Billy Jack (Welcome To The Basement)

Check out our website! Donate to support the show!
welcometothebas...
Like us on facebook: www.facebook.co...
Our TV Tropes page:
tvtropes.org/pm...
For our 50th episode we threw it open to the audience to choose the film, and one of them threw back Billy Jack. The story of an ass-kicking peacekeeper and the hippie Freedom School that he protects.
In Seen It, we discuss fear, meanness and killing.
All film footage is used in accordance with fair use and US copyright law. All music in the show is used with full permission of the composer.
Thanks for all the great comments. Keep em coming! If you watch one of the movies we discuss, let us know what you thought of it.
Welcome To The Basement" is a show about watching, discussing and having fun with movies. Matt choses the movie and Craig doesn't know what it is until the cameras start rolling, so none of the discussion or riffing is planned ahead of time.
Movie announced on facebook before every new episode. Get the movie and follow along. We do discuss the entire movie, including the ending, so if you want to avoid spoilers, watch the movie first.

[@UberNeuman]

The original title of "Billy Jack" was "Let's Go To The Hospital." Love Welcome To The Basement! Looking forward to many more episodes.

[@EyeofValor]

Subtitle: "Hippies are idiots." maybe?

[@anitaharris9095]

You asked where Bernard got the flour. At the beginning of the scene Bernard says bring me a big bag of that flour over there. I believe that I was either 7 or 8 when I first saw it. I didn't remember much about the movie when I saw it at that age, all I remember is thinking that my brother-in-law was great. He took the family members that wanted to go to the movie when him and paid. He bought us soda and treats. He even bought me a second soda after I accidentally spilled the first one down his boot. I did watch it again when I was around 15. It's almost impossible to find to watch anymore or I would watch it over and over.

[@SirGeeeO]

The story of film is amazing...my "movies to see" list tripled in length

[@terryburns184]

Interestingly Coven predated Black Sabbath with the use of the Devil finger horn symbol on their First Album cover.

[@Kinetikai]

Boffo episode! Have you fellas seen "The Plague Dogs?" It's a very dark animated feature, made by the same team that did "Watership Down." Not the most uplifting film, but has one of the best bittersweet endings I've ever seen from an animated movie. Also, I love how all the animal characters feel real, and not overly anthropomorphized -- a rare sight in a cartoon film.

[@bradenwilson8198]

I love the little Ernesto thing you do at the end of eve episodes, this one almost resulted in grizzly death by hilarious cat.

[@mccurrycreations]

Happy 50th, guys!!!

[@andgalactus1]

I was gonna suggest one but a lot of my favorites have been covered in various scene-its.

[@lutze5086]

you two are so fucking great, thank you so much for this beautiful show

[@mechaweeg]

The thing about Mark Cousins' accent is that he sounds like he's trying to simultaneously answer and ask a question with every sentence. I totally agree that by the end of the documentary, you start to miss it! He lives in the same town as me so if I ever meet him, I'll pass on your regards.

[@ClaroQueQuiza]

Great show! Tona, thank you for your hard work and for putting up with these guys! You look absolutely lovely!

[@jojogarcia742]

CONGRATS !!!

[@Jamick98Geass]

I'm here to re-watch this episode after the Billy Jack record opened in unboxing in 2019. One Tin Soldier, baby. Life is one big shit-brick.

[@ZachAbercrombie93]

I am a huge fan of the show. I was wondering if you both had seen "The Sound of Noise"? It's an amazing movie about percussionists who create a show that terrorizes and amazes their city. You both should watch it when you have the chance.

[@nointro]

Thanks a lot guy! As always, you've done a fantastic job! Please keep it up!!!

[@NinjaVampireCyborg]

You guys should watch Police Story. Very interesting movie that takes a real tone shift at the last 20-30 mins of the movie. I'd love to hear you talk about it

[@OnemoreAddictinggame]

MY dad made the whole family watch this movie and it was the worst thing we ever saw. He kept wanting us to watch Billy Jack 2 but we all said no. Now that he died.....I might watch it.

[@TravisBierwagen]

My favorite Meadows/Mean Girls moment is the line about his nephew "Anfernee"... I laugh my ass off every time I hear that.

[@ace5762]

I'd like to suggest a relatively new movie- 'Into the White', directed by Petter Næss. The film is based on a true story that occurred during the second world war and is almost entirely shot in one location, with a very tense situation between German and British pilots who shot each other down over the mountains in Norway. Unsettling, joyous and heartbreaking in a short time span.

[@ChordToNowhere]

Man, I wish I could visit that alternate Firefly universe, too.... *sigh* PS - congrats on 50. Love the show and keep up the great work.

[@mikecronis]

Have we considered the 1968 film, Skidoo? If you like Batman villains and LSD trips, you're in luck! Oh, and 10,000 points for watching Firefly!

[@NinjaVampireCyborg]

I just watched Fearless starring Jet Li and I really, really enjoyed it. You guys should definately check it out if you haven't already

[@TheMattwolf]

Unleashed is also pretty good. Its got a rare Bob Hoskins villain role, and one of the best close quarters fight scenes I've ever watched.

[@revengefrommars]

6:38 I didn't know Hanson was around in 1971.

[@TheRealBackRow]

You guys should definitely do a Bob Hoskins movie for the next episode, as a tribute to the late acting legend. Maybe The Long Good Friday, if you haven't seen it? It was Hoskins' big breakout role, and a terrific Brit-gangster film.

[@OneUponADime]

Congrats, guys :)

[@frederickluebker1240]

You guys should do "Possession" a 1981 french horror film with Sam Neill. It's got a couple cutting each other with an electric carving knife, a crazy drunken German biker and even some monster-on-human lovin'. It's probably the most uncomfortable movie watching experiences ever, even in scenes where nothing strange at all is happening. You won't be able to relax or look away.

[@monsieurboddy]

Third time's the charm, I hope: I'm going to recommend Last Night by Canadian filmmaker Don McKellar, which is about a group of disparate people celebrating a unique day in history. It's beautiful and strange and unexpected. Watch it, or tell me that you've seen it, but by crumb, I demand satisfaction! *glove slap*

[@erniemiller1953]

Have you seen "Born Losers"...the movie before that introduces Billy jack?

[@raez5714]

If I could live in an alternate universe, I would live in the one where Craig and I are married. Also, you guys should watch the TERRIBLE animated movie Food Fight. Its a huge talent bomb and WOW did it bomb big time.

[@SeeeSaa]

Have you seen Blue is the warmest color??just wanna know if its good??

[@WilAdams]

Billy Jack was just a version of (or was ripped off by or simply ripped off) Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury. Check it out. Just missing the 'One Tin Soldier' Song.

[@mechaweeg]

Trivia fact: Both Firefly and Billy Jack feature defenestration which is a favourite word AND pass time of mine.

[@hoondog100]

can i put a vote in for "suck it, Coven" t shirts

[@Noyjeetut]

You've dun goofed. Should have watched Born Losers first, the 1st Billy Jack movie.

[@levitan7112]

ernesto! :)

[@lytwyna2]

thats not bad, $40 million in the 1970s is about $218 million today

[@gabrielapetrie]

Excellent fucking choice, guys, but thanks for finally watching a show I've recommended to you before and not mentioning that I recommended it to you. But. It's probably not your faults. This stupid google+ shit I've deleted it and respawned it so many times, basically my entire comment history is long-gone. Yeah. Billy Jack! Good film, don't watch it stoned in a drug house full of weird, methed-out hippies. Especially not real, actual hippies who were IN high school when this movie was in theaters. They will MAKE IT into a psychedelic experience for you just by being there, in the room, smoking pot, or meth, whatever, and just being hippies.

[@brycemarthaller1054]

Time Bandits

[@PAMAROSHOUSE]

marvin gaye lp in the background

[@erniemiller1953]

in 1975, the United Methodist church tried to teach us kids this song. My Pro-American mother went to the church and chewed them out for their communist teaching.

[@TofranBohk]

People in Boston don't say Bahston. People in Connecticut say Bahston.

[@spr35441]

Is Matt's shirt soaking wet or made from rubber?

[@blamesocietyfilms]

Shiny

[@happygametimefunshow]

BlameSociety both

[@rayhull5150]

BlameSociety The only thing missing is.....jazz hands!

[@Boomstick88]

Fun fact. The band you mentioned Coven, were the first to use the "devil horns" you see in metal today. It's a shame they never became famous though back then a band that actually practiced the "dark arts" couldn't really.

[@Boomstick88]

He made the devil horns popular, but he wasn't the first. Look on Coven's album inner sleeve. Devil Horns

[@DeeManDrawsIsTheBest]

***** Yeah, Dio is the Edison of devil horns. Except Dio was actually awesome besides that. Edison was just an ass.

[@UnagiTempura]

Mark Five incorrect actually. coven was doing it since 1968. dio didnt start until 1979, when he joined black sabbath.

[@DeathBlackWish]

I watched this movie with my grandpa. It's rated PG for some reason even though it has a rape scene and almost shows full frontal. My grandpa was really surprised and even apologized to me for it, even thought I kinda liked it.

[@Aramis419]

"Shitbricks"? Did someone watch too many of Jim Lahey's shittisms?

[@blamesocietyfilms]

I am the liquor

[@tarransanders21]

BlameSociety Atta' boy!

[@Aramis419]

"Wanna help me win a contest, little elf?" *stumbles and falls* "It all starts with a little drinky-poo."

[@CassieVulpine]

I'm going to suggest David Lynch's Dune until it's either watched or mentioned in the Seen It segment. So...you guys should totally do David Lynch's Dune!

[@CTN71]

Surprised u guys mentioned That 70s Show! That's probably my favorite tv show of all time.

[@brute2171]

I was hoping to hear a mention about the early appearance of Howard Hessman, from WKRP.

[@GMoneyChuck89]

Oh my god, I would love to see them watch The Fall. What a beautiful movie.

[@Luckyfoxoval78]

Holy hell, I just found out this movie was filmed in Prescott, Arizona! I live there!

[@TheRealBackRow]

Have you seen Mud? I just watched it last night, and it's a fantastic film. One of the foundation blocks of the McConaughssance, and starring Welcome to the Basement hall-of-famer Michael Shannon.

[@imyouandurme]

I sat down to watch Billy Jack after hearing about it shortly after Tom Laughlin's death. As much as I dig the premise, I just couldn't get through it. The songs. The songs.

[@KaptainSpaulding]

So now I know why the sequel to this was Billy Jack Goes To Washington. Actually I thought the first Billy Jack movie, Born Losers was a much better story. Nothing like kicking some motorcycle gang ass.... Great show guys!

[@joebyrneguitar]

Sitting here with a can of Pils larger in my University digs getting wasted watching your show. I'm usually a straight forward guy but since i messed it up with the first girl i've ever really fallen for last month i've just been miserable all the time, maybe in the future i can try and again. However this show is great as always, even when i'm depressed - i was wondering, for depressed long time watcher (seriously i started watching chad vader during its first season back 2007/ just before episode 6 came out) if you could discuss the movie grease. Always hated it till now, have i just become soppy because of love?

[@gabrielapetrie]

I do have a serious thing to say about Billy Jack, though. Given that the only characters who are offered ample opportunity to come across as whole persons or at least 2 dimensional characters are also villains, that leaves only very few niches within which the audience gets to nestle, and they aren't friendly niches. Because that's what audiences do, which is typically why you need relatable characters and to control them so that typically they're the hero, for instance. So audiences feel good. Well, Billy Jack is a movie about how you, audience, are a murdering, rapist villain. It instantly makes you feel a bit weird about why they put tits on the screen in the first place, considering how you can almost feel the director's jaw dripping as we approach each progressively more rapist treatment of sexuality. So, like you're writing a chapter in fucking, Steal This Book: "Fuck Billy Jack". It's an insult on the viewer. "Good ahead and hate, go ahead and cheat". It's like a recruitment video for the black panthers or the symbionese liberation or some shit. It's a guaranteed installation in the VCR or as insulation or "cache" in the wallspace of every tenable dwelling that contains both meth and an actual old hippie. I don't know what hippies see in this, but it's probably not very much. It's a movie meant to bewilder with bullshit, so, voila: hippies.

[@rakhyvel]

BlameSociety Have you seen Revenge of the Ninja from 1983? I had it taped together with the original Robocop by my mom and watched it all the time when I was sick as a little boy. One of those, in my opinion, classic action movies that really sparked my interest in ninjas and martial arts and gore. If you haven't watched it you should of course watch it uncensored, I watch it at least one time every year! :D

[@surly666]

Surprised you didn't mention that the tight-pantsed improv coach from the Freedom School is none other than Howard Hesseman, aka Dr. Johnny Fever from WKRP in Cincinnati, playing a role that Dr. Johnny Fever would ridicule the hell out of, had he seen this movie.

[@Zylork0122]

Have you seen The Bag Man? I recently saw it and wasn't disappointed like the ratings all over the internet have been suggesting, AKA, terrible. It was a director's first, of course it would be bad, or good. But this one was good.

[@doitsuxitaly]

Speaking of Ponyboy, have you guys watched "The Outsiders"? It was my favorite movie, based on my favorite book back in middle school, and features a young Matt Damon!

[@rayhs1984]

I looked up the song, for unknown reason there is a cover of "one tin soldier" by Luanne from King of the Hill and it is on KZbin. It is pretty much the best thing ever.

[@evanlouie3627]

You guys should review Hunt for Red October, one of my favorite movies!

[@TheMattwolf]

How about The Horseman? It's an extremely draining revenge movie that doesn't hold back on either the blood or grit.

[@danwright8221]

Billy Jack, One of the worst movies I've ever seen with some really, really bad acting yet it made money :)

[@Qermaq]

We see Tona finally! She's quite pretty, Matt, besides clearly talented. Good on you.

[@ForTh3Wolf]

Hey guys, I really appreciate all the work you put into these videos. Even if I dont have to watch these movies myself, hearing your opinions and funny commentary makes it feel like I've watched it myself.

[@ForTh3Wolf]

and congrats on 50 episodes!

[@BrensJoint]

Damn your pacifism!

[@AoishT]

I watched this episode after seeing Matt dressed up as Billy Jack during the October Episodes and I can say with certainty that I was not disappointed. On a side note I love the Marvin Gaye album in the background; What's Going On is an amazing album and after seeing this episode I re-listened to it.

[@davidj.thompson]

Well-meaning Hippy nonsense is still Hippy nonsense.

[@TheOmega10101]

Watch "Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic" !

[@meatshield_]

why did the police officers arrest Billy? He was practicing self defense, and hurt not a single person that didn't attempt to kill him.

[@SuperSaltydog77]

The acting was fair in this series of movies even though the story line and plot were so silly they are considered liberal propaganda of the worst kind.

[@MegaTomAwesome]

Thank you so much for picking this! You guys rule!

[@proteanacumen7018]

Have you seen "The Master" (2012)? www.imdb.com/title/tt1560747/?ref_=nv_sr_1 Joaquin Phoenix as a ww2 veteran trying to find his place in society and meeting a "master" (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who bond in their quest to experience and learn about life. Brilliant performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams.

[@Robert-yk3wp]

Neither one of you was born at time this came out. I was. Reflects our mood then, Nam, civil rights etc. It's OK be funny but understand not everything same now

[@MagnaRyuuDesigns]

Billy Jack is one of those movies that's in my top ten of go to movies. I watched this "heavy" movie back in the 80s when i was 5 or 6. That's right, I was way way way too young to watch this movie. same probably could be said for Robocop and Platoon as well.

[@JesepiAntone]

Another triumph. I'll keep watching if you keep uploading. Thanks again guys.

[@brendamcdougle7228]

Do not appreciate you making fun of the movie Billy Jack ! How many movies have you two goof offs made that brought millions of dollars ?

[@vaasnaad]

DAMN! Billy Jack actually kicked that dude in the nose! I have to watch this, it looks as bad as a Neil Breen flick!

[@TheSwamper]

Firefly is amazing, and Joss Whedon really had to fight to get the movie made. It's truly a shame it never got a second season. Perhaps the fact that the episodes were shown in a poor time slot and out of order contributed to that.

[@Dannyp1945]

Hey guys loving the show since doing a film elective at uni and your show has been feeding my growing addiction for film. Maybe one week for Seen It you could do a list of films you have seen that you think everyone must see, particularly for people just getting into this motion picture hubbub, cheers from Australia.

[@jamesfarrington9030]

Karate chop, actually called a knife hand strike, if done with enough force with a blow to the neck, can knock somebody out quite easily. With enough force, you can kill someone with it. Blow out the carotid artery.

[@JaySteetsArt]

Julien Donkey-Boy! Seen it?? Werner Herzog makes me want to punch him through the screen, and for once not only just for his accent.

[@Stainless1369]

You should watch Ricky-oh, the story of Ricky, by far the dumbest movie I ever saw, but that makes it incredibly funny.

[@danzigrulze5211]

I would prefer to see more Welcome to the Basement then anything else. There are so many directors, genres, and writers movies that need to be seen, hell the only complaint is that they haven't done any Akira Kurosawa films, which is my favorite director and many Japanese period films are so great from many other directors influenced by Kurosawa's films.

[@PrncfPrsa]

You should watch Tim Burton's 9. It is a very meaningful story set in a post apocalyptic alternate world at the end of ww1. All the characters are colorful and the scenery is very eye popping. The plot is also well rounded and very firm and not too linear.

[@CChrisL]

You should watch the next sequel to Billy Jack. It moves along at a better pace and it's more intense and maybe more meaningful to watch. At least it was when I saw it in the theater over 35 years ago. lol

[@Viciousswarm88]

You guy should watch the mockumentary this is spinal tap. It always makes me laugh and you should watch it as a follow-up to decline of western civilization 2.

[@ogami72]

Excellent as always....I would love to see the list of the films you considered, jusy to see if my suggestions were anywhere on it.

[@zilveren]

Omg, hope you do end up watching the fall. It was the one i suggested and still one of the most beautiful heartwrenching pieces I've seen. Love to hear your take, even if you disagree. :)

[@roverandom93]

I literally just re-watched firefly for the same reasons. Finished two days ago. Watched Serenity today. Me and Matt, we're clearly in sync

[@eclatshwartzbaumcybertune2063]

This song is now in my head!!!

[@Spottedfeather]

Why not give us more Dr. Moley. It's been far too long since we've had any Moley.

[@TheStewieOne]

I just realize something, was this movie inspiration for Walker Texas Rangers?

[@Mistoffelees11]

How do we know our donations will be talked about? I donated a few weeks ago and had a very special message I need asked by may 16th

[@endorbr]

Sorry guys... that finger snap trick only works for John DeLancie.

[@TheBallpark25]

Wow. 50 episodes!? It has been a blast. Keep it up. Thank you, both!

[@undead2live]

Wow...didn't think that your song had a chance, but you guys pulled it off.

[@azlib77]

Umm, Buffy got a movie first, and then got seven seasons of TV. So unfair that the inferior idea got more of a chance!

[@kooky216]

Great show as always but my 6 suggestions were better than Billy Jack.

[@bluelagoon134]

10:36 Is that supposed to be a reference to Gandhi from Clone High?