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wonders why he is not deemed ready to be on the other side. The spirits tell him that he has not learned enough to be on the other side permanently because he does not value his visions. In theory, if he changes his ways and finds inner peace, people will see it and find a good example set by him. Billy Jack is told he will only find his spiritual guide by practicing the fourth way that would have him stop covering his weakness with violence. Billy Jack awakens to Jean, who is now in a wheelchair, and tells her to come back to the school. A selection of students with casts and limps tell her about how they will march to build the school again and work harder on their exposés. Jean is wheeled in and cries upon the sight of so many students present.
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midsection when going out to yell at them to stop, while Danny and Carol are shot in the back. All of a sudden, an array of
Natives (including the tribal chief) with torches come from behind the area along with the local sheriff. Several of the troops throw their weapons down while the militia notifies the Governor.
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threatens to arrest them for assault with a gun, he shoots Han in the chest. Billy managed to use his karate on Posner, who gets killed by the kick to the throat. Han is taken to the hospital. The sheriff tries to take in Billy Jack, but the students close in on the car and cause a riot that allows him to get away.
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Meanwhile, the Guard make a move when they think they see a sniper after hearing a shot. This was actually a warning shot fired by someone upon hearing chants of "Sieg Heil". Under orders to open fire on the students, the Guard and state troopers kill four and wound hundreds more. Jean is shot in the
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called it "such a rambling, maudlin, sanctimonious rehash of its phenomenally successful predecessor that one can at least hope for a few defections among the legions of young fans who evidently thrilled to the self-flattering gospel according to 'Billy Jack,'" concluding, "Laughlin's point of view
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at the school knocks their television station off the air. Debate rages on with the students as how to deal with the brute power whether with nonviolence or with brute power itself. Jean tries to resist giving advice to the students so as to let them decide their actions. The governor calls a state
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Now back in the bed, Jean muses about the freedoms that had been present in the school along with peace and harmony. When asked if she would bring back the school, she notes the townspeople seemed to enjoy the massacre. Billy Jack, lapsed into a deep sleep seemingly with the loss of will to live,
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Jean decides to intervene during a school meeting and tells the students about the love that should not be extinguished by meeting violence with violence. Danny, now with a hook on his missing hand, is assisted by Carol in delivering a brief song. Later on, the students see a supply shack and use
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Billy Jack appears during the incident to protect the students and then comes to the attempted rescue of a tribal member who is being harassed and nearly beaten to death at a local dance in town. Billy Jack and Han, a fellow karate master take on the gang of people assaulting the man. When Posner
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The
National Guard is then stationed around the school (under orders by the Governor to stay there until Billy Jack is put under arrest). Billy Jack agrees to a surrender as long as the soldiers leave the school. Later that night, the State Police take him outside the car to "take a leak" while
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gave the film one star out of four and called it "gross, misleading and a run-on bore," writing that "whereas the original had moments of genuine humor and refreshing improvisation, 'The Trial of Billy Jack' comes on as totally committed to establishing half-truths. In reality, both My Lai and
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in the United States and Canada. Its international take was very small; Laughlin suggested that
American government agencies conspired to force the film to be "banned in almost every country in the world" to hide its "scorching exposés" from foreign audiences, though he admitted that he had no
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wrote that the film was "badly in need of trimming its 170-minutes running time" and that
Laughlin sometimes seemed to be "only a visiting guest star, since he does not figure in what seems to be reels of irrelevant school action. It is only when he is on-camera that the picture picks up, a
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Rather than direct anger at this re-creation...please channel your energy toward those officials who either ordered, condoned, or failed to take action against these events...and perhaps towards ourselves for also turning our backs and letting such events occur unchallenged.
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described the film as "one of the longest, slowest, most pretentious and self-congratulatory ego trips ever put to film. The running time is an excruciating three hours, which make you wonder what the five count 'em five credited editors did for their pay."
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giving him a gun despite his handcuffs for the dark. Despite being shot in the back, Billy Jack escapes into the dark only to return for keys to get away. He attempts to recuperate with the natives and calls on them to help while writhing in pain.
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are testaments to the danger of arming young men and placing them in combat situations. But 'The Trial of Billy Jack' twists those facts so as to make the killings a direct policy statement of the national government."
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torches on it for a bonfire. Jean tries to call the
Governor to call back the militia (told to fire one warning shot and then one shot to kill if confronted), if she can pull the students back into the school.
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370:"Some may feel this picture is too violent...but the real massacres which inspired this fictionalized version were a thousand-fold more violent for those innocent people who were its victims...
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master in Han. He becomes involved with a radical group on the reservation that opposes the federal effort to cease recognition of their tribe and the surrender of their tribal lands to local
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When the film was reissued for another theatrical run in the spring of 1975, an accompanying newspaper ad campaign attacked critics as being out of touch with the tastes of mass audiences.
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in the town in violation of the curfew. On the way back to the school, their bus breaks down and local townspeople confront the students and threaten to set their bus on fire.
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called it "three hours of naiveté merchandised and marketed with the not-so-innocent vengeance that I associate with religious movements that take leases on places like the
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628:'s film guide assigned its lowest possible grade of BOMB and called the film "Laughable" until the final massacre scene that rendered its peaceful message "ludicrous."
487:. Several Arizona tribal nations cooperated on the film, such as the Navajo, Papago, Havasupai, and Pima, who are each listed in the end credits under special thanks.
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Directed by
Laughlin, the film has a running time of nearly three hours. Although commercially successful, it was panned by critics. The film was included in the book
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locations in New York, Philadelphia and
Phoenix. The wide release was accompanied by a $ 3 million advertising campaign in the opening week.
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299:. The school hosts a large marching-band contest and arts festival, called "1984 Is Closer Than You Think," to raise money for the school.
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of the time. It opened in an additional 150 theaters two days later, totaling more than 1,000 theaters in its opening week, including 180
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declared, "This film probably represents the most extraordinary display of sanctimonious self-aggrandizement the screen has ever known."
325:. The school defies a court order to return Danny (a boy at the school) to his father who had abused the boy and cut off his hand. The
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term for a minimum of five years. Meanwhile, the kids at the
Freedom School—an experimental school for runaways and troubled youth on a
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and recalls, in a flashback scene, witnessing a similar incident while serving in
Vietnam. He is found guilty and sentenced to a
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Billy Jack is released from prison and, trying to reconnect with his spiritual beliefs, begins a series of lengthy
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The film was a commercial success upon its release in theaters, but met with a harsh reaction from critics.
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commanding figure whose low-key characterization adds to the brilliance of his performance."
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charge stemming from events in the earlier film. During Billy's trial, he mentions the 1968
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may be militantly liberal, but his artistic methods are reactionary in the extreme."
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As tensions mount between the school and the people in the nearby town, a mysterious
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Albarino, Richard (November 20, 1974). "'Billy' Sequel's Grand $ 11-Mil Preem".
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524:, where it remained for three weeks. By 1976 the film had earned $ 6,716,000 in
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by teacher Jean
Roberts from her hospital bed after a shooting has taken place.
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fans with a hearty constitution...it's a mess, but it's a fascinating mess."
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822:"Bong Soo Han, 73; grand master of hapkido won film fans for martial arts"
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The school begins to hold hearings on the rights of the native people and
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in 1977, which never saw a widespread theatrical release. A fifth film,
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that "this sequel proved more of a trial for me than it was for Billy."
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deer on what was formerly tribal land, the school comes to his defense.
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In its opening five days, the film grossed $ 9 million and was
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When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah
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wrote: "Ultimately, most viewers are likely to be baffled by
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Arnold, Gary (November 15, 1974). "The Trial of Billy Jack"
280:, they begin using the newspaper and TV station to conduct
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is established in town. The students respond by holding a
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The school's activities range from having their own
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733:"Billy Jack Is Ready to Fight the Good Fight Again"
652:was included among the selections in the 1978 book
499:The film opened on November 13, 1974 in one of the
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Teresa Kelly as Carol (credited as Teresa Laughlin)
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329:begins visiting the school and taps their phones.
314:. When one of the tribal members is arrested for
998:(November 13, 1974). "A 'Billy Jack' Marathon".
377:All we are saying is...give peace a chance..."
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56:(pen names for Tom Laughlin and Delores Taylor)
631:In a retrospective review, Donald Guarisco of
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1050:Leonard Maltin's 1996 Movie & Video Guide
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980:(November 25, 1974). "Trial of Billy Jack".
1031:(November 25, 1974). "The Current Cinema".
799:(1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith.
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678:, filmed in 1985-86, was never completed.
221:and the third film overall in the series.
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962:"Film Reviews: The Trial Of Billy Jack".
932:"Screen: 'Trial of Billy Jack,' a Sequel"
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1145:Laughlin's official Billy Jack web site
770:Medved, Harry; Dreyfuss, Randy (1978).
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1125:"'Jack' Again Using Anti-Critic Ads".
1092:from the original on December 4, 2018
944:from the original on December 4, 2018
905:from the original on December 4, 2018
774:. Popular Library. pp. 255–256.
291:team to artistic endeavors such as a
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639:, and it can only be recommended to
889:"The Trial of Billy Jack - History"
245:Billy Jack goes to court facing an
820:Stewart, Jocelyn Y. (2007-01-14).
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772:The Fifty Worst Films Of All Time
655:The Fifty Worst Films of All Time
522:number one at the U.S. box office
475:Part of the film was shot in the
238:The entire story is told through
227:The Fifty Worst Films of All Time
731:Waxman, Sharon (June 20, 2005).
1343:Films scored by Elmer Bernstein
862:"All-time Film Rental Champs".
851:. November 27, 1974. p. 9.
745:from the original on 2011-07-03
337:of emergency and mobilizes the
1348:Films directed by Tom Laughlin
1328:American political drama films
688:List of American films of 1974
382:—End title card from the film.
1:
1255:Billy Jack Goes to Washington
1047:Maltin, Leonard, ed. (1995).
868:. 7 January 1976. p. 44.
669:Billy Jack Goes to Washington
1363:1970s English-language films
1318:Films about Native Americans
1110:"'Billy Jack' vs. Critics".
894:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
878:Medved and Dreyfuss, p. 260.
618:Donald J. Mayerson wrote in
436:Gus Greymountain as Blue Elk
448:Jack Stanley as Grandfather
433:Sparky Watt as Sheriff Cole
141:November 13, 1974
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1080:"The Trial of Billy Jack"
845:"50 Top-Grossing Films".
666:The film was followed by
33:Theatrical release poster
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16:1974 film by Tom Laughlin
1308:1970s action drama films
1263:The Return of Billy Jack
968:. November 13, 1974. 18.
795:D'Arc, James V. (2010).
675:The Return of Billy Jack
477:Coronado National Forest
445:Michael Bolland as Danny
247:involuntary manslaughter
1239:The Trial of Billy Jack
1151:The Trial of Billy Jack
1116:. April 30, 1975. p. 5.
899:American Film Institute
650:The Trial of Billy Jack
637:The Trial of Billy Jack
421:Geo Anne Sosa as Joanne
282:investigative reporting
193:The Trial of Billy Jack
22:The Trial of Billy Jack
505:four wall distribution
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1333:American sequel films
1247:The Master Gunfighter
1215:Like Father, Like Son
1131:. May 21, 1975. p. 7.
930:(November 14, 1974).
529:supporting evidence.
466:as National Guardsman
440:Sacheen Littlefeather
1368:1970s American films
1313:Films set in Arizona
1016:The Washington Post
986:. Section 4, p. 17.
599:The Washington Post
464:William Wellman Jr.
460:as Thunder Mountain
442:as Patsy Littlejohn
1353:Films shot in Utah
1266:(1986; unreleased)
1078:Guarisco, Donald.
1053:. Signet. p.
937:The New York Times
738:The New York Times
546:The New York Times
526:theatrical rentals
424:Lynn Baker as Lynn
409:Victor Izay as Doc
306:. He also meets a
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996:Champlin, Charles
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589:Los Angeles Times
551:Houston Astrodome
289:search and rescue
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125:Warner Bros.
100:Michael Karr
76:Tom Laughlin
43:Tom Laughlin
1096:December 3,
948:December 4,
909:December 3,
566:Gene Siskel
479:along with
323:child abuse
201:action film
161:173 minutes
61:Produced by
39:Directed by
1303:1974 films
1297:Categories
1231:Billy Jack
1019:. B1, B13.
831:2023-11-24
749:2011-01-02
694:References
577:Kent State
516:Box office
471:Production
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418:as Russell
312:developers
271:television
240:flashbacks
218:Billy Jack
196:is a 1974
145:1974-11-13
64:Joe Cramer
49:Written by
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511:Reception
430:as Posner
416:Sara Lane
334:explosion
273:station.
267:newspaper
203:starring
91:Edited by
1090:Archived
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682:See also
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533:Critical
341:, and a
316:poaching
174:Language
111:Music by
105:Tom Rolf
69:Starring
1274:Related
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641:B-movie
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495:Release
308:hapkido
263:Arizona
198:Western
177:English
166:Country
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343:curfew
255:prison
213:sequel
182:Budget
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485:Utah
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