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From Hell

From Hell

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: RIP'S YOUR GUT'S OUT! FIVE STABS ///// OUT OF FIVE /////
Review: JOHNNY DEPP STANDS OUT IN THIS LUSH CINEMATOGRAPHY, THE PERIOD WAS WELL DEPICTED.

DEPP IS A JEWEL AND AUDIENCES CANT HELP BUT LIKE HIS SEDUCTIVE STYLE IN THIS FILM. HE DRAWS THE AUDIENCE IN WITH TYPICAL DEPP, MUCH LIKE HE DRAWS ON HIS OPIUM PIPE.

THIS IS A GOOD TAKE ON THE OLD DIABOLICAL THRILLER---AND IS THE BEST JACK THE RIPPER THAT I HAVE SEEN.

I FOUND THE SEX SCENES TO BE REALISTICLY GRITTY AND EVOCATIVE OF THAT PERIOD--- WHERE IMMORALITY WAS ON FULL DISPLAY ON THE SIDE STREETS OF LONDON.

THE FILM GIVES A GOOD GEOGRAPHIC SCALE TO THE IMMENSE OUTLAY OF LONDON EVEN IN THE 1800'S.

I BOUGHT THIS DVD IN THE BARGAIN BIN AND WILL WATCH IT SEVERAL TIMES.
I AM A DEVOTEE OF DEPP. HE IS SUCH A GOOD ACTOR, AND HE STRETCHES TO TRY NEW PROJECTS.

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HIM IN A GOOD BBC/A&E PRODUCTION OR MASTERPIECE THEATRE.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Wasted set design and hopelessly miscast
Review: For anyone who has read the wonderful From Hell graphic novel this movie must be a big disappointment. In the featurette the producer even admits they didn't have the guts to base the film around the murderer himself. Instead we have a formulaic hollywood take. Depp is horribly miscast and gives an unusually lazy performance that doesn't go beyond a mere caricature of a certain contemporary London accent. Coltrane merely waltzes through the movie as a rather pathetic sidekick. The set though nice to look at is far too clean and lacks any real atmosphere. It's size appears to have had a limiting effect with London's multitude of the unwashed completely absent but for a few stragglers. The essence of the great city lost. What really lets the movie down is the total absence of the passion and outrage of the book. Their is no anger, the social conditions are merely glossed over. The satanic freemasonic overtones of the novel are nowhere to be seen. Basically anything of interest from the novel has been as surgically removed as Mary Kelly's heart. All in all a big mess that fails to do justice to the book. I urge you to buy the source material rather than give this a second glance.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Shadow in The Fog...
Review: This movie takes the view of there have been two killers in the infamous Jack The Ripper slaying at White Chapel. One being the henchman of a respected doctor who is also a part of the ruling Masonic Lodge of the day who recognizes that there are certain forces inherant in certain symbols, such as The Pentagram {a victims with which he configured in its symmetry, positioning several relics and remnants of the victim therein.}

It is eventually divulged that all of the slayings were committed for purposes according to his particular and peculiar purposes. He believed himself to be the incarnation of iconoclastic forces that would bring the 20th century into fruition; but even his Masonic brothers viewed his views as too extreme and ended up condemning him to a lobotomy - the preferred method of treating the perceived mentally-ill.

We are introduced to several prostitutes of the day; filthy, dirty, crass, diseased, and minimalistic in hygiene practices as well as teeth. However, it was a bit sad and disheartening to witness how these women of pulchritude were treated, considering they do provide a popular service to the citizens of London. Yet these are the types of blindlight-rooted cultures which produce the most mindlessly habitually hate-filled hypocrites in such societies.

Grapes play a role in the slayings, as each sacrifice was given a single vine of exquisite grapes to consume, along with a vial of some liquor, both of which each woman consumed in tandem with ravenous delight. And that was their final indulgence. They were forthwith dispatched and their disemboweled innards left artfully positioned around the corpses, which would subsequently manifest a theory in which the killer may have been an artist. But this film focuses on the surgeon analogy, with the chief investigator {played by Johnny Depp} ironically quite schooled in the forensic arts, who himself demonstrates his peculiarities such as indulging in the Green Demoness Absinthe, which he meticulously mixes with an amount of six drops of laudanum, a well-known poison, to form an amazing intoxicant alight with the blue flame to fully integrate the ingredients to this forbidden elixir, concocted like an expert Alchemist. He dwells in blissful rapport there in his tub, luxuriously partaking in this "Alchemist's Delight".

The Phantom of White Chapel strikes again and again, the gleam of his cold blade shimmering in the moonlight, tainted red by crimson life. The figure in black with his top hat and silver-tipped cane disappears into the fog, and the mystery continues.

The film derives its nomenclature from a brief letter mailed to the Police station accompanied by a sliver of the woman's kidney, the other half which he happily consumed, and mentioned that it was "very nice." Signed, "From Hell".

Understandable, considering it had been filled with a choice blend of the liquor and grapes, stewed in its own juices. So it was revealed that the killer was also a cannibal. Strains of Hannibal Lechter as well as The Zodiac Killer are influenced here.

Another interesting occurrence transpired when someone had left a now infamous message on the wall at one of the bloody scenes:

"The jewes {sic} are not the ones that will be blamed for nothing."

So it was both divulged that the perpetrator was a somewhat literate man, and not some savage or Gypsy as was alleged thus far. But this incident also may lead the viewer to consider that message may have been an attempt to redirect attention away from the correct path of inquiry, as well as establish a good bit of aggravation towards the many-times convenient scapegoats that have been Jews. This introduced a religious as well as an aesthetic connotation to divert attention away from the Masons, who were the underground ruling class portrayed by the film; the social elite whose cult was alleged to run England at the time, with its esteemed members merely going through the motions with The Church of England; the politics of enacting mass behavior on the surface in order to maintain positions of leadership while preserving true to one's roots in private.
By and by, the clues manifest themselves until eventually, the investigator is face to face with an esteemed doctor he admires, whose delusions of grandeur drove him into the halls of infamy.

Overall, a dark production arranged in a cinematic style reminiscent of Coppola, yet not as perfectly hewn. "From Hell" is yet another subnote in the legendary of a socio-psychopathic "madman" whom some would hail as a genius.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Average
Review: this Film didn't do much for me at all.I respect the Hughes Brothers&Johnny Depp is a Cool Actor,but this Film was to CLiched driven&tried to be Modern but it was hit&alot of Miss for me overall.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic
Review: This movie was amazing, it has everything you could want in a movie, violence, sex, gore, Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, and drug use. It is a classic film and smart. I recommend this movie, if they want to be scared and shocked, and also interested in Murder Myesteries. Yes I know it isn't highly factual, but it does go along the lines of one of the Jack the Ripper theories, this was the first large and famous serial killers. It really is worth your time to catch the movie. It will keep you on the edge of your seats, the acting is done well, set design is marvelous. You will not be disappointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great flick!
Review: This may be based on the true story of Jack the Ripper, but rather than a docudrama it winds up being one of the best and most involving horror films of recent memory.

The characters are wonderfully drawn, very involving, and the suspense will just about kill you even though you know how it ends. Or think you do....

Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chilling, Brilliant and Terrifying: This Ripper Has It All
Review: The Hughes Brothers have made a masterful attempt at unveiling the real identity of Jack The Ripper in "From Hell". It's a chilling tale, told with remarkable restraint, considering the film's subject matter. Only in the final few scenes do we get the real gore-fest that we've been waiting for and when it comes it makes the hair on the back of one's neck stand on end.
Even more scary than the film is the BBC documentary included on disc 2 of this special edition, a revealing and haunting look into the real life murders in White Chapel with tons of documented photo archival material that will make for some pretty sleepless nights once you've seen them. There's also a bunch of other extra material that is equally compelling and revolting. I loved this movie for its shock value and artistry. The cast is superb. The screenplay moves effortlessly along from one plot point to the next, creating plenty of doubt and fear in the mind of the viewer along the way. This is film making in the grand style of the old Universal horror movies, told with a scope that surpasses anything done before and absolutely shocking to watch. Enjoy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Captivating
Review: Summary:
Fred Abberline (Johnny Depp) is an inspector in Whitechapel (I believe it is part of London). When women begin turning up dead and mutilated, Inspector Abberline is called upon to solve the case. The story in the movie is very complicated, so let me see if I can simplify it: A group of prostitutes (making up the five women that are killed by Jack the Ripper) have a friend, Ann Crook (Joanna Page) who is married to whom they believe to be an artist. As it turns out, he is a member of the royal family and his underground marriage to Ann is bringing shame on the throne. This isn't a problem until Ann has a baby who could actually become heir to the throne. It just so happens that Ann gives the baby to Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) the day that she and her husband are taken away. Ann ends up undergoing a lobotomy and spending the rest of her life in asylums. The prince has syphilis and dies from it. The problem is that the group of prostitutes know the secret and the royal family can't have that, so they must be silenced. The prime minister charges Sir William Gull (Ian Holm) with getting rid of the prostitutes. Sir William, however, chooses to kill them rather than have them committed and as a Freemason, he chooses to have them killed according to the Masonic ritual killing methods specified in their induction ceremonies. Inspector Abberline figures out what is going on with the help of Mary Kelly and does his best to save her. In the end, Sir William turns out to be Jack the Ripper and, because this is a royal plot, Inspector Abberline isn't able to stop him in time to prevent the deaths of all of the prostitutes even though he has fallen in love with Mary Kelly. But, there is a final twist and you'll just have to watch the movie to find out what it is.

My Comments:
I really liked the movie. It was suspenseful and really kept you guessing as to the identity of the murderer throughout. Johnny Depp was, as always, superb and most of the rest of the cast was as well. As for casting Heather Graham as Mary Kelly, she just didn't fit the part physically. She did a good job of playing the part, she just isn't the type of 'beauty' that would be a prostitute in the late 1800s. So, that was one strike against the film.

The second problem is not with the film. Like I said, the movie was really good. The problem is that they don't really make it all that clear in watching the special feature clips that the stories surrounding the identity of Jack the Ripper are all just stories. The murders were never solved and the story told in the movie is just one version of the possible events surrounding the murders with some added twists and turns for dramatic effect. However, the twists and turns work to make this a very engaging movie. I highly recommend it for people that are into psychological murder thrillers. It was a lot of fun.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dark Eye Candy...
Review: This film is breathtaking! from the sets to the acting and all around atmosphere...

Depp's Best performance in my opinion! the twist at the end is pretty amazing, I can't stress how good this film is! It has blood and guts, but doesn't rely on that to sell the story!

This is a GREAT tale of murder and determination!
I really loved the sets they used, I really felt as if I was there! The film is VERY dark, but you have to consider the content of the film. Jack the Ripper was an evil, brutal man...and this film is one of the best Jack the Ripper movies ever.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Delightful But Disappointing
Review: I appreciate this movie for it being a fictitious documentary of the Jack the Ripper killings, but it did disappoint. Let me say that the visuals are spectacular! Having taken a Jack the Ripper tour in London, the murder places look almost identical to the real thing. However, the movie itself is not very terrifying, and sometimes, its's boring! Johnny Depp was just not suited for the role, because as he always is, he plays a far too mellow character with little feeling just as he did in Sleepy Hollow. Heather Graham, on the other hand, does great with her charm and beauty to the point of when she is killed, you can really feel a sense of compassion for her. But Ian Holm steals the show, delivering a riveting and chilling performance as Jack the Ripper. He's so good he's scary, and in this movie, he doesn't look at all like a little old man at all. He is truly menacing in the role. Also, the murders aren't well carried out, except for the last one, the murder of Mary Kelley. There, it is so gruesome and violent and depicted with such horror, that it is one of the most well orchestrated killings in movie history! As a whole, the movie captures the feeling of Jack the Ripper and the murders, but it is hard for the audience to become wrapped up in the storyline or characters, and lack of terror drags this beauty to being a lackluster film.


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