Spikeopath "For over 100 years the murders in Whitechapel committed by Jack the Ripper have baffled the World. What you are about to see is a dramatisation of these events. Our story is based on extensive research, including a review of the official files by special permission of the Home Office and interviews with leading criminologists and Scotland Yard officials."Jack The Ripper is produced out of Euston Films and is directed by David Wickes who also co-wrote it with Derek Marlowe. Released to coincide with the 100 years anniversary of the murders, it stars Michael Caine (Frederick Abberline), Armand Assante (Richard Mansfield), Ray McAnally (Sir William Gull), Lewis Collins (Sgt. George Godley), Ken Bones (Robert James Lees), Susan George (Catherine 'Kate' Eddowes) & Jane Seymour (Emma Prentiss). Originally released as a TV mini-series in the United Kingdom, Jack The Ripper has long since been available to view as a three hour ten minute movie. Every second of which is worth sitting thru. For his story Wickes uses actual historical characters that were involved in the 1888 hunt for the notorious killer. Drawing heavily from the Masonic/Royal Family conspiracy theory that has been used before in tellings of the story (notably the film Murder By Decree born out of Thomas E. A. Stowell's theory), Wickes boldly proclaimed to be revealing the true identity of the Ripper. Something that unsurprisingly he was forced to recant, but regardless of that, this is a glorious telling, meticulous in detail and providing much food for thought.In amongst the grizzly murders and the fraught search for the killer by the exasperated police, Wickes' movie fully forms the other issues to hand. Such as the role of the press during this dark time and why was George Lusk leading vigilante's across Whitechapel? The Government and Royal Family aspects are given screen time because that's how high the issue went. The pressure on Abberline from his superiors is told in full, as the murders start to escalate and Abberline runs up against questionable assistance during the investigation, his anger grows. We are with him every step of the way. The prostitutes aren't merely Ripper fodder characters either, we at least meet them, understand them, even seeing the role of the "pimp" in Victorian England. It's good stuff, well researched.Technically, for a TV movie, its production value is very high. Great sets that bring to life Victorian England (the exteriors were actually shot in Belper, Derbyshire), the costumes catch the eye and the cast are hugely effective. Particularly Caine (throwing himself into the role) and Assante (switching his character's emotional state regularly with consummate ease). We also get the chill factor too, something that's needed in a film of such dark thematics. As the street girls walk alone in dimly lit cobbled streets, the air of unease is palpable. Then a silhouette of the man with the hat, cloak and bag brings a cold shiver down the spine. Witness to the sequences involving the play Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a nice put in to the plot by the writers, and one that provides genuinely creepy moments. It's a top film that has so much going for it.There will be other Jack The Ripper film's no doubt, and for sure more books will arrive proclaiming this and that is true. But with this take, if you buy into the theory or not, is probably as good as it gets for detail and execution of the material. 9/10

brendan grehan Last Friday June 20, Jack the ripper was free with the Irish Daily Mail.Not a bad DVD as a freebie and the transfer is spot on.I remember watching it on TV when it was first released. Yes Michael does ham it up but thats what he does. As a mini-series it has aged well, given that its 20 years old. On matters of the Ripper, "Murder By Decree" with Christopher Plummer as Holmes is the best of the bunch albeit that it is factional. The old deerstalker hat was never seen round whitechapel.Back to Jack the Ripper, the Jane Seymour character doesn't seem to serve any purpose apart from providing a love interest for Michael Caine. Lewis Collins is pretty good and Armand Assante is suitably bewitching as Mansfield the actor with his cape.

haniball5 Just great!This is the best TV-production I have ever seen.First time I saw it at the age of 8, it was awesome. But I could hardly remind.I have just known that it was a well done movie with a great Atmospher and thrilling suspense.I bought the film and my expectations were exceeded.A movie which can take it on with Jack the ripper is "The count of monte christo" with gerade depardieu. It's a trilogy which is also god work.

Caz1964 This is my favourite of the Ripper movies,although i don't believe all the facts are right.This film gives us its own solution,as we all know Jack the Ripper was never caught,so to give us a theory at the end made this mini series more worth watching,just to see what they would come up with.All the theories presented in this drama are all legendary old ones,that have long been eliminated,for instance the Duke of Clarence theory,well really his name just went well with the legend but thats about all,its been proved that he was never in the country on any of the murder dates.The same goes for all the other supposed suspects in this film.The best theory for me is the one of the Montague John Druit,whose body was found floating in the Thames shortly after the last murder,he was a failed medical student,its the only one of the original theories that still carries any weight,and yet it isn't mentioned in the film.Recently Ripperologists done a search on all the mental hospitals in the country,to see if any patients were admitted in late 1889.There were two, one was a very old infirm man who it couldn't have been,the other was a young pole who we now believe was either Aarron Kosminski or Nathan Kasminski,both of these men had gone missing during the late 1880s,which ever man it was the hospital decided to register him as David Cohen he apparently was very violent and had to be restrained .The polices chief witness,who has never been identified,pointed him out as the man he had seen running away at the scene of one of the murders.So what is now known is that David Cohen was definitely Liz Strides killer,the other murders are still a mystery.The chief witness would not give evidence in court against a fellow Jew,which could have brought about bad Anti semitic feelings from the public.So it ended that the police were satisfied that they believed their killer was incarcerated in a mental hospital and out of harms way.David Cohen is now believed to have been a paranoid schizophrenic,and wouldn't have been able to stand trial any way. This is one of the most up to date stories on Jack the Ripper and to me makes a lot of sense,its often been quoted that the police didn't appear to be searching for any one in late 1889-1890,they had become a lot more relaxed and more confident on their beat. It was always obvious that there was a big cover up from the authorities,but not the cover up people thought it was.They decided to hush this all up,for the right reasons, i think they made the right decision.We will never be really sure who killed all the other women,and if their deaths were in any way connected with David Cohen,it will remain a mystery.Back to the film i thought it was really well acted,especially from Micheal Cain,Lewis Collins and Ray Mackanally,who i believe was his last film before his sudden death.If you don't know much about the theories on Jack the Ripper this isn't a bad film to start off on as it has all the usual suspects that for years crop up with the now infamous legend.