movie/film advice

[protohistorian]

I am all for my media inclined fellow students portraying our subject area. I have had enough of the piss poor historical accuracy and childlike attempts to "sexy-up" these crimes. Here are 10 questions that you should have solid answers to before proceeding in your film.

1. Was a man named Jack responsible for the crimes that bear his name?
2. Is it proven all vics were prostitutes?
3. What social functions did pubs serve besides alcohol fueling stations?
4.What is The Whitechapel Murder File" and what does it contain?
5. What has been the historical basis for asserting 'Jack' characteristics and defining C5?
6. Is the answer to 5 credible?
7. What was the historic criminal background level?
8. Am I more reliant on primary or secondary source material?
9. Were the crimes associated with Jack explainable in their context?
10. Do I have historically grounded answers for ALL the above?

For the love of all that is holy will someone without a view of there colon add others. Dave

[DarkTaleProductions]

What people don't realize about the making of a movie is that historically accurate will be almost always turned down if the studio feels they won't make a profit.

That's why they made "From Hell". The Studio probably assumed if they made a Sherlock Holmes type hero face off with Jack the Ripper who was an assassin for the Royal Family AND put a pretty face (Heather Graham) they would almost certainly make some good money.

I'm pretty sure the next Ripper movie will be similar to "From Hell"... maybe worse... because, if the studio isn't convinced that an accurate Ripper movie WON'T make money, they won't produce one.

Another reason why a historically inaccurate film wouldn't work is because there is a certain formula that you must go by when you write a screenplay. Otherwise, the film will either not make any sense or come off as a high-budget documentary.

[protohistorian]

Yes DTP I realize that, throwing accuracy under the bus for any reason is unacceptable. To asset there are no "marketable" traits to the actual reality in this case is laughable. Dave

[DarkTaleProductions]

I understand you want an accurate Ripper movie. I would love to see (or make one) too...

I did make "Scarlett", but that's just a Short Film and really doesn't count, haha, and I don't know if it would meet your 'accurate' standards. (I don't mean for this comment to sound douchey, by the way.)

[protohistorian]

No DTP it's not you. Crap like From Hell irritates me. They damn sure had the money and the experts, they just lacked any sense of history, or even common decency or they would have inserted a proviso at the beginning," We have usurped the name of a historical event to take your money, but we can only dedicate 3% of our A** to being accurate so do not expect reality, accuracy, or even something as grand as a 50% (half) a** effort, Thanks for your money, enjoy the tripe." Dave

[DarkTaleProductions]

I understand what you mean, Dave. Check out "Scarlett" if you wish and let me know what you think. I'm almost certain its more accurate than From Hell. Haha.

[protohistorian]

Here is the problem with From Hell as I see it. They chose as their source material a comic book. They did not market the film as a video comic book but as a "Jack the Ripper" film. So in effect they said we take as our source , the historical equivalent of toilet paper, add our own delusions, and then we will market it as the story of "Jack the Ripper" to draw people in. They are not guilty of any wrong doing legally, they are just amoral, money grubbing whores who felt that that variety of cheap semantics would absolve them of responsibility. Dave

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807428940/info

[The Good Michael]

Dave,

It's a historian's curse; watching a movie that is inaccurate, for all its merits, makes it a bad movie. Braveheart did that for me. Imagine, no Sterling Bridge! At about the same time, Rob Roy came out, but it didn't pretend to be accurate, nor historical as I recall. Poor accents aside, and lack of Gaelic, the movie was fun for me.

Cheers,

Mike

[protohistorian]

Thanks Mike! I accept some of it is me. I do not think it needs to be blow by blow accurate, but I do not think openly slanderous is so high a mark to shoot for. Why the need for fake 'drama', is not the fact that these women were hunted on a public street by a knife wielding nut job enough drama? How does Abberline being a hop head make it more dramatic? Here is my take, if you want to add some historical inaccuracy, make the elites give a shite about these women. Wanna grab a headline, make Victorian women equal to men. I fail to see how assailing the character of an investigator and a royal physician is more dramatic than these obvious examples of nonsense which actually existed in reality, but even this is too high a mark for someone who thinks a video comic book is good cinema. Dave

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

How can a movie about Jack the Ripper be historically accurate when the events upon which it based are largely fictional?

Regards,

Simon

[protohistorian]

That is a fine point Simon! Dave

[protohistorian]

...but wait Simon, would not your point be better if the Queen was shapeshifting alien and Macnaghten was dressed as Biggles? Oh,not the macho Biggles either, the openly swishy Monty Python Biggles with sequined stretch bicycle shorts and googles.Dave

[The Good Michael]

Stirling Bridge, obviously.

[The Good Michael]

How can a movie about Jack the Ripper be historically accurate when the events upon which it based are largely fictional?

It doesn't have to be completely. It should at least get the characters right and not make up stuff to appeal to a particular audience. Then again, that would be a documentary, wouldn't it.

Mike

[protohistorian]

me sooo clever!

Now you have gone and done it. I am going to make a remake of From Hell which culminates in Biggles/Macnaghten stopping the mason Gull in a midget car with Annie Chapman's uterus in the passenger seat. The uterus will then say, "it's a fair cop." and Jack will punch the gas in his miniature mason car and Biggles shall give chase. Fin. I shall call my film, "The Very Last and Uber Final Final Solution Until the Next No Talent Asshat Comes Along and "Solves" the fictional mystery Because They Are More Clever Than Everyone Who Has Investigated This Case For More Than a Century!" starring Biggles