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In Reply to: What was the first indie film? posted by clarkjohnsen on May 31, 2001 at 16:49:43:
Billy Jack!Tom Laughlin wrote, directed and starred in this initially ill-fated, totally self-financed 1971 film. It opened and shut within a couple weeks. A later (can't recall exactly how long) and highly-self-publicized release got it shown on dozens of independent screens like the Orson Welles in Cambridge, where its popularity soon migrated to general release. There were two subsequent films in the series, the last of which I believe did *not* achieve theatrical release.
There was also a prologue, made in 1967, called Born Loser.
I've seen Billy Jack twice and, absent its semi-cartoonish villains, it stands up quite nicely. And now: All four are out on DVD with (I read) Laughlin's extensive commentary.
clark
Follow Ups:
t was independent of any semblance of:Directorial skills
Plot
ScriptOne scene I dearly love, I can't remember if it was the first or second Billy Jack film (they seem to blur into one big repressed memory) was where the kid
with the prosthetic claw-like hand gets taught how to play the guitair ! LOL!!!! Was that just before the police opened fire in a Waco frenzy? Anyway,
there are few films where I cheer, but when the "baddies" opened fire I openly said "hoo- fucking -ray!" along with many others in the bemused audience.One (or two?) to forget.
But if Tom Laughlin would have winked his "brown eye" and eaten fresh dog poop, it would have been an artistic achievement, right?And Coven's "One Tin Soldier" stole the melody from Pachebel's Canon.
This is why I chose "Sweet Sweetback": to show how THE MAN took advantage of a brother.
"But if Tom Laughlin would have winked his "brown eye" and eaten fresh dog poop, it would have been an artistic achievement, right?"Hmmm...I don't think anyone has ever accused John Waters of artistic achievement.
But the thought of Billy Jack Vs Divine, co- directed by Waters and Laughlin, now that I would have paid good money to see !
Damn the studio system ! There's a huge market for Indie- crossover films but alas we can only dream....
...to a film that beautifully portrayed the radical (if slightly hippy) resistance to the government's repressive protocols, the centerpiece of which was a "free school" a la Summerhill that didn't inculcate the sort of non-thinking you and your reactionary, bomb-tossing, doctor-killing buddies engage in.There, that felt good!
clark
It was the crappy acting !Or was it the self- indulgent preaching ?
Or was it the "make love not war" sentiments while Billy karate- kicks the crap out of people ?
Or was it the kid playing guitar with the claw- hand ? Yep, it was the kid- I was sure the strings would break and put out someone's eye- my hostlity reflects my disappontment at this potentially gruesome scene being overlooked.
Plot Summary:
GOVERNMENT/ COPS= BAD
HALF INDIAN, EX GREEN BERET, KARATE EXPERT, VIOLENT PSYCHOTIC WITH PEACENICK PRETENSIONS= GOOD
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