnic: (if not US Caucasian)
- American Indian
Culture clash?
- being oppressed by outside culture
Culture of surrounding area:
- American West
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- champion of justice
Age:
- 20's-30's
Has magical powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character:
- is very quick
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- emotionally unstable
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- irritated
Ethnicity/Nationality
- American Indian
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Dumb
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southwest
Desert?
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids
- dumb Rednecks, like Gomer Pyle
Misc setting
- school
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- frustrated
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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