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?

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.

I came across this picture on Hallowe'en this year, when a DVD copy of it was being sold with "The Guardian". Having gotten familiar with Jack the Ripper earlier this year doing a play about him, I found the idea of the infamous serial killer in a movie with Micheal Caine irresistible. I wasn't disappointed.The film shows the investigation of the famous killings in 1888, in the Whitechapel district in the East End of London. When a spate of apparently motiveless prostitute killings start bloodying the streets of Whitechapel, the local constabulary find themselves powerless. They call in Scotland Yard who send in their best detective Frederick Abberline (Caine) who pursues the case with a ruthless tenacity in the face of rising corpses and mounting public pressure...It is actually quite an effective piece of film-making, even on a television budget. The streets of Victorian London are captured well on screen, Caine gives his customary brilliant performance and he is surrounded by a very strong supporting cast, including Lewis Collins as his assistant Godley, Ken Bones as crazed psychic Robert Lees and Ray McAnally as the Queen's doctor Sir William Gull. Armand Assante as stage actor Richard Mansfield and Jayne Seymour as the lover of both him and Abberline give great performances.Without giving too much away, the film's theory as to the identity of the killer and the reason the case has been marked unsolved is actually a highly plausible one and the build-up to it is suspensefully enacted. The film does well to show Abberline's thought processes as he breaks down the logically how the killer operates.Better than the more slickly polished Johnny Depp effort "From Hell" (which arrives at similar conclusions to this one), this is definitely a must-see for all the Jack the Ripper buffs out there. Case closed.

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.