Jack the Ripper (1988)
Genre: Mystery / Drama
Duration:
182 minuten (mini series, 2 parts)
Country:
United Kingdom
Directed by: David Wickes
Stars: Michael Caine, Lewis Collins and Jane Seymour
IMDb score:
7,4 (6.289)
Releasedate: 11 October 1988
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Jack the Ripper plot
"The hunt is on for the world's most infamous diabolical murderer."
Well-known story, set in London, 1888, where serial killer Jack the Ripper terrorizes the streets by murdering prostitutes. Inspector Abberline (Michael Caine) is assigned to investigate, but soon discovers that there is more to the murders than previously believed. The film pretends to tell the 'real' story behind Jack the Ripper based on secret documents.
Actors and actresses
Inspector Frederick Abberline
Emma
Sergeant George Godley
Richard Mansfield
Robert James Lees
Catherine Eddowes
Coroner Wynne Baxter
Mary Jane Kelly
Reviews & comments
Ebenezer Scrooge
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- 2150 messages
- 3092 votes
This film/series was broadcast on television in 1988, exactly one hundred years after the world-famous Whitechapel murders in London. I was blown away. The next day I immediately rushed to the library and borrowed all the books that could be found about the phenomenon of Jack the Ripper. The librarian who was presented with the stack of books in front of her was slightly shocked by all this brutal violence at her circulation desk, but after a very deep sigh she stamped everything for me anyway...
Michael Caine is doing well as Inspector Frederick Abberline. Mixing the Ripper legend with the play Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde which was performed at the Lyceum Theater in London that year and was a great success and adding a medium who has visions of the murders adds even more tension to the already grim story. The special effects look stunningly good; watch Dr Jekyll transform into Mr Hyde on stage!
Downside: it all looks a bit too neat and clean. I want to see more filth: poverty, rotten teeth, mourning nails, worn-out faces, sick people, crippled people, barefoot children, hunchbacks, beggars, crowds, noise, screaming street vendors, street fights..
Translated from Dutch · View original
Dievegge
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- 3181 messages
- 8240 votes
One hundred years after the murders of Jack the Ripper, this miniseries about the most notorious of all serial killers was published. The screenwriters have thoroughly studied the historical sources, but still added a dose of fantasy to make it an exciting crime mystery. Rain, fog, gas lanterns, carriages, brothels and dark alleys evoke the grim atmosphere of East London in the Victorian Era.
The detectives really existed. The suspects are a colorful mix: a fortune teller, an actor, three doctors, a coachman, a communist rioter and a member of the royal family. The theater performance of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde introduces the possibility that it concerns someone with multiple personality. There are many theories about the identity of Jack the Ripper, and this is one of them.
With his stiffness and Cockney accent, Michael Caine was the ideal man for the leading role. Bond girl Jane Seymour plays the fictional mistress with the auburn hair. Hugh Fraser, known as Hastings in Poirot, plays the mustached commissioner of Scotland Yard. Susan George, known for Straw Dogs and Tales of the Unexpected, plays one of the victims. There is much to discuss about its historical reliability, but in any case it is a nail-biter.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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