Timewatch: Shadow Of The Ripper

[TomTomKent]

Just for those who are interested, The Shadow Of The Ripper, with Christopher Frayling, episode of Timewatch is currently available on the BBC iPlayer in the "From The Archive" section.

[Sam Flynn]

IMHO, "Shadow of the Ripper" is one of the best-made and thought-provoking programmes on the subject. A real favourite of mine.

[richardh]

Just watched it. Thanks for the link. It is very good. A proper discussion with no gratuitous blood and gore. Fabulous (apart from the hairstyles! )

Wish the black museum was still open to the public!

[TomTomKent]

I enjoyed it. I think there are a few moments that the suspects of the Police are dismissed out of hand for being part of the myth, where a little longer run time would have allowed for a discussion of what little we know about the circumstances of how various suspects may have come to the attention of the Police, but I can see that was probably pruned away as a diversion from the main topic, of the cultural myths around the case.

I thought the sequences of Mr Fido leading a guided walk were very well filmed, and I wish any of the various Mystery and Ghost walks I have been on around the country had been so well presented!

[serya]

Of the 50 or more documentaries on JTR I have seen this has always been my favorite. None of the others immerse the viewer in the historical context like this one, and the use of Gabriel Faure's Requiem gives it a solemn sense of tragedy throughout, rare for these programs.

If you enjoyed this film, you should definitely check out Christopher Frayling's excellent series from 1996 called Nightmare- The Birth of Victorian Horror, with equally fascinating historical contexts for Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, and the Hound of the Baskervilles.

[Aelric]

This is one of the few Ripper documentaries that I like to rewatch every once in a while. Also adding a "seconded" to serya's recommendation of Frayling's 'Nightmare' series. Very well done.

[Writerboy]

Of the 50 or more documentaries on JTR I have seen this has always been my favorite. None of the others immerse the viewer in the historical context like this one, and the use of Gabriel Faure's Requiem gives it a solemn sense of tragedy throughout, rare for these programs.

If you enjoyed this film, you should definitely check out Christopher Frayling's excellent series from 1996 called Nightmare- The Birth of Victorian Horror, with equally fascinating historical contexts for Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, and the Hound of the Baskervilles.

I absolutely agree. It's impeccable, and it was also where I discovered the Faure Requiem.

It was broadcast a couple of weeks before the dreadful Michael Caine miniseries, which, in its hysterical cliches, proved the perfect demonstration of everything Frayling was arguing!