The Ripper

As a Police Officer I have always been intrigued by unsolved murders. When some one mentions unsolved murders the "White Chapel" murders attributed to "Jack the Ripper" comes to mind.

Though this film "The Ripper" is highly fictionalized, what it lacks in facts it more than makes up in acting, and authenticity in details of the period.

Patrick Bergin, and Gabrielle Anwar portray the parts of Scotland Yard Police inspector, and former prostitute , to perfection. More than a crime story It is about the relationship which develops between Bergin (the police inspector) and Anwar(a former prostitute ) . Anwar has left prostitution behind, and is by that time working in a factory. Her life takes a turn when she witnesses one of the murders, but is reluctant to come forward because of the way she's treated by most of the police. Bergin unlike the others gives her police protection, and the two eventually become romantically involved.

What made this film great was the way that the inequities of the Victorian era is portrayed. All from the separation of the classes. To the scenery, and last but not least the Superb acting of the cast.

If you're looking for historical facts about the "White Chapel Murders" this film is not for you. But if you can watch this film keeping in mind that it is not a documentary , or historical epic, and that the writer used extensive "creative license" then you must see it.

Not blazingly original, but still a well made film about the infamous Ripper murders. The cast is good, Bergin and Anwar are excellent and West is perfectly cast. Costuming, atmosphere and the like are up to big screen standards. Events and characters are modified a little for dramatic purposes, so true blue Ripper enthusiasts might find fault, but recommended for fans of Victorian period movies and general thriller/mysteries.

In 1888, in London, a prostitute is slaughtered on the street. The Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Jim Hansen (Patrick Bergin) is in charge of the investigation and realizes that the killer is a person with skill in dissection. Hansen belongs to the lower class and aspires to socially climb. Soon there are other murders and the ex-prostitute Florry Lewis (Gabrielle Anwar) witnesses the killer killing a prostitute and is forced to go to the precinct to provide a lead to the Scotland Yard. Inspector Hansen assigns Sgt. Tommy Bell (Adam Couper) to protect Florry and he investigates the murder cases. Prince Albert Victor (Samuel West), who is the heir of the throne of England, becomes his prime suspect but his chief Sir Charles Warren (Michael York) tells that they need to have strong evidences against the prince to proceed the case. Sir Warren decides to use Florry as bait but Inspector Hansen has fallen in love with her and objects. But his chief makes clear that this is the only way to stop the ripper. What will Inspector Hansen do?

"The Ripper" is a surprisingly good movie for television with a different version of Jack the Ripper. Great performances, engaging screenplay, wonderful locations and cinematography make this movie worthwhile watching. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Estripador" ("The Ripper")

Come on guys, give it a break. It wasn't all that bad. As an amateur historian on the history of England, I know perfectly well that it's HIGHLY unlikely that Prince Eddy did it. Proving who Jack the Ripper was, however, did not seem to be the main objective of the film. It was entertaining, no matter what its historical value is.

In casting Sam West as the villainous and elusive Prince Eddy, the filmmakers managed to take an actor that was so unbelievably wholesome looking and turn him in the epitome of evil. Sam West is one of my favorite actors and I admit that this may make me a little biased in his favor. BUT, his skill as an actor is undisputed by critics everywhere. His portrayal of Eddy made you hate him and pity him all at the same time. This is an extremely hard thing to do and I admire him for it. The fact that one knows that it is Prince Eddy from almost the first scene makes this even more apparent.

Patrick Bergin seemed to play backseat, but his subtle East End accent and pure innocence in the ways of polite Victorian society, made him the perfect actor for the character. Perhaps if his character had been slightly more developed, he could have stepped to the same level as West, but the script did not allow for it. Given what he was given, I think that Bergin did a wonderful job.

Gabrielle Anwar did a good job as the feisty ex-prostitute heroine, but her character wasn't given much breathing space. She was playing a stereotype and this was one of the things that annoyed me greatly. The character of Florie seemed to play into the stereotype of saucy-romance-novel heroine. Perhaps if she had not been so tragically good, brought down by her surroundings, it might have been more tolerable, but as her character was predictable (though of course admirable), it would have been better for the film.

Michael York irritated me, but that's probably just too much prejudice on my part anyway. Apart from a few complaints about the story-line (the romance aspect), I think that the film set out what it meant to accomplish--to prove both that royalty is fallible (and periodically homicidal, though this might be a bit of a stretch given the world's current monarchs) and that you can't always judge a book by its cover. Apart from the sadistic little moustache (the height of fashion at the time--everyone was doing it), Sam West appears to be the perfect company. Except the fact that he's a homicidal maniac inside. That might dampen dinner a bit.

Overall, not bad. Rent it, don't recommend buying it unless you're a die-hard Sam West/Patrick Bergin fan. You probably won't be hideously disappointed unless you're a Ripper-ologist, in which case, you might want to skip it because its little historical inaccuracies are irritating. The acting, however, will not disappoint.

Ripper, The (1997)

** (out of 4)

Yet another version of the story of Jack the Ripper with Patrick Bergin playing Insp. Jim Henson, the man investigating the murders of various prostitutes. He strikes up a relationship with an on-again, off-again prostitute (Gabrielle Anwar) who just happened to witness one of the crimes. This film lets us know at the very start that Prince Albert Victor Edward committed the murders and the rest of the film is pretty much Bergin trying to catch who it is. We sit back as we watch the investigation and eventually the reasons why Prince Edward was never arrested for the murders. Many Ripper buffs say it was impossible for Edward to have been the real killer so they're probably not going to care too much for this film but this is a movie and not trying to be any sort of documentary. With that said, there are a few interesting things going on here but the 100-minute running time feels triple that and in the end there's just not enough stuff working here to make it worth sitting through. The biggest problem is the directing, which is hard to spot as it's clear Meyers doesn't have control of the story and she can't manage to get it on the screen in any sort of entertaining way. The film's pacing is incredibly bad because it feels like molasses as one scene just drags to the point where you feel the entire movie is about over with then you notice the section you've been watching only lasted a couple minutes. What does work are the ideas about the various forms of people and how much they hated one another. One subplot involves the rich feeling that Bergin is just wasting his time because there's nothing wrong with someone killing the "scum" on the streets. You even have a group feeling that it's a Jewish man doing the killings. You also have the poor resenting the police and refuses to help because they feel that the police don't care about them. These items are the most interesting thing working here but the direction keeps them from really being something special. Both Bergin and Anwar turn in good performances as does Samuel West as Prince Albert. There have probably been just as many Ripper movies as actual myths about the man and they're all of mixed quality. The mysterious around the case is what keeps the legend growing but this film here isn't one of the betters one out there and is for completest only.