If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This made for television movie tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the famous, real-life case of Jack the Ripper, the murderer who slaughtered prostitutes in Victorian London and neatly removed their internal organs. The film concentrates on a detective's investigation into the murders and therefore cannot be missed by any self-respecting mystery fan, as it's an above average and taut thriller with lots of star performances and a nicely portrayed Victorian London, complete with pea-soup fog, cobbled streets, and lurking figures in black cloaks.The cast is populated by British actors and actresses, even though the film is an American production. Just about everybody you've ever seen in British television and film turns, there are just too many names to list: Ray McAnally, Michael Gothard, Susan George, Harry Andrews...the list goes on. It's Michael Caine, though, who steals the spotlight with his portrayal of a dogged detective (also an alcoholic, way before Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger picked up the bottle in their films). Some people have called his performance hammy, well maybe it is, but it's entertaining anyway. I mean, who wants to watch subdued actors who don't give it all they've got? Unfortunately Jane Seymour turns up as the obligatory love interest, and the less said about her performance, the better. On the other hand, Ken Bones is a wonderfully neurotic clairvoyant, and Armand Assante does a wonderful transformation from Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde before our very eyes with the aid of some prosthetics (and he isn't afraid to be ridiculed when it turns out he's bald). Assante's performance is nicely slimy.I would go so far to say that this could be a definitive portrayal of the Ripper murders. It's not perfect by any means, for a start there are too many red herrings and people get blamed for the murders just for the sheer sake of it. Also, the whole city of London is far too clean and respectable, nobody is smoking or taking drugs, difficult to believe but merely a product of the political correctness of our time (but altering an audience's perspective of the Victorian era just to comply with modern day issues? It's a fact that people smoked, there's no point trying to deny it and this omission just makes the producers look ridiculous).On the plus side there is oodles of suspense, plenty of atmosphere, and good and assured performances from a distinguished cast. The film may run for slightly too long (it goes on for about three and a half hours) but I can say that I didn't get bored while watching any of it, as Caine had me riveted throughout. The actual gore content is kept low, but a brief flash of a room where a prostitute has been dismembered and parts of her body are draped everywhere is very unsettling.

I remember watching this miniseries on TV in the late 1980s and being enthralled with it then. This is one of those movies/shows/whatever where IMHO everything just comes together perfectly - the casting, the dialogue, the costumes and sets, everything. It really helps one feel immersed in the settings and involved in the scenes like a bystander to the events.I remember that there were some alternate theories/endings shown on the last night of the miniseries. If I remember right, there was a panel of experts involved that postulated their theory as to who the killer was. Then they showed the other alternative endings wherein the other suspects were accused, etc. Anybody know if those alternate endings are available on the DVD?

This is the best detective movie I've seen so far. It such a mystery and complicated crime to solve every plot every scene it making me nervous. This movie taught me that the most terified thing in this world is people. It the story that base on true story about an aspector trying to caught jack that murder lady at night by cutting them and the end he ripped and wrote aletter on wall ''jack the ripper'' after watching this movie it making me want to be an detective this case ''jack the ripper'' could not solve until nowsday it still in mystery case. I highly recommend thst you guy should watch this movie because it make you feel smart and you also solve the crime during watching the movie.

"For over 100 years the murders in Whitechapel committed by Jack the Ripper have baffled the World. What you are about to see is a dramatisation of these events. Our story is based on extensive research, including a review of the official files by special permission of the Home Office and interviews with leading criminologists and Scotland Yard officials."Jack The Ripper is produced out of Euston Films and is directed by David Wickes who also co-wrote it with Derek Marlowe. Released to coincide with the 100 years anniversary of the murders, it stars Michael Caine (Frederick Abberline), Armand Assante (Richard Mansfield), Ray McAnally (Sir William Gull), Lewis Collins (Sgt. George Godley), Ken Bones (Robert James Lees), Susan George (Catherine 'Kate' Eddowes) & Jane Seymour (Emma Prentiss). Originally released as a TV mini-series in the United Kingdom, Jack The Ripper has long since been available to view as a three hour ten minute movie. Every second of which is worth sitting thru. For his story Wickes uses actual historical characters that were involved in the 1888 hunt for the notorious killer. Drawing heavily from the Masonic/Royal Family conspiracy theory that has been used before in tellings of the story (notably the film Murder By Decree born out of Thomas E. A. Stowell's theory), Wickes boldly proclaimed to be revealing the true identity of the Ripper. Something that unsurprisingly he was forced to recant, but regardless of that, this is a glorious telling, meticulous in detail and providing much food for thought.In amongst the grizzly murders and the fraught search for the killer by the exasperated police, Wickes' movie fully forms the other issues to hand. Such as the role of the press during this dark time and why was George Lusk leading vigilante's across Whitechapel? The Government and Royal Family aspects are given screen time because that's how high the issue went. The pressure on Abberline from his superiors is told in full, as the murders start to escalate and Abberline runs up against questionable assistance during the investigation, his anger grows. We are with him every step of the way. The prostitutes aren't merely Ripper fodder characters either, we at least meet them, understand them, even seeing the role of the "pimp" in Victorian England. It's good stuff, well researched.Technically, for a TV movie, its production value is very high. Great sets that bring to life Victorian England (the exteriors were actually shot in Belper, Derbyshire), the costumes catch the eye and the cast are hugely effective. Particularly Caine (throwing himself into the role) and Assante (switching his character's emotional state regularly with consummate ease). We also get the chill factor too, something that's needed in a film of such dark thematics. As the street girls walk alone in dimly lit cobbled streets, the air of unease is palpable. Then a silhouette of the man with the hat, cloak and bag brings a cold shiver down the spine. Witness to the sequences involving the play Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a nice put in to the plot by the writers, and one that provides genuinely creepy moments. It's a top film that has so much going for it.There will be other Jack The Ripper film's no doubt, and for sure more books will arrive proclaiming this and that is true. But with this take, if you buy into the theory or not, is probably as good as it gets for detail and execution of the material. 9/10