Zeit der Vergeltung

The British historian E. J. Hobsbawm developed the idea of the "social bandit," the peasant youth who becomes an outlaw after his honorable resistance to some outrage by the landlord ends with a landlord henchman dead. He calls to others who share his anger at injustice to follow him to the hills where they will lead the outlaw life, stealing only from those whose wealth comes from oppressing the poor, respecting the peasants and righting wrongs on their behalf, and seeking to restore a former condition when the great and powerful behaved decently and treated the poor equitably. (This equitable treatment is also close to what E.P. Thompson called "the moral economy of the poor:" the Honest Loaf, the Fair Day's Wage for a Fair Day's Work--a slogan of early labor unions--etc.)

The social bandit *isn't* a revolutionary--he has no vision of a transformed society, because his horizons are too narrow. He wants the Good Old Days back. He doesn't have a social or political theory; he wants simple decency and justice. He isn't Joan of Arc, fighting to restore a legitimate King, he's much closer to Robin Hood, resisting the oppression of a King who's forfeited the loyalty of the people by not acting as a good King should.

Billie Jean is a social bandit. The events that launch her "career," the actions she performs, and above all her simple watchword "Fair is Fair" clearly put her in the category that includes the Brazilian Lampiao, the Sicilian Salvatore Giuliano, and others. Hardly surprising, since this teenage cult script was written by a formerly blacklisted old Lefty in his seventies, Walter Bernstein, who surely had read Hobsbawm and Thompson and found, I think, a very ingenious way to illustrate their ideas in a 1980's US setting.

The Legend of Billy Jean (1985) was one of your typical 80's movies. It's hopelessly dated but back in the day it was a real hoot to watch on T.V. The story is about two siblings that cross paths with some older punks. Billy Jean is the name of the main character(Helen Slater, looking good) and she tries to fight for what she believes is right "Fair is fair!" He brother is played by the infamous Christian Slater (sans Jack Nicholson accent). They some how come across a lecherous sleaze ball and get into all kinds of shenanigans. It has to be seen to be believed. You also get co-star appearances from Yeardly Smith (Lisa Simpson) Keith Gordon, Dean Stockwell and mondo footage from Jeanne D'Arc. You can't say you're a true fan of 80's flicks until you've seen this one.

Recommend for nostalgia purposes.

Factoid: Carolyn Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre II) makes a quick appearance as a woman who spots Billy Jean.

I sort of look at this film as a cult classic. I see it as sort of a 1980s Rebel Without A Cause. Helen Slater is another actress who has really never been given just credit. She made her film debut the year before in Supergirl and it was a film everyone made fun of. I don't think thats fair to her, because she is a fine actress and proves it here. Unlike James Dean's character, she does "have the right to be angry" and fights back against a corrupt system. Some people may say this film condones vigilante activities, but I think this is a film with a positive message. I also loved Pat Benetar's song "We Will Be Invincible", it should have gotten an Oscar.

I recently purchased the special edition "Fair Is Fair" DVD version of "The Legend of Billie Jean". Partly because I thought it was a fun flashback to the 80s when I thought this movie was so cutting-edge cool when I was still a teenager, partly because it had a soundtrack commentary by stars Helen Slater and Yeardley Smith. I wasn't disappointed.

I will say I've watched this movie more than a few times. Each time I am kinda in awe of how blonde and stunning Helen is. She was (still is) a beautiful actress. "City Slickers", "The Secret of My Success" both cast her as the sexy co-star and for good reason. Her sexiness is without question in this movie. This is one of Christian Slater's (no relation) first movies and he's exactly what you'd expect him to be at 15 years old. Yeardley Smith is and always has been a gifted ugly duckling that is as adorable as they get. This is no different. Priceless casting.

The story is fairly silly and formulaic. A teenage girl and her brother have their motor scooter trashed by some bullies. The girl goes to the bully's father and demands money for the damages. The dad is worse than the son. They struggle. An accident occurs. The kids go on the lam. Good cop who can read between the lines trails the kids like a bloodhound. Kids become famous outlaws. Big climax at the end. Standard teenage 80s stuff. And it's worth every second of screen time!!!

Watching the DVD with the voice-over soundtrack by both Helen and Yeardley made me laugh out loud a few times. It was hilarious listening to these two friends banter back and forth about who did what when and where, the horrible 80s styles and hair now that they're mothers themselves, how their daughters won't even watch it out of sheer horror their mothers were rebellious teenagers (Helen - "We're five minutes into the movie and my daughter has already left." - funny stuff), etc... The fact Helen didn't remember the real actress' name of her own mother character in the movie (Mona Lee Fultz) tells you how raw this audio take is. No editing, just middle-age friends talking into a microphone. It's genuine and even better than this classic 80s flick by itself.

The movie is dated, even ridiculous in some cases, and totally awesome (yes, an 80s term)! How can you not sing a few bars of Pat Benatar's "Invincible" in this fantastically cheesy movie? It's self-consciously teeny throughout. Even the adults act more like enabling or overbearing parents than real adults. It's cheerful, uplifting, cool and just plain fun to watch. The writing is irrelevant. Holes in the plot are beside the point. Sit back, slide this piece of 80s nostalgia into your DVD player, put on your headphones, pump up the volume on the headphones at all the right places, and just enjoy the experience.

Billie Jean RULES!!! :-)

I can't believe I've never watched this show before when I was younger. I just saw it on cable. I won't say it has the best plot, story, characters or anything, but there's just this mysterious element that draws us to Billie Jean. All those kids in the film were incredible. My father was watching with me he smiled when he saw that little boy who sent the tape to the police. How cute!

This film does reflect some truths. Some adults simply think that fairness is not for kids. Children are not entitled to justice. But few do stand up against this false belief. That is why Billie Jean is a heroine.

To add, Helen Slater is just so beautiful.