Jack the Ripper (1959) on Blu-ray

[YomRippur]

The 1959 blank-and-white British horror-whodunit film "Jack the Ripper" was released on a special edition Blu-ray last year (product page). But it was sold out before much of the public had even heard of it (maybe that was why there had been no threads here). It was made in a limited quantity of 1500 copies, put on sale on last year's Black Friday, sold out that very day, put on sale again last week for some leftover copies, and again sold out that day.

The Blu-ray comes with 3 versions of the film: the British, the US, and the continental European versions. Sadly, only the US version has watchable picture quality (similar in quality to the Amazon Prime streaming version). The US version also has one shot in color, which is thankfully retained here. The continental version looks the worst (like a duped VHS copy), and sadly, it is this version that has all the frontal nudity.

The film is pretty good for a B-grade, Hammer-esque thriller yarn. The motive for the murders, as shown in the film, is completely laughable, as expected in this kind of affairs. But I was happy to see a RARE defense of doctors in films like these that almost always scapegoat the doctors. The defense was made by a doctor who, upon hearing accusations against doctors by a detective, immediately opened up his surgery bag, showed the knifes inside, and said sarcastically, "Well, here are my knives! Arrest me, why don't you!"

[barnflatwyngarde]

The 1959 blank-and-white British horror-whodunit film "Jack the Ripper" was released on a special edition Blu-ray last year (product page). But it was sold out before much of the public had even heard of it (maybe that was why there had been no threads here). It was made in a limited quantity of 1500 copies, put on sale on last year's Black Friday, sold out that very day, put on sale again last week for some leftover copies, and again sold out that day.

The Blu-ray comes with 3 versions of the film: the British, the US, and the continental European versions. Sadly, only the US version has watchable picture quality (similar in quality to the Amazon Prime streaming version). The US version also has one shot in color, which is thankfully retained here. The continental version looks the worst (like a duped VHS copy), and sadly, it is this version that has all the frontal nudity.

The film is pretty good for a B-grade, Hammer-esque thriller yarn. The motive for the murders, as shown in the film, is completely laughable, as expected in this kind of affairs. But I was happy to see a RARE defense of doctors in films like these that almost always scapegoat the doctors. The defense was made by a doctor who, upon hearing accusations against doctors by a detective, immediately opened up his surgery bag, showed the knifes inside, and said sarcastically, "Well, here are my knives! Arrest me, why don't you!"

I remember seeing this years ago ( can't remember the details).

It's great that old cultish movies are being resurrected.

[sdreid]

I never held the film in high regard but the scene in what amounts to Kelly's room looks pretty accurate. Either they were good guessers or they saw some of the photos that hadn't been released yet.

[YomRippur]

I never held the film in high regard but the scene in what amounts to Kelly's room looks pretty accurate. Either they were good guessers or they saw some of the photos that hadn't been released yet.

If you are thinking what I think is the scene you are referring to, then I don't see much resemblance. In the film, the victim lives on the second floor, and her apartment is fairly well-furnished, even with a separate bathroom (which will later be used as someone's hiding place). Maybe you are thinking of another JTR film.

[Robert]

"Mary Clark" appeared in this song, released after the film :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_20H2c2ebQ

[DJA]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWOovDkdZ8I

[YomRippur]

This Blu-ray is back in print, but only in a one-disc edition that is missing the European version of the film. You can order it at the manufacturer's website or at Amazon. This is a Region A/B Blu-ray.

[YomRippur]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWOovDkdZ8I

Watching films on Youtube is well and good, but some of these have copyright protection, and the uploaders often had to alter the films to evade Youtube's copyright detection. I've seen films that were cropped, flipped left and right, and even artificially blurred by the uploaders to the point that not only the picture quality is unwatchable, but you also don't get to see the real thing.

[DJA]

Couldn't agree more.
Purchased many TV series and westerns from that era on DVD.
Was not impressed by the film which was fairly popular here in Oz for a coupla days due to the female lead being an Aussie.Meh.Free sample for prospective purchasers.
Like air,it's free . You apparently watch a lot of them for some reason.