"From Hell" starring Johnny Depp

[kensei]

Just tonight I was discussing with my girlfriend how long it's been since Johnny Depp has played a "normal looking" character in a film. Captain Jack Sparrow, Sweeney Todd, Willie Wonka, and now the Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland." Now there is an unconfirmed rumor about him as the Riddler in the next Batman film. At least in "From Hell" he looked more or less like himself.

[tredstoneguy]

I saw the movie after hearing about it on ripper cast n hearing how in acret it was, i thought it was a grate horror movie to watch around Halloween nothing more, i woodent recommend as a good ripper film, as a bloody horror film sure. i hope that when pepole see this movie n if afterword thay are interested in the ripper case thay find casebook n get the right facts, or at lease the best facts we know and not the so called ''facts'' that Hollywood showed us.

[Gman992]

Conspiracy theories sell...real facts don't...(one of these days I'm going to write an article on the conspiracy industry....)

[Chris Scott]

"From Hell" must, in my opinion, like any other film or, indeed, any other artistic endeavour, be taken on its own terms and judged within the framework of what it set out to achieve. As it was firmly based on a graphic novel I don't think anyone would or should expect it to be an academically accurate retelling of the events of 1888. It is fiction based on the events of the Ripper case, and has to be seen and judged in those terms. The character and life experiences of the Depp Abberline could hardly be further from the real life Fred Abberline. I am a great admirer of Johnny Depp (Ninth gate is my favourite film of his) and I think that in "From Hell" he did great justice to this FICTIONAL role.
My problem with the 1988 Michael Caine television mini series was the claim made at the beginning of the programme. This asserted that the program was based on extensive research (which was certainly true from some of the recreations) but also that the makers of the programme were convinced that their conclusion as to the perpetrator was historically sound and constituted an authentic "solution" to the case. Of course, their version of events was nothing of the sort.
Both the Depp and Caine versions are, in my opinion, good as ENTERTAINMENT but not as historical narrative. The Depp version does not purport to be - that is the difference.
It still amazes me that we do not have an accurate and unglamourised version of the events in 1888.

[richardnunweek]

Hi Chris,
You echo my feelings.
We have many documentaries on the subject, some are better then others, but no accurate dramatization which is rather disapointing.
From the old black and whites eg, Lee patterson, right up to From Hell, we have the same old scripts, Babs Windsor look-alikes, Leaving a pub, being stalked by a knife welding maniac, and staged screams, with blood splattering against a brick wall.
One would hope that future film makers will use more inititive, and actually use the advice from the handful of Historical advisors[ who we all know] in a more authentic format.
Regards Richard.

[macknnc]

Well I like the film..and I think Depp is a great actor...it was a good[I]story[I] but terrible history...I don't agree with its conculdsions, or it's resolution.

An accurate drama of the last half of 1888 in Whitechapel would be a dark but compelling movie, granted, but I think its' box office would be pretty low...after all..none of the real women were exactly "hot' by modern standards...even Mary Kelly...though admittedly the only photos we have of them are the death pictures...

Basically though, a better JTR movie was Michael Caine's centennial effort...though again, not totally accurate...

[Red Zeppelin]

I think an accurate gritty and horrific re-telling without silly overblown plots would actually be successful and might do well enough. If it looks and feels real then that could be a refreshing bonus for a change.

After all, From Hell was hardly a blockbuster.

I don't think it's fair to say overblown conspiracy sells. A good film would bring in the punters regardless of whether it had a lack of silly fantasy plots.

[Nothing to see]

From Hell was a beautiful looking film. Sets, costumes, cinematography were all spot on.

What a pity the story stank as bad as it did. Abberline would be spinning in his grave. And the same old, same old Stephen Knight BS about the Masons.
And Sir William Gull. And the rest.

I agree. The Michael Caine version which was the same old BS at least had a real Englishman as Abberline. Fred wasn't a Cockney but at least he knew where London was.

[clark2710]

Well i think that it makes a few leaps and yeah focuses more on one theory than the others which disappointed me, i would've liked to see it go in many directions, and maybe have a cream, chapman, or royal conspiracy going on while all the while the murders are happening, very difficult to do and keep the audience focused but not impossible i'm sure, i'm not an expert. i like Johnny Depp and i liked the movie all around but said and done for someone NOT familiar with the case and this is the first they're hearing or seeing of it, it's a great story as the movie presents but it falls a bit short.
But again as you said it is a good movie in itself

[sdreid]

To answer the question specifically, yes it is true to the murders as a rule. It is not true to much anything else regarding the case however.

[kensei]

Was just reviewing this thread and what I wrote nearly a year ago in post #31 about Depp and the highly imaginative characters he so often plays. The Riddler rumor about the next Batman movie is now firmly discounted, but he is said to be playing the vampire Barnabas Collins in a Tim Burton reboot of "Dark Shadows" some time soon. Hmmm, wonder what Burton would do with Jack the Ripper...

[FredAbberline'sBeloved]

I think From Hell is a fantastic movie about Jack The Ripper! The cast was superb! I also think that it did a good job at telling the audience about Jack The Ripper. I'm also a huge Johnny Depp fan so that probably has something to do with it! "This ain't killin' for profit. This is ritual." -Frederick Abberline

[TomTomKent]

Was just reviewing this thread and what I wrote nearly a year ago in post #31 about Depp and the highly imaginative characters he so often plays. The Riddler rumor about the next Batman movie is now firmly discounted, but he is said to be playing the vampire Barnabas Collins in a Tim Burton reboot of "Dark Shadows" some time soon. Hmmm, wonder what Burton would do with Jack the Ripper...

He would probably stay about as close to the Ripper Mythology as he did to the Batman Mythology (you know, those small changes he made... Batman killing several people, using machine guns and missiles on his plane to try and kill the Joker, getting the Joker so wrong he might as well have credited Jack Nicholson as "himself") or The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (do NOT get me started). Or Planet of the Apes where... Ach you get the same idea.

[FredAbberline'sBeloved]

I think Tim Burton did an awesome job on Sleepy Hollow! But that's just my opinion. "Each to his own". -Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp; Sleepy Hollow)

[kensei]

Sleepy Hollow, Batman, or any other cherished work of fiction that a director radically alters is in one category, and still possible to enjoy as just a bit of dramatic license. But doing the same to a true story is in quite another. The Jack the Ripper case is wide open for filmmakers to explore different theories, but to ignore and change established facts? "From Hell" should not have done that. I mean, does a century gone by make it unimportant that you are dealing with the lives of real people?