People are voting emotionally.

Best movie ever!

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

In today's age of movies, we have lots of action, occasionally great CGI, special effects, and sometimes highly competent acting. What we rarely have is good storytelling, and more often than not is a good story to tell to begin with! This is a good story told in a great way. The scenery and filming is incredible. I loved every bit of it. Some of the acting may not be up to today's standards, but Tom Laughlin and the Sheriff were both excellent and very relate-able. There's action here too, but it is balanced nicely. At the end of the day, there are a lot of unknown kid actors in this movie and if nothing else they are believable. I built a list here on IMDB of the top grossing movie and best picture Oscar from every year since I was born and this was the first, 1971. I had not seen nor heard of this movie, nor any of the actors. I was surprised this was the top grossing movie (some dispute on this according to my google search had Fiddler on the Roof but I am sticking with Billy Jack according to a couple of sources). According to IMDB, the movie's budget was $800,000 and gross revenue of $98 million. Can you imagine what an investment this was!?! Anyway, this was a great start to watching all of the movies on my list, if I had not already seen them. I look forward to seeing how things change over time.

Like many others who have reviewed this film, I agree that it has "issues." The acting from the supporting cast is often stiff and the plot has its own set of flaws. With that out of the way, I'd like to mention that I really liked this film even in 2016. This film had a purpose that was well executed (if not a little bit on the heavy side) and at its core, Tom Laughlin holds the film together with his own style of "cool" that few others could pull off. Steve McQueen cool is what I'm referring to. Tom Laughlin made this movie work as a message about Indian rights and the cost of living your life on your own terms. As the violence escalates, you see Billy's torment over his own desire for justice on his terms versus what it best for the tribe and the woman he loves. I really liked this film and highly recommend it. It holds up well because of the importance of the message and the compassion that Tom Laughlin brings to the role. I don't believe that much has changed since its release in 1971 and maybe it should be viewed again for that reason as well. As a post script, I was also impressed with this film as an accurate document of the attitudes in America during the late 1960s. While other films have attempted to imitate the 60s through their costuming and scripting, it often looks and feels like merely a "mirror" image of what it really was like. In this film, you get the real thing. You see the attitudes, both good and bad, by the younger and the older generation alike. It feels authentic in the way it was written and acted. See this film for that reason alone if for no other reason.

After years of only reading about this movie (like in the book "Cult Movies" by Danny Peary), I finally watched Billy Jack on GetTV last night. It's quite fascinating watching this '71 period flick going through the Important issues of the time being combined with the action elements of such movies meant for more fans hungry for something to happen. Tom Laughlin plays the title character who defends the honor of some mixed-race students who are harassed by a town local at an ice cream shop. I'll stop there and just say this was quite entertaining from beginning to end with many of the good dramatic scenes especially between Laughlin and wife Dolores Taylor, co-writers of the screenplay with Tom himself directing as T. C. Frank. I especially liked some of the comedy scenes with Howard Hesseman among the players, years before becoming Dr. Johnny Fever on "WKRP in Cinncinati".

Having come of age in this time; I remember this movie fondly. I think it's very representative of the times. I saw it at a drive-in movie. Geez; I miss those passion pits. Lol!!! We were actually naive enough to think we could change things. HA!!! Then came the Watergate scandal, the seemingly never ending Vietnam war dragged on and on, despite protest after protest; and public opinion against it. The system really is rigged against us; and unfortunately it ain't gonna change. I'm just glad I'm now on the downhill slide. God Bless and good luck young people; you're going to need it. Pardon me; just ramblings from an old fart; who is sick and tired of the political crap and hatred today. Peace to all.