Billy T: Te Movie

We all thought we knew him — but we didn't.

– Actor Laurie Dee

Given a live audience, Billy T James only needed that giggle to take total control and speak some home truths under the cover of having a laugh. It is sad to ponder what he could have become if he only had more time.

– Otago Daily Times reviewer Christine Powley in a three star review, 21 August 2013

The Māori population in Cambridge was like about two percent . . . and so we were sort of bought up in a predominately Pākehā society. And of course our parents were of that era whereby you didn't get anywhere unless you went to school and got a really good education, and you weren't allowed to speak Māori, and things like that...

– Billy T James, early in the excerpt

Director Ian Mune, who cast Billy as the show-stealing Tainuia Kid in Came A Hot Friday and producer Tom Parkinson, the man behind Radio Times and Billy T Live at either end of Billy's career, plainly know their subject. But the film suffers from the lack of a central organising idea that is the essence of all good films, especially good documentaries. Certainly it covers the ground, starting with the early years in Leamington, near Cambridge (where Māori were not exactly thick on the ground in 1949), and ending with a sensitive treatment of the conflict over his body — a matter sickeningly sensationalised by news media at the time. It also usefully reminds us of his astonishing musicianship.

– The NZ Herald in a three and a half star review, August 2011

Director Ian Mune has artfully crafted the story of Billy T's life on and off the stage in a timeless way, making Billy T seem as relevant today as he ever was . . . Modern comedians also gave their view on Billy T and whether a comedian today could say some of the things Billy T used to get away with.

– Stuff reviewer Louise Risk, 16 August 2011

All I'm really doing is bringing something out of the woodwork and exposing it to the people...

– Billy T James on his humour being controversial, in the excerpt

...there were so many avenues we could have gone down. We chose to focus directly on his career and his comedy as a reflection of the cultural shifts happening in the country.

– Co-producer Toby Parkinson in Onfilm magazine, August 2011 (Volume 28, no 7), page 11

He lived through times of massive change for Māori and his trajectory from small town country boy to the country's biggest star was not a traditional route.

– Co-producer Toby Parkinson in Onfilm magazine, August 2011 (Volume 28, no 7), page 10

The first task was to find as much existing footage of Billy as we could. Here we hit our biggest hurdle. In the 1980s tape and storage was expensive, so TV stations simply taped over everything after transmission. The most surprising thing was how little is left of Billy's original shows. Of the first three series only a few episodes remain...

– Co-producer Toby Parkinson in Onfilm, August 2011 (Volume 28, no 7), page 12

Billy had this strange ability to make you feel you were really important to him. Everyone felt they were special friends. He made that kind of connection when he was on stage; he could even make that connection through a television camera. People sometimes stop me on the street and ask me what I'm working on. When I tell them about a Billy T. James movie, their eyes light up . . . He was a gift to us all.

– Director Ian Mune, The Otago Daily Times, 13 August 2011

...an enormously enjoyable ride . . . this will be a must-see, and down the track, a must-have.

– Listener reviewer Fiona Rae, 16 August 2011