It is very rarely that I rate something 10/10. However, after watching the DVD for the zillionith time today I can't describe how much I enjoy this production. Putting aside who you think Jack the Ripper was, 'Jack The Ripper' is lavish, colourful and lively, and easily beats some of the cinema's Jack The Ripper Films.
Michael Caine is great as lead Detective, Abberline. Being from London himself he slipped easily into the role of the main Detetctive. I also like that it's hinted that he is a alcoholic. It's good to see in some scenes that he beats the temptation to dive into the bottle, even when the case gets really rough. Lewis Collins, as his sidekick, Godley was marvellous also and I don't know if the men got on in real life, but they certainly gelled together extremely well on the screen and their characters were close too. Lysette Anthony was a gem as Mary Kelly, and Susan George played Kathy Eddows with consideration and sensitivity.
The Whitechapel set is brilliant and I love how they don't go OTT on the famous misty appearance as on none of the nights of the real murders was London covered in fog. It's very convincing and in fact, is superior to the set used for 'From Hell'. The costumes were accurate a joy to watch.
I liked how the murders were treated with sensitivity, and the murder scenes were not over the top in gore.
One aspect of the film that did not work well and which slowed the production down was the affair between Abberline and Emma Prentice (Jane Seymour) the official artists for the newspaper that was in the film, 'The Star'. I found the scenes not always unnecessary but it slowed the film down to a plod and it's hard to believe that a woman from the upper class such as Emma would even mix with someone like Abberline, let alone bed him which she did in the film, although thankfully it was only shown briefly.
The whole drama was full of suspense and the ending, where a fake murder was set up was high in tension and on first viewing was excellent. You get a choice of four or five men who, just before this fake murder is due to happen, all leave their places of work dressed in dark clothes carrying parcels which could be the famous Gladstone bag that the Ripper supposedly kept his knives in. Each man is a potential Ripper, but when you see who the Ripper is, it's cleverly filmed so that you realise it was none of the men put forward as suspects.
I would highly recommend this drama. It's four hours long or thereabouts but is very enjoyable. You can get two versions in the UK on DVD. A normal straight forward version, and one with extra's on. I'd go for the latter as it has a great lot of footage showing the production before Micheal Caine was hired when Barry Foster was Abberline.
Over all a good, historical piece of drama. In my mind it far outweighs 'From Hell' which follows the same story line. If I had the choice of the two, (dispite Johnny Depp being in 'From Hell'), I'd choose Jack the Ripper every time.
Michael Caine is great as lead Detective, Abberline. Being from London himself he slipped easily into the role of the main Detetctive. I also like that it's hinted that he is a alcoholic. It's good to see in some scenes that he beats the temptation to dive into the bottle, even when the case gets really rough. Lewis Collins, as his sidekick, Godley was marvellous also and I don't know if the men got on in real life, but they certainly gelled together extremely well on the screen and their characters were close too. Lysette Anthony was a gem as Mary Kelly, and Susan George played Kathy Eddows with consideration and sensitivity.
The Whitechapel set is brilliant and I love how they don't go OTT on the famous misty appearance as on none of the nights of the real murders was London covered in fog. It's very convincing and in fact, is superior to the set used for 'From Hell'. The costumes were accurate a joy to watch.
I liked how the murders were treated with sensitivity, and the murder scenes were not over the top in gore.
One aspect of the film that did not work well and which slowed the production down was the affair between Abberline and Emma Prentice (Jane Seymour) the official artists for the newspaper that was in the film, 'The Star'. I found the scenes not always unnecessary but it slowed the film down to a plod and it's hard to believe that a woman from the upper class such as Emma would even mix with someone like Abberline, let alone bed him which she did in the film, although thankfully it was only shown briefly.
The whole drama was full of suspense and the ending, where a fake murder was set up was high in tension and on first viewing was excellent. You get a choice of four or five men who, just before this fake murder is due to happen, all leave their places of work dressed in dark clothes carrying parcels which could be the famous Gladstone bag that the Ripper supposedly kept his knives in. Each man is a potential Ripper, but when you see who the Ripper is, it's cleverly filmed so that you realise it was none of the men put forward as suspects.
I would highly recommend this drama. It's four hours long or thereabouts but is very enjoyable. You can get two versions in the UK on DVD. A normal straight forward version, and one with extra's on. I'd go for the latter as it has a great lot of footage showing the production before Micheal Caine was hired when Barry Foster was Abberline.
Over all a good, historical piece of drama. In my mind it far outweighs 'From Hell' which follows the same story line. If I had the choice of the two, (dispite Johnny Depp being in 'From Hell'), I'd choose Jack the Ripper every time.