Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Jack The Ripper (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Jack The Ripper (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review



    Released by: Severin Films
    Released on: January 15th, 2018.
    Directed by: Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman
    Cast: Lee Patterson, Eddie Byrne, Betty McDowall, Ewen Solon
    Year: 1959
    Purchase From Amazon

    Jack The Ripper - Movie Reviews:

    Set in the Whitechapel district of London's east end in the 1800's, Jack The Ripper - the killer, not the movie that is named after him (or her)! - has been reliably slicing and dicing women of the night in the back alleys and slums of the neighborhood long enough to set the public on edge. The cops are seen as useless, as are the local politicians, and there are those who feel the only reliable way to deal with this killer is to take justice into their own hands. After all, since Jack is primarily focusing on prostitutes, why should the cops even care?

    But some of them do. Scotland Yard's Inspector O'Neill (Eddie Byrne) teams up with a detective from New York City named Sam Lowry (Lee Patterson), who is really only supposed to be there as an observer. When they get info from Sir David Rogers (Ewen Solon), the doctor who has performed the autopsy on Jack's latest victim, indicating that the wounds show they may have in fact been carried out by a surgeon, the case starts to heat up. Dr. Tranter (John Le Mesurier) soon finds himself a suspect, as do Dr. Urquhart (Garard Green) and his mute assistant Benz (Endre Muller), O'Neill and Lowry do their best to catch the killer before there's another murder, and soon find themselves relying on help from a young woman named Ann Ford (Betty McDowall), who just so happens to have a connection to Tranter…

    While this was clearly made on a low budget and if the identity of the killer isn't particularly hard to figure out, Jack The Ripper nevertheless makes for a pretty entertaining watch. The film ran afoul of the censors in the U.K. when first released but even here, in an admittedly trimmed version, it's still pretty strong stuff for a British film of this vintage. Some of the killings are nastier than you'll probably expect. There are a few pacing issues and stretches of dialogue that go on longer than they need to, but the movie has solid atmosphere, particularly when the action takes us out into the dimly lit, shadowy streets of London.

    Written by Jimmy Sangster, the man responsible for penning quite a few Hammer classics like The Horror Of Dracula and The Curse Of Frankenstein to name only a few, the movie features decent performances from the leads. Eddie Byrne, of Island Of Terror (and Star Wars!), and Lee Patterson of Chato's Land, make a pretty decent team here. If nothing else, they're likeable enough. Betty McDowell, who was a prolific British television actress in addition to doing films, doesn't have all that much charisma but she's serviceable enough here while Garard Green does a nice bit of scenery chewing.

    Note that this Blu-ray release from Severin Films includes the U.K. version of the movie as well as the U.S. version. There are interesting differences between the two cuts, with the U.S. version running four-minutes longer than the eighty-one-minute U.K. cut of the film. The scores are completely different between the two films and the opening titles are also different.

    Jack The Ripper - Blu-ray Review:

    Severin Films presents both versions of Jack The Ripper on a 50GB disc, with the UK version using up just under 17GBs of space and the U.S. version just under 16GBs of space. Both transfers are presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition.

    The UK version of the film comes with the following disclaimer:

    All of the original film elements on every version of Jack the Ripper are currently lost. This cut of the film is technically the closet to the director's cut despite some instances of censorship at the hands of the BBFC. It also features the filmmaker approved score by Stanley Black. This master was created around 2005 via an HD telecine. This master was matted at 1.33:1 for reasons unknown.

    Despite the framing, the transfer here is quite good. There's some noticeable wear and tear here and there but the image is generally pretty strong with good detail and fine contrast, though occasionally a bit on the soft side. Black levels are nice and the image has a reasonable amount of depth to it. The transfer is free of noise reduction or edge enhancement and there are no obvious compression issues to note.

    The U.S. version of the film also comes with a disclaimer, which reads:

    Distributor/showman Joseph E. Levine released the film stateside after introducing a few creative tweaks, not the least of which was a whole new score by Jimmy McHugh and Pete Rugolo. This new 2k scan was created from a 1960 release print on loan from the Library of Congress film archive and is presented in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio.

    This transfer is also perfectly watchable, sometimes, again, looking soft but generally just fine.

    Each cut of film on this disc is given the LPCM 2.0 Mono treatment, in English. Optional subtitles are provided for the U.K. version only. Audio quality is fine for the most part, but again the U.K. version has a bit cleaner of a mix to it. Regardless, for both options the levels are fine and any hiss or distortion that does creep into the mix is minimal.

    Extras start off with an audio commentary track from co-director/co-producer/co-cinematographer Robert S. Baker, assistant director Peter Manley and screenwriter Jimmy Sangster (who passed away a few years ago, indicating that this track was recorded long before this release was announced) that is moderated by author Marcus Hearn. It's an interesting talk that provides plenty of historical context for both the film and the murders that inspired it. Sangster is pretty open about the fact that he wasn't all that concerned with writing a historically accurate picture, while Baker and Manley share some interesting anecdotes about censorship issues, where the picture was shot and what it was like working with the different cast and crew members. Lots of good background information here, it's a lively talk and a pretty engaging listen.

    Denis Meikle On Jack The Ripper is an eleven-minute featurette in which the author of Jack The Ripper: The Murders And The Movies and quite a few other books shares some information about the real life murders that took place in Whitechapel, cinematic adaptations of the events that came before and after this picture, research that's been done on the case over the years and books that have been written about it. This ties in nicely with the fourteen-minute Gentleman Jack: The Whitechapel Murders Revisited, wherein we learn more about the events that inspired the picture and the effects that it had on the populace of London at the time. Both of these are well put together and genuinely interesting pieces worth taking the time to watch.

    Rounding out the extras is a trailer for the feature, a still gallery, menus and chapter selection.

    Jack The Ripper - The Final Word:

    Jack The Ripper is a solid slice of vintage British horror and suspense. It's easy to see how this would have been quite shocking in its day and, if a little less controversial now than in its prime, the movie is still an entertaining picture. Severin Films has done a nice job bringing the picture to Blu-ray with a solid presentation, an alternate version and a few other extra features that add context and historical information on both the film and the case that inspired it. Recommended.

    Click on the images below for full sized Jack The Ripper Blu-ray screen caps!

















































      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Quality X
      Released on: February 28th, 2024.
      Director: Chuck Vincent
      Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
      Year: 1982
      Purchase From Amazon

      Roommates – Movie Review:

      Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
    • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Radiance Films
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
      Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
      Year: 1969-1972
      Purchase From Amazon

      The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

      Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
      ...
      03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
    • Nemesis (MVD Rewind Collection) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: MVD Rewind Collection
      Released on: January 8th, 2019.
      Director: Albert Pyun
      Cast: Olivier Gruner, Jennifer Gatti, Tim Thomerson
      Year: 1992
      Purchase From Amazon

      Nemesis – Movie Review:

      Albert Pyun's 1992 film Nemesis takes place in the future of 2027. Here it's common for criminals and cops alike to ‘upgrade' themselves using cybernetic bits and pieces in an effort to make themselves more than human. In this world
      ...
      03-13-2024, 11:22 AM
    • Bloodmoon (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Severin Films
      Released on: February 1st, 2024.
      Director: Alec Mills
      Cast: Leon Lissek, Christine Amor, Helen Thomson, Ian Williams
      Year: 1990
      Purchase From Amazon

      Bloodmoon – Movie Review:

      The directorial debut of Alec Mills, the cinematographer on such films as Polanski’s MacBeth and Return Of The Jedi, 1990’s Bloodmoon, a later period slasher film, is set around St. Elizabeth’s, an all-girls Catholic School
      ...
      03-07-2024, 03:55 PM
    • The Shining (Scream Factory) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Scream Factory
      Released on: March 12th, 2024.
      Director: Mick Garris
      Cast: Steven Weber, Rebecca De Mornay, Melvin Van Peebles, Courtland Mead
      Year: 1997
      Purchase From Amazon

      The Shining – Movie Review:

      Stephen King somewhat famously didn’t like Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his novel, The Shining, so he signed on to work with Director Mick Garris on this three-part TV mini-series take which hit the airwaves
      ...
      03-07-2024, 03:50 PM
    • Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny (Shout! Factory) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Shout! Factory
      Released on: February 13th, 2024.
      Director: Liam Lynch
      Cast: Jack Black, Kyle Gass
      Year: 2006
      Purchase From Amazon

      Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny – Movie Review:

      Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny opens with a prologue where we meet a young man named Jables (JB, played by Jack Black) who, despite his strict religious upbringing, only wants to rock n roll. When his father tears down all of his posters
      ...
      02-29-2024, 06:17 PM
    Working...
    X