Cheap The Born Losers (DVD) (Tom Laughlin, Elizabeth James) (Tom Laughlin) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Born Losers

Under the definition of Antihero is a picture of Billy Jack.
Before there was Dirty Harry, Han Solo, Shaft, Wolverine, or any other Antihero character you can name, there was Billy Jack. This character defined the word "Antihero" in the classic 1967 independent film " The Born Losers. Made on a shoestring for under $150,000 by director Tom Laughlin, the movie went on to become one of the highest grossing independent films of all time until Star Wars came out 10 years later. <
>Tom Laughlin is Billy Jack, an Ex-Green beret who plays by his own rules. Returning to the states after a tour of duty, all he wants to do is get back to a normal life in the California seaside town he's been staying in. A man of peace, this Half Native American trained in the martial arts will fight if he has to. And he will when trouble comes to town. A group of bikers known as the "Born losers" have come into town and are terrorizing the local people. Raping several college girls, the losers have the town in their grip. The sheriff won't arrest them and the DA won't prosecute them without testimony from the girls. All of the women are scared to testify except for Vicky (Elizabeth James) who won't give into the biker's threats and intimidation. Billy Jack protects her from the losers and in doing so kicks al lot of butt. <
>I caught Born Losers one late night on the late movie and since then I've seen it three times each time it got better. It's in my top ten favorite movies. Okay, the acting isn't Oscar worthy and the production values are kind of sparse. (It's a 1967 low budget film so I won't nitpick) But the story is so engrossing (it doesn't hurt that Elizabeth James looked SUPER hot in that bikini and biker boots riding down the coast) and the action shots so cool you can't help but hope Billy Jack beats the crap out of those losers. <
>A Shawn James Essential Video. Before you watch the rest of the antiheroes, take a look at the movie about the character who defined the words bad*** and Antihero. <
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Almost three stars but...
OK, what's the deal with Tom Laughlin? He's really not that bad an actor (at least in this role), the character of Billy Jack (especially in this movie) is really likeable, and every action scene involving him is somewhat memorable. So why does he keep putting himself in five minutes of his movies? "Billy Jack" should have been called "Hippies Take Over the World, Guest Starring Billy Jack." <
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>I guess this could be called a "biker movie" but I can't even really call it a great one. The acting is the absolute worst I have ever seen, and the main actress rules over the bad actors as their queen. Also, the plot is predictable almost to the next minute, and many of the scenes seem to serve no purpose at all. All this made most of the movie unbearable. Thankfully, just when I want to hit the rewind button, Billy Jack comes in and starts adding those oh-so-few interesting scenes of good action and competant acting. Him taking down the lead biker was a great scene - let's just say those stupid white goggles finally get good use. <
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>Still, the only reason I would watch this is nostalgia with friends or family. Otherwise I would not recommend this to any one else. That is, of course, unless its on TV and you can flip channels during the boring parts.

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TV version
This was never more than a cult movie to begin with and this DVD is the cut for TV version. All but the most benign nudity is gone and so is the more agressive violence. This leaves it a pathetic kiddie version of the original. Unfortunately, there probably is not an original copy left as in the old days, once the movie was cut for TV then the original was often discarded as no further use could be seen for the complete movie. Obviously it would never return to theaters and the original could never be shown on TV so what posible use could it be. VCRS and DVDS, who knew? If your looking for that raw hard cheap exploitation film that we all loved, this ain't it. Save your money.