For decades ‘Billy Jack’ fans have consistently amazed me with the clarity of their memory of the film and its impact. The most common thread is folks remembering exactly where they saw the film and who they saw it with.
Do you remember where YOU saw ‘Billy Jack’? (answer in comments below)
since i was born when these movies were already out, i had to wait till the glorious age of vhs, when in the early-mid 1980′s my family and a couple a their friends would have movie nights on weekends and watch the best B movies ever made. i hate to call the billy jack films “B movies”, being as special as they are to me personally, i prefer to just call them as well as other great “B”movies simply, “indies.” at any rate, we’d watch these indies and they’d have all the laughs of course, and the fun, but when they first put on Billy jack, i was like, oh yeah. this guy is my hero!! after that, kids at school would talk about luke skywalker or indiana jones, or john rambo, but me, my hero was billy jack all the way, despite alla other kids going, “billy who?” i was a lone hipster trapped in a world of squares.
I saw a TV spot for “Billy Jack” during the summer of either 1970 or 1971 while visiting family in Pompano Beach Florida. It wasn’t until I got back to Memphis that I first saw the movie at the Crosstown Theater. I took my little brother Sean with me. I went back to the Crosstown several times, taking friends with me each time. I must have seen the film 20 times in theaters over the years. It had a profound effect on my youth. I even called in sick from work the night it made its network TV debut. One of the biggest thrills of my life was getting to interview Tom and Delores for the now defunct website Entertainment Insiders a few years back when the Special Edition DVD was released. It was nice to thank them for the many intangible gifts they gave me through their work. I make my living as a public defender in Memphis. My sense of justice was molded in part by the spiritual and ideological wealth which Tom and Delores imparted to the youth of the 70s with their film. Thanks again for the impact you had on my life!
I was about 12 when I first saw Billy Jack in my local theater in Riverdale, MD. I can’t remember exactly but I know I saw it numerous times. I was so taken with the movie that I chose my Confirmation name – Thereaa – after Tom and Delores’ daughter.
Kraver Theatre in Henderson, Kentucky. Best movie ever.
I was 5 when I first saw the movie with my Mom. I was amazed at the fact that one man could make a difference. From that day forward I tried to help the kids in school that were bullied for being smaller or different. As I got older, I watched the movies every time they were on tv. The message is what is the most important. I recently purchased the dvd collection and have watched each movie at least 5 times. I want to thank your parents for making these movies and changing many lives.
I saw Billy Jack about 15 or 20 times at several theatres in western PA. I dragged everyone I knew with me and then saw it alone a couple times. It ran all summer and I spent many afternoons that summer watching Billy Jack, sometimes sitting through it twice in the same afternoon. I saw it at Cinemette East, Cinema World, Laurel 30, Comet drive-in, Twin 40 cinemas, Super 71 drive-in Unfortunately all of the theatres are now gone. When I think back on my childhood, I will always remember the summer that Billy Jack was showing.
I first saw Billy Jack in 1971-1972. I saw this movie several times, with a large group of friends I didn’t realize at the time what an impact this would have on my high school years or on my future life. The Vietnam war was a few years from being over, we believed in free thought, free love and equality for everyone, and we were willing to stand by our convictions. All of the kids I went to see this movie with found a teacher that thought the Free school sounded like a great idea and over the course of the next year we designed a school much like the one in Billie Jack. It was called Malt, Mesa’s Alternative School, located in Costa Mesa, CA. We were a school within a school (Costa Mesa High School), we designed our own curriculum and learned what we thought was important and relevant to our lives. Our Teachers were no longer just teachers they were our advisor our friends and share ideas and their thoughts with us. Like the Movie, many of us in this school were into music, art and drama, so history could easily be a drama class, English a music class and science or Math an art class. We were a group of people that just wanted to learn in a different creative way. I have held this school and thought process in my heart since then. I (we) owe it all the Movie Billie Jack.
I was 15 when I was introduced to “Billy Jack” for the first time. It was playing at the drive-in where I lived. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it, because every night it played, I was there. I bought the box set a couple years ago and introduced it to my niece (who is part Cherokee) on her fathers side. I have watched it so many times, but every time I watch it, I fall in love with this movie over and over again. I don’t know how to ever thank Tom and Delores for never giving up on thier dream, it has had a great impact on me thoughout my life.
I saw the movie Billy Jack at a drive-in theater in Athens, Ohio when it first came out in 1971. I was just 6 years old but the movie made a profound and lasting impression on me. I thought the main character was so cool and righteous. I wanted to be just like Billy Jack – tough yet passive. Able to fight when necessary but not looking for a fight. And the end of the movie was awesome – when the song One Tin Soldier plays and the crowd raises their right hand in respect to Billy Jack.
I saw “Billy Jack” in 1971 in Louisville KY during a weekend high school trip with classmates and some teachers and parents who were our trip chaperones. I think I cried for about an hour. Only 2 other film endings ever came close to making me feel so deeply sad and angry simultaneously — “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Dances With Wolves.”
Recently while flipping TV channels late at night, I saw a girl in a pixie haircut wearing a white bikini and white go-go boots and riding a white motorcycle. I checked online and was surprised to learn that “The Born Losers” was the first of the Billy Jack films.
A couple of days later I noticed the new DVDs of all of the Billy Jack films at the public library, so now I am watching each of them and then rewatching to hear the behind-the-scenes stories on each of the commentary tracks.
It affected me deeply to see the quiet love of Billy Jack and Jean portrayed all those years ago, but it’s even more inspiring to hear the love and admiration expressed on those commentary tracks by Tom and Delores and their son Frank for each other and so many colleagues who worked with them. Thanks for sharing your passion and commitment.
I saw Billy Jack when I was about 10 at cinema south in oakwood/dayton ohio. it played there for about 2 years straight and was a VERY big deal in the area and as a part of the topics discusses in my catholic school religion classes a couple of blocks from the theater. i remember quite vividly the process of conversation my folks had about whether my siblings and me should be taken to it. they finally decided that though it was rated GP (early version of PG) we would go. we talked about it. it was the pivotal film of my childhood.
I think I was about 12 or 13, I went with my Sister and her friend here in Sacramento CA At the theater..I just watched The 1st billyjack movie on netflix streaming a moment ago,it Brought back some memories for sure…Thanks for putting the time in this website!!
FS
My mom took me to see Billy Jack when I was 7 or 8 years old. It was in Ottawa, KS I loved it then and still do. We had got a hamster shortly after seeing the movie and named it Billy Jack. Years later, I married a man. One of the first conversations we had, we were talking about movies and Billy Jack came up. Both of us could almost recite the movie line for line. He and I both love the movie. We have gone through 2 complete sets of the (4 tapes collection). We have worn them completely out. That movie moved an entire generation. Our children have grown up watching those movies and have since bought their own collections. I would love to meet your parents someday, just to shake their hands. I still cry everytime I watch all 4 of the movies, they are so emotional. People say my husband reminds them of Billy Jack. He has the same mannerisms of your father. He was a former marine who had to learn to control the anger and let it go. We both are of indian heritage and have grown up with our parents keeping that quiet for the most part. We both are Cherokee. So I think that helped us relate to this movie a lot. Plus my husband was born in southern California (Blythe). I think this website is wonderful.
I first saw the film “Billy Jack” at a now-defunct movie theatre in downtown Boston, back in the mid-1970′s, when it was popular. Some years later, I watched it on TV, and then, more recently, I watched “Born Losers” on TV. I recently rented the DVD of “Billy Jack” from our local public library and watched it on my computer. Would love to see “Billy Jack” come back to the great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre, with the lights down low.
Sadly I was born just before Billy Jack goes to Washington so I didn’t get a chance to see the Billy Jack Movies until the 90′s. A friend of mine showed the original Billy Jack to me. A few years ago I bought myself a birthday present and found Born Losers, Billy Jack, Trial of Billy Jack and Billy Jack goes to Washington on DVD, so I bought all 4. I really like Born Losers, I was always a Jeremy Slate Fan. I still have my dvd’s to this day and whenever I get down I pop one in and watch or sometimes I’ll have a Saturday where I’ll watch all the Billy Jack Movies one right after the other. I look forward to actually finding Master Gunfighter one day, I like Sandra Ego and Barbara Carrera.
Thank you for your kind words. We’re impressed by your viewing habits. Seems like we may have competition for who has watched the films the most.
A Friday night in Morehead KY. Not the main theater, there was one that they only opened a few times a year. It played a couple of weeks, where normally a movie would play a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
I was 13 yrs old, and was in Kpt TN. and decided this was the greatest movie I had ever seen, saw it 7 times then and still feel the same way today. Then I didn’t really understand the true message, but today I do and believe in it with my whole heart
It was actually, Trial of Billy Jack that I saw first. I saw it at the Fort Ritchie Base Theater at Fort Ritchie, Md. It was the first time I ever saw martial arts on screen. This in itself began a life long interest. More than this, it was one of the most powerful movies I had ever seen, and to this day it leaves a powerful impression everytime I watch it. The My Lai type massacre scene, the National Guard attack on the school and the overall philosophy of the movie all live with me to this day. As corny as it sounds, I believe this movie and all of the Billy Jack movies have made me a better person and continue to influence me to be more than what I am. My thanks to Tom and Delores in bringing these films and these characters to life.
I first saw “Billy Jack” and “The trial of Billy Jack” when I was 13 years old. It was back in 1979 and at that time I could never imagine how important to me these movies would be. Of course things change in our minds after so many years. The boy back then would look at the fighting scenes, while the mature man today pays more attention to the pacifist message. I’ve been to Israel for twelve years between that time and now, at the Israeli Defense Forces. I’ve fought enough to know that fighting solves nothing and I’m now a pacifist.
Remember when theaters had ushers? I was an usher at the Larwin Theaters in Simi Valley back then. I must have seen Billy Jack way more than 20 times. Not just when I was working either!
I was sitting back, drinking a ice cold baba…
translation: baba=baby bottle.