Which Ripper movie is the best?!

[richardnunweek]

Hi,
I have no favourite Ripper Film, as I have yet to see one that actually comes across as convincing , either in period portrayal, or casting authenticity.
We all have the impression that in 1888, everyone in the East end of London , was on the streets begging, or staggering out of inns, all the women being on the game.
True to some extent, but London is a major city, and even today we have the above apply.
The fact is men did work, albeit more casually then today, women also worked, yes sure people drank[ whats new], and prostitution existed, but like in any city right through to modern times, life is never easy.
But I doubt if the london of 1888 has accurately been captured on any film production to date, only what suits the director.
Regards Richard.

[Stephen Thomas]

The best JTR film is The Elephant Man.

Despite havng no JTR content .

Here's 'Katy' in Man in the Attic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynbe3M3OXW0&feature=related

[TomTomKent]

Does Jack D Ripper in Doctor Strangelove count?

If not 1988 mini Series, for being watchable as a film if not for being, you know... accurate. It appears that the guys writing the script thought the story was a little far fetched, so they went for the more dramatic elements.

From Hell SHOULD have been a great TV series of about twelve forty five minute episodes on prime time HBO but instead was turned into a rather messy film that missed the point of the book by a few hundred country miles. (Feel free to copy and paste that description for a lot of films adapting Alan Moore comics though. There is a whole new circle of hell being prepared for the people who mangled League of Extrordinary Gentlemen)

So...er... if there is a catagory for "so bad it's great" Ripperfilm, can I nominate the Bridge through Time? I mean come on. Jack the Ripper haunting a bridge? And the Met adopting firearms squads a hundred years early? How can that NOT make you smile wryly?

[Miss Mae]

I watched a movie many years ago, and for the life of me, I can't recall the title. It was fiction, but what it was about was that H.G. Wells had really built a time machine, and he used it to come to the future, --our present time-- (which was in the 1980's, I think). But the thing was, Jack found the machine, used it to escape London police, and wound up in OUR time. It was an incredibly suspenseful movie.

Just wish I could recall the title! LOL

[SaraCarter33]

I choose the tv movie 1988, and i was a kid at the time, and i remember i went to bed scared to death after watching it. i like from hell but i like the 1988 tv movie the best.

[Christine1932]

Jack the Ripper (1988), Murder by decree, Time after time.
From Hell is too much "we have street credibility yea, see how camera lingers on butchered victims" garbage, but otherwise it looked very good. Then there´s Hammer´s toothsome twosome, Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde (!) where split duo being guilty of Whitechapel murders - hey, is that any crazier than From Hell! - and Hands of the Ripper about Jack´s daughter!
Great poll, BTW.

[Miss Mae]

Yes, "Time After Time"!! Thank you, Christine!

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

Well, the nicest thing on this poll is the number of "Some other, what?!"

Thank you, folks!

All the best
Jukka

[Christine1932]

Yes, "Time After Time"!! Thank you, Christine!

No problem, ,Miss Mae!

[Jonathan H]

In my opinion, there has never been a decent movie made specifically about the Whitechapel Murders.

The awful 'From Hell' managed to be both tedious and offensive, and was understandably a critical and commercial flop. 'Murder by Decree' is not as grotesque but still a limp noodle, whilst the pedestrian TV series, 'Jack the Ripper', showcased the worst performance of Michael Caine's long and uneven career.

In terms of the Ripper being used as a character in other stories and genres then the best 'Jack' by a long, long country mile is David Warners' dissolute yet magnetic physician in TIME AFTER TIME (1979) who feels right at home in the next century's killing fields.

Nicholas Myer's movie, which did indifferent business and was only a minor critical success in its day, is not only superb, it also anticipated by about a decade, the coming centrality in the zeitgeist of the serial killer -- thanks to Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

Anthony Hopkins was justly celebrated for creating such a chillingly diabolical fiend; one who could be charming and erudite, and then in the next moment gnawing his way into somebody's face.

Yet much of what made that performance so effective was all there in Warner's, as Dr John Stevenson, twelve years previously.

Also, if we broaden the definition of a 'Jack' dramatization to one which exploits the Macnaghten/Griffiths/Sims' Edwardian paradigm about the Ripper; of the English gentleman with a hidden, bestial side -- Dr Jekyll without the sci-fi potion -- then 'The Silence of the Lambs' and 'American Psycho' qualify as excellent 'Ripper' movies. True, Lecter and Patrick Bateman are American monsters yet both are played by sleek Brits.

Thus we come full circle to Michael Caine again, who gave a great, memorably sly and creepy performance in Brian De Palma's "Dressed To Kill" (1980) another movie about a mad medico which would certainly qualify under this broader definition. That's the authentic Caine-Ripper movie and its an absolute scary delight!

[lynn cates]

alternate

Hello Jonathan. The younger generation has forgotten about Baker and Berman's "Jack the Ripper" (late 50's). It is mostly an adaptation of the Dr. Stanley story. Rather touching in places.

Cheers.
LC

[The Grave Maurice]

I was just re-watching B & B's JtR the other evening. The leads are rather weak but the British supporting cast, including John Le Mesurier, delivers the usual very competent performances. All in all, the film holds up pretty well. You can still buy a copy on the Sinister Cinema website:

http://store.sinistercinema.com/prostores/servlet/Detail?no=16266

[lynn cates]

right

Hello Grave. Right. And the "stick-in-the-mud" Brit vs "dashing, innovative" Yank angle was a bit overplayed. But, as you say, the supporting cast was great.

Cheers.
LC

[belinda]

Murder By Decree deserves a mention it is very well done.

[The Grave Maurice]

So, on an evening when the wife and I should have been out in the garden doing damage to the weeds, it was raining so much that we had to stay in. Instead, I talked her into watching A Study in Terror, and, you aren't going to believe it, but she actually liked it---and this is a woman who has absolutely no interest in our favourite topic.

The movie was, in fact, much better than I remembered it. A lot of excellent exterior shots, most of which, unless I'm badly mistaken, were done south of the river; but even the studio sets were quite good. Neville and Houston did very well as H & W. I had completely forgotten that Judi Dench had a bit part in it. And I wish that Barbara Windsor's bit had lasted longer. I thought she was quite good.

Plot, history, costumes---all completely wrong. Still, if my girl liked it, then I think we can all safely show this to our significant others, just to start them off.