In the pantheon of 1980s high-concept cinema, few films possess a premise as delightfully jarring as Biggles: Adventures in Time . Released in 1986 and directed by cult filmmaker (known for Escape to Witch Mountain ), the film attempted to modernize Captain James "Biggles" Bigglesworth—a staple of British children's literature created by W.E. Johns —by smashing him head-first into a 1980s sci-fi plot. A Tale of Two Jims
E. Johns novels that inspired the character, or are you more interested in other films? subtitle Biggles: Adventures in Time
The story centers on Jim Ferguson (played by ), a slick 1980s American businessman whose life is upended when he is revealed to be a "time twin" to the legendary WWI ace, Biggles ( Neil Dickson ). In the pantheon of 1980s high-concept cinema, few
While the film is undeniably a product of its time—complete with a pulsing synth-rock soundtrack by of Yes—it has endured as a cult favorite for several reasons: A Tale of Two Jims E
: Watching a 1980s executive try to navigate a 1917 battlefield with nothing but a catering truck and a can-do attitude remains genuinely entertaining.
The Cult of Biggles: Why We’re Still Flying High with 1986’s Oddest Odyssey
Whenever one is in mortal danger, the other is yanked through a temporal rift to assist. This leads to a series of whiplash-inducing transitions where Jim is plucked from his luxury London apartment and dropped directly into the mud and dogfights of the Western Front. The Last Stand of a Legend