Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic movie, top-notch DVD
Review: This is a truly excellent movie that was unfairly ignored at the box-office. The DVD is even better; the transfer is flawless, and both the DTS and Dolby Digital tracks will rattle your walls and churn your stomach!! Speaking of stomachs, if you have a weak one, avoid this. But PLEASE don't complain about the violence level. This is an R-rated movie about Jack the Ripper. Obviously, this isn't a family film.
Rating: 
Summary: Sincerely... From Hell
Review: This has got to be one of Johnny Depps best performances and one of the best horror films made in the past ten years. Being a lover of special effects and Hollywood gore I'd say this is a must for any Horror and Depp fan. The one draw back of the film is the female lead played by Heather Graham, a completely one-dimensional character. If you are looking for a love story within this horrific theme you will be disappointed. The sparks of lust fly but never ignite.One of the most interesting and charismatic films of 2001.
Rating: 
Summary: Lush for the eyes, but...
Review: Being fascinated as I am with this case for years, I immediately went out to the theater to see this on day one. Obviously, we all thought this would be the be-all-end-all Ripper flick. Alas, we have been let down again. The physical characteristics of the film are stunning. An unsurpassed attention to detail dominates this feast for the eyes, but its ... historical inaccuracies don't allow anyone who's truly familiar with the case to enjoy it; Lord forbid anyone new to the story should take this as gospel. Please, if you are wanting to learn more about this mystery, do yourself a favor & get "The Ultimate Jack The Ripper Companion" here .... For atmosphere alone, this is worth seeing! The extras on the second disc are o.k. considering there's not much in-depth video material out on the Ripper case (one part however mismatches the body of one victim with the name of another; a ... oversight in editing!). If this had been done from a more historical perspective, it WOULD have been the ultimate Ripper film & I guess for now, it has to do although I much prefer the Michael Caine TV miniseries from 1988. If anyone knows where I can purchase that flick on VHS or preferably DVD.... By the way, Johnny Depp is great as usual, though his character suffers from ... historical inaccuracy in the name of Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe Bob Larson Wrote The Comic Book
Review: Throughout the movie I was disgusted by the ignorant portrayal of the Freemasons (from the moment I saw the tell-tale compass on the briefcase) as a freak-infested cult. The only thing that made me laugh harder or vomit more profusely is Bob "Larson's Book Of Cults." The Satanic Panic thing is getting old. Nothing's less scary than cults now, you know... What's worse is that if the Hughes Brothers had any clue as to what the Freemasons REALLY were/are, they would've thought the same thing and threw the comic-book-turned-movie idea out of the window before they made such a humorous, or revolting (take your pick) mistake. I couldn't tell what the movie was supposed to do to the audience as well. It did nothing for me. It didn't frighten me, it wasn't really all that suspenseful, and it definately wasn't no Perry Mason film! It was rather ho hum, and it wasn't even that pleasant on the eyes. Many many movies can whisk you away and put you back in the period they were based on. This one really doesn't. At least it didn't... not to me. The mood was unpleasantly dry; I remained detached throughout the movie. In summary, I don't know why I gave it even three stars. It was a pointless, lackluster film that leaves one feeling numb, confused, and maybe just a bit more cynical than before you had seen it. Maybe I gave it three stars because it made me care that little. If I had cared, I probably would have given it none. Blah.
Rating:
Summary: Dave Cordes is WRONG!
Review: ...To praise the Hughes Brothers for the atmosphere and blast Moore for the story is to entirely misunderstand what they took from the book. The atmosphere is a very well-done depiction of the atmosphere of the book. That part if the book inspired the Hughes Brothers, and they carried it through. The plot is almost entirely the invention of the screenwriters hired to "adapt" Moore's book. To give an obvious example, Cordes faults Moore for Abberline's opium addiction, but the Abberline in the book -- a middle-aged, rather portly married man, like the historical personage -- was not addicted to opium, nor was he clairvoyant. These are all inventions of the movie. You can hardly blame Moore for the Masonic/Royal conspiracy, which was featured in other movies and books before he wrote. He says himself in the appendix that he doesn't necessarily believe it to be the "truth," but he used it because it made a good story, and it allowed him to say things about Victorian society, the nature of reality and illusion, Magic, Good and Evil, using the lens of the Jack the Ripper story. And his book is unlike any other Jack the Ripper tale. For one thing, it's not a "whodunit" thriller -- his Jack is revealed in Chapter Two of Fourteen. Except for atmosphere, the only things the book and movie have in common is that Abberline is the primary detetective on the case (a "fact" about which there is some dispute, but he's one of two or three candidates for the position) and the identity of the killer. Indeed, instead of crediting Alan Moore as the primary source, it might be more true to say that the Hughes Brothers main source of inspiration was Moore's partner, Eddie Campbell. They got the "look" right, but they changed almost everything else. Still a good movie, though. Just not really a movie of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing film..Darned fine DVD
Review: Any movie based on Alan Moore's briliant graphic novel would be destined to fail in capturing all that is great about it, but The Hughes Brothers' "From Hell" seems to go out of its way to not even try. The best part of the book was that the reader knew from the first page who Jack the Ripper was and that most of the story was told from his point of view. The movie turned the story into a half-hearted whodunnit which really isn't much of a mystery after all, and the ending is an insult to history. The deleted scenes show how a lot of the cool stuff from Moore's book was shot but ultimately scrapped for reasons unknown. Still if you're a Jack the Ripper buff I would recommend owning it since there really aren't that many historically based Jack The Ripper movies. 20th Century Fox has been a few steps ahead of the other major studios in DVD presentation and this is no exception. It is one of the few two disc sets that have been produced lately that actually warrants being a 2 dis set. The menus are well made although the deleted scenes menus are harder to read than the end credits of Spawn. There is a so-called interactive documentary on Disc 2 which shows pictures and documents from the case. A magnifying glass icon pops up and then you can wacth clips from "Jack The Ripper: The Final Solution." This is sort of pointless interactivity, but it is nice to see "jack The Ripper: The Final Solution" on DVD. If you're a Jack The Ripper buff, buy the DVD. If you're looking for a Jack The Ripper murder mystery, watch David Wicke's Jack The Ripper with Michael Caine which is far superior to this.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Comic Book Movie !
Review: I'd say this is one of the most enjoyable movies taken from a comic book that I've seen. Though the wonderful graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell goes into far greater depth than this film and they've certainly changed some things around ( as would be expected ) it's still a pretty engrossing movie. Certainly, anyone who has seen this movie and enjoyed it and has not read the comic it is based on---definitely should. I loved the way that Moore and Campbell interwove so much fact with definite strands of fiction. This movie is an admirable attempt at relating their story in film.
Rating:
Summary: Well done horror flick!
Review: This is not an all out horror film that the Hughes brothers crafted, but an interesting mystery that makes you wonder why Albert and Allen Hughes made it. If you compare it to they're other movies it is not at all the same. Dead Presidents, Menace II Society and American Pimp may have been films about the streets but this is a whole new ballgame. There is some really good imagery filmed here as well that you may not expect had anyone else directed the film. To tell you the truth, I'm starting to get sick of Johnny Depp. His role in From Hell was too reminiscent to his role in Sleepy Hollow (which I also recommend). This is a good movie however and it is one of the best of 2001 in my books.
Rating:
Summary: Return to Whitechapel
Review: This started as another of my "let me just see whatever is playing today" excursions to the movie theatre. Most of the other movies had started already, and then I saw that "From Hell" hadn't yet; all I could remember about it was that it was a period piece, so off I went. Well! It was a Jack the Ripper movie! Now, I used to be rather interested in that case as a lilGal, having read different accounts of the Whitechapel murders and seen a few Ripper movies. One criticism I do have to make is that as things were going along, I had a strange feeling of deja-vu: uh oh, wasn't this sort of lifted from "Murder by Decree"? Yeah, it was, although no reviewer has commented on that yet. That was when Christopher Plummer's Sherlock Holmes had a go at it, with James Mason as Watson. This time, a Holmes-like Cockney detective played by Johnny Depp is the master sleuth in charge of things. I liked his portrayal a lot. I also liked seeing old vet Ian Holm as a proper Victorian doctor whom Depp consults about certain "technicalities". There was, however, a most improbable moment when Detective Depp brings the rather outlandishly dressed prostitute Heather Graham to the Royal Portrait Gallery or some such to make the equivalent of an ID from a mug shot, a full-length portrait of "you know who" if you have read enough about this case before. But wouldn't other people have been surprised to see this REALLY shockingly dressed trollop strolling around the museum? Maybe it's just me. Still and all, I got my money's worth this time and enjoyed this version of the most famous unsolved murders of the 19th century.
Rating:
Summary: A stylish period piece.
Review: Inspector Frederick Abberline (Johnny Depp) is on the trail of the world's most famous serial killer, Jack the Ripper. Following a tangled web of gruesome murders and intrigue, Abberline and his batman George Godley track down the killer only to discover something more shocking than the killer. A stylish period piece, similar in style to David Lean's "Great Expectations" and "Oliver Twist," all capturing the true (seedy)nature of the most powerful city in the 19th century. Staring Johnny Depp as Inspector Frederick Abberline,The film starts off well enough, unfortunately the romantic element Mary Kelly(featuring the fairly wooden Heather Graham) destroys what would have otherwise been an excellent thriller. The first hour is excellent, but a quick succession of murders has left the writers with little to play on other than intrigue and romance. Unfortunately they choose romance. This has had the terrible effect of mutilating the ending, leaving us with a rather short confrontation, that doesn't do justice to the ripper's prestige. Depp makes a delightful Abberline, immersing himself into the role, he makes a truly excellent Abberline. Graham, despite her beauty, is sorely lacking, her dull expression leads us to suggests she was not happy playing a victorian pinchprick. The strongest element in "From Hell" would be its supporting cast, containing some of today's best British actors, (Ian Holm as Sir William Gull, Ian Richardson as Sir Charles Warren and Robbie Coltrane as Sergeant George Godley,) it adds another star to score. The film is based on one of the most controversial (as less accepted) Ripper theories, made in Stephen Knight's "JACK THE RIPPER: THE FINAL SOLUTION." As a credible account, it lags severely behind the Francis Tumblety and James Maybrick cases, finding favor among the Conspiracy theorists, rather than historians. In reality Mary Kelly was murdered, and Abberline lived till he was 86. The Kelly/Abberline romance is unbelievable, and wastes valuable screen time which could have otherwise been spent on the confrontation. You will find that "From Hell" is:
Entertaining, thrilling and interesting. The acting is generally excellent, the sets are well designed and the characters are interesting. You will find that "From Hell is NOT:
Factually correct regarding Jack the Ripper, romantic or at times pleasant.
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