Biggles (1986)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

John Hough

Writers:

W.E. Johns (characters)
John Groves (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 January 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi | War

Tagline:

Meet Jim Ferguson. He lived a daring double-life with one foot in the 20th century and the other in World War I.

Plot:

One minute the New Yorker advertising expert Jim Ferguson is at a business party -- the next he finds...

Plot Keywords:

Disappearance | Cult Favorite | Convent | London | SWAT Team

Cast

Neil Dickson	...	James 'Biggles' Bigglesworth
Alex Hyde-White	...	Jim Ferguson
Fiona Hutchison	...	Debbie
Peter Cushing	...	Colonel William Raymond
Marcus Gilbert	...	Eric Von Stalhein
William Hootkins	...	Chuck
Alan Polonsky	...	Bill
Francesca Gonshaw	...	Marie
Michael Siberry	...	Algy
James Saxon	...	Bertie
Daniel Flynn	...	Ginger
Roy Boyd	...	German N.C.O
Samantha Bradshaw	...	Hotel Girl
Andrea Browne	...	Lady Buyer
David Butler	...	British Officer

Also Known As:

Biggles: Adventures in Time (USA)

Runtime:

France:92 min | Sweden:85 min | UK:108 min | Spain:88 min (DVD edition)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Spain:T | Australia:PG | Finland:K-15 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Germany:6 (TV rating) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Beckton Gasworks, Beckton, London, England, UK

Company:

Compact Yellowbill

Trivia:

The scene where the helicopter lands and then takes off again from a flat wagon on a train traveling at over 40mph had never been attempt before this film and had to be repeated 15 times over two days before the directors were satisfied that it looked just right.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jim Ferguson first visits Colonel Raymond at Tower Bridge, Raymond hands Ferguson an antiquated 'Celebrity Dinners' card. When Raymond passes Jim the card, it is in a plastic sleeve, then the camera shows the card in detail without the sleeve, and then it returns when Jim hands it back.

Quotes:

[Debbie and Chuck enter Jim's hotel room to find Jim dressed as a nun, and with a gun on the chair]
Chuck: Religious Transvestite Bank robber. That one's not even in the book.

Movie Connections:

References "Fantasy Island" (1978)

Soundtrack:

KNOCK 'EM DEAD KID

An eight-year-old's favourite film ever.

I always believed I'd grow out of this film, but that hasn't happened yet. True, the plot's impossibly silly, but when I first watched the film, that didn't matter to me. Frankly, it still doesn't. Don't watch this film if you're looking for some serious intellectual stimulation. However, if it's great fun, great music and a major dose of eighties nostalgia you're after, this could be the one for you. One last thing - the main theme "Do you wanna be a hero" still sends shivers down my spine every time I see the opening credits.