For all its faults, this is likely to remain the definitive "straight" account on the screen of the notorious Jack the Ripper murders. It's a handsome production (the era has been reconstructed with loving care, the production design is majestic), but a little flat; while it avoids overt sensationalism, it's also a bit short on atmosphere and (for a 190-minute running time) suspense. It's structured like a (speculative) whodunit, and it will keep you guessing right to the end. Michael Caine heads a fine, mostly British cast (I even saw Hugh - Hastings - Fraser in there!). **1/2 out of 4.

Superior to both the Kinski mass-gore version and the more recent Johnny Depp attempt, Michael Caine is wonderfully cast as the non conformist, alcoholic Inspector Abberline, a local hero whose unreliable nature is kept in check by his faithful Sergeant, George Godley (Collins, in his best role to date outside of "The Professionals"). The length of this mini-series shouldn't deter you; there's substantial content, and enough sub-plots to maintain the momentum.Of course the identity of the infamous Jack the Ripper is core to this rendition, and much of the narrative focuses on a discreet few suspects, who are variably implicated or exonerated as the investigation progresses. The supporting cast is an ideal mix of experience (McAnally, Seymour, Assante, Gothard and George) and new faces (Lysette Anthony and George Sweeney in particular). Sweeney's characterisation of the carriage-driver John Netley is chilling, while Ken Bones as the royal clairvoyant who "sees" the villain's two faces, adds a clever dimension that is perhaps both indicative of the historical context and yet, just as applicable in more contemporary manhunts of this ilk. Either or, it's a boon for this picture.The sequence of events is already known, and so details become the essence of the picture, with Abberline and Godley painstakingly deconstructing each new murder with clinical precision, but with 19th century know-how. Consequently, the victims continue to fall and pressure soon mounts on the administration to capture the predator, as social uprising begins to shake the aristocracy from its precarious perch. Without alluding to the identity of the culprit (according to this version), it's a very satisfying climax built on compounding suspense and perfect timing. The haunting score is excellent, so too the sets and costumes, and the dialogue is unpretentious and at times, highly amusing as intended.Overall, I found this epic (three hours) to be well paced, scary, intelligent and exciting to the last drop. In my opinion, the best Ripper translation to date. Highly recommended.

Last Friday June 20, Jack the ripper was free with the Irish Daily Mail.Not a bad DVD as a freebie and the transfer is spot on.I remember watching it on TV when it was first released. Yes Michael does ham it up but thats what he does. As a mini-series it has aged well, given that its 20 years old. On matters of the Ripper, "Murder By Decree" with Christopher Plummer as Holmes is the best of the bunch albeit that it is factional. The old deerstalker hat was never seen round whitechapel.Back to Jack the Ripper, the Jane Seymour character doesn't seem to serve any purpose apart from providing a love interest for Michael Caine. Lewis Collins is pretty good and Armand Assante is suitably bewitching as Mansfield the actor with his cape.

It is very rarely that I rate something 10/10. However, after watching the DVD for the zillionith time today I can't describe how much I enjoy this production. Putting aside who you think Jack the Ripper was, 'Jack The Ripper' is lavish, colourful and lively, and easily beats some of the cinema's Jack The Ripper Films.Michael Caine is great as lead Detective, Abberline. Being from London himself he slipped easily into the role of the main Detetctive. I also like that it's hinted that he is a alcoholic. It's good to see in some scenes that he beats the temptation to dive into the bottle, even when the case gets really rough. Lewis Collins, as his sidekick, Godley was marvellous also and I don't know if the men got on in real life, but they certainly gelled together extremely well on the screen and their characters were close too. Lysette Anthony was a gem as Mary Kelly, and Susan George played Kathy Eddows with consideration and sensitivity.The Whitechapel set is brilliant and I love how they don't go OTT on the famous misty appearance as on none of the nights of the real murders was London covered in fog. It's very convincing and in fact, is superior to the set used for 'From Hell'. The costumes were accurate a joy to watch.I liked how the murders were treated with sensitivity, and the murder scenes were not over the top in gore.One aspect of the film that did not work well and which slowed the production down was the affair between Abberline and Emma Prentice (Jane Seymour) the official artists for the newspaper that was in the film, 'The Star'. I found the scenes not always unnecessary but it slowed the film down to a plod and it's hard to believe that a woman from the upper class such as Emma would even mix with someone like Abberline, let alone bed him which she did in the film, although thankfully it was only shown briefly.The whole drama was full of suspense and the ending, where a fake murder was set up was high in tension and on first viewing was excellent. You get a choice of four or five men who, just before this fake murder is due to happen, all leave their places of work dressed in dark clothes carrying parcels which could be the famous Gladstone bag that the Ripper supposedly kept his knives in. Each man is a potential Ripper, but when you see who the Ripper is, it's cleverly filmed so that you realise it was none of the men put forward as suspects.I would highly recommend this drama. It's four hours long or thereabouts but is very enjoyable. You can get two versions in the UK on DVD. A normal straight forward version, and one with extra's on. I'd go for the latter as it has a great lot of footage showing the production before Micheal Caine was hired when Barry Foster was Abberline.Over all a good, historical piece of drama. In my mind it far outweighs 'From Hell' which follows the same story line. If I had the choice of the two, (dispite Johnny Depp being in 'From Hell'), I'd choose Jack the Ripper every time.