Billy Jack : the complete collection. Cover Image

DVD

Billy Jack : the complete collection.

Summary:

The Billy Jack cycle in widescreen with updated commentary. In "Born losers" (1967), Tom Laughlin introduced the character of Billy Jack, a mixed-race Native American, ex-Green Beret, and Vietnam vet who just wants to be left alone. When a vicious motorcycle gang launches a reign of terror on a small town, he finds he must stand up and fight while others hide in fear. Billy Jack kills the leader of the gang, but is accidentally slain by a deputy sheriff. Four years later the character was resurrected for the film "Billy Jack" (1971) in which Billy returns to live in solitude on an Arizona Indian reservation. He is drawn to its progressive Freedom School for troubled youth and to the idealistic woman (Taylor) who runs it. She is the embodiment of the film's pacifist message. When tensions flare between the students and narrow-minded locals who fear what they cannot understand, Billy Jack becomes the school's protector. In "The trial of Billy Jack" (1974), Billy is put on trial for two killings he committed in self-defense while protecting the Freedom School from the small-town Arizona bigots. He is convicted and sent to prison, but the Freedom School thrives under Jean Roberts (Taylor). When Billy Jack is paroled for good behavior, he returns home to explore his tribal spiritual heritage. Meanwhile the Freedom School's television station has broadcast exposeÌ¹s of America's sociopolitical ills which have annoyed local officials. National Guard troops occupy the school's campus, but the students resist. Billy agrees to surrender to the Guard if they withdraw, but the Guard opens fire, killing many students and wounding Billy and Jean. The Guard is finally forced to withdraw from the reservation by the terms of an 1880 treaty, and Billy and Jean vow to rebuild the Freedom School. Includes flashbacks to atrocities committed by American troops in Vietnam. Finally, in "Billy Jack goes to Washington" (1977), Billy is elected as the junior Senator from Arizona in 1976. Arriving in Washington, he discovers that the respected senior Senator from Arizona (Marshall) and a business tycoon (Wanamaker) are secretly planning to build a nuclear plant in the pristine Arizona landscape. Billy Jack mounts a campaign against the plant and, with the support of the American youth movement, saves the country from this environmental menace.

Record details

Physical Description: 3 videodiscs (approximately 9.25 hr.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Distributed by Shout! Factory LLC, ℗2005.

Content descriptions

General Note:	Title from container. Videodisc release of the 1967-1977 motion picture series. Special features: commentary with Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor and Frank Laughlin ; theatrical trailer ; still galleries.
Formatted Contents Note:	[Disc 1] Born losers (113 min.) -- Billy Jack (114 min.) -- [Disc 2] The trial of Billy Jack (170 min.) -- [Disc 3] Billy Jack goes to Washington (114 min.).
Creation/Production Credits Note:	[Born losers] Producer, Don Henderson ; director Tom Laughlin ; screenplay, James Lloyd. [Billy Jack] Producer, Mary Rose Solti ; director, T.C. Frank (Tom Laughlin) ; screenplay, T.C. Frank, Teresa Christina (Delores Taylor). [The trial of Billy Jack] Producer, Joe Cramer ; director, T.C. Frank (Tom Laughlin) ; screenplay, T.C. Frank and Teresa Christina (Delores Taylor). [Billy Jack goes to Washington] Producer, Frank Capra, Jr. ; director, T.C. Frank (Tom Laughlin) ; screenplay, T.C. Frank and Teresa Christina (Delores Taylor).
Participant or Performer Note:	[Born losers] Tom Laughlin, Elizabeth James, Jeremy Slate, William Wellman. [Billy Jack] Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Clark Howat. [The trial of Billy Jack] Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Victor Izay, Teresa Laughlin. [Billy Jack goes to Washington] Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, E.G. Marshall, Teresa Laughlin, Sam Wanamaker.
Target Audience Note:	Rating: PG
System Details Note:	DVD.