Jack The Ripper (1959) - Region 2 PAL, plays in English without subtitles

This is my favorite Jack the Ripper film which is not to say that's it's the best one, far from it, but it is an extremely well made low budget effort that benefits from strong performances and atmospheric cinematography. 1959 was a watershed year for British horror. The economic impact of Hammer Films was duly noted and a number of competitors arose from young upstarts like Sidney Hayers who did CIRCUS OF HORRORS to Michael Powell of RED SHOES fame whose PEEPING TOM wound up ruining his career. Probably the most successful of these challengers were Robert S. Baker & Monty Berman who not only made this film but also BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE (1958) and the celebrated FLESH & THE FIENDS (1960). Both men produced these films with Baker directing and Berman photographing them. While they were successful and even notorious in their day, B & B eventually moved on to greener pastures with Roger Moore's THE SAINT TV series.In addition to the quality look of the film it also benefitted from a script by Hammer stalwart Jimmy Sangster who completely fictionalized the Ripper's exploits and added an American detective to help put it over in the States. Although never intended to be an accurate depiction of the Ripper murders, the film works well as a historical murder mystery with an unforgettable payoff. Watching it again on this Italian DVD (where is the British one?), it features a beautiful 35 mm transfer of the original version, no American voiceovers, and a fine score by Stanley Black. I was struck by how subversive the film is. Not only is JACK THE RIPPER rather graphic for its day but it is loaded with social commentary and a suprising amount of feminine pulchritude during the can-can scenes. The nastiness of mob violence is well portrayed with George Rose (who would play Burke in FLESH & THE FIENDS a year later) quite memorable as the mob leader. If you enjoy old school British horror and don't mind black & white (except for the celebrated finale), then this movie is a must.

Not bad - of it's time.Picture is excellent.I'd give this ...6/10

The serial killer known as Jack the Ripper is loose in London, 1888. As the police frantically search for the maniac through the East End smog, a whole bunch of suspects hone into view...Murder by person or persons unknown.Surprisingly little known, this Jack the Ripper picture belies its obvious budget limitations to produce an atmospheric and suspenseful piece. This is not in any way an accurate account of the actual story, so interested newcomers should be aware of that fact. It is basically an interpretation of Jolly Jack, a serial killer mystery to be solved.There's plenty of cobbled streets and smog, dim gas lamps, top hats, tails and medical bags et al. The more severe parts of the story come with tilted camera perception, and the narrative embraces ladies of the night workings and vigilante justice. Which all builds to an absolute beaut of a finale.Well worth a look by fans of Ripper period fare. 7/10

this is the type of friday night horror thriller the bbc used to show when they had film buyers that new films was made prior to the 1990s and dared to show them for the benefit of the older generation as well as to-days film fan who enjoys these movies.the film was made in black and white which gives the film a certain film noir style of mood,this gives the film a feeling of the period and certainly does not distract from the overall effect of the film.the period detail is very good for such a low budget period piece and all the actors give there best just as they did in the hammer films all very serious,britain was very good at this kind of film and most still stand up very well even by to-days standard.i can never understand why these mini jewells in our horror crown never show up on dvd in the uk,horror gems such as "blood of the vampire" "circus of horrors" "kiss of the vampire"to name but a few took generations to eventualy turn up on dvd,as for television there is a large group of people on the internet trying there best to get as many people as posible to sign a petition begging the bbc to show classic horror movies,its a sad situation when we have to beg a tv company like the bbc to spare a couple of hours to show a couple of classic horror movies each week!!.back to 1959s jack the ripper,dont be put off by the european title on the cover,the film is in original english,the menu is very easy to use,there are european subtitles that are removable and the picture quality is as good as you can get for this period of film,the black levels and contrast are also good,the dvd includes the american version of the trailer and overall you wont be disapointed,as with the front cover the text on the back is italian.the dvd is available on the uk website,spanish website,and italian website,a great collectors item not shown on british tv for years,think of it as a very well made bbc period drama and you will have a good idea of what its like,recommended.

A couple of good scenes, but spoiled by Lee Patterson's obvious and out of place teddy boy haircut.

Produced and shot by the guys who gave us the equally atmospheric sci-fi charmer CRAWLING EYE, JACK THE RIPPER (59/60) is rarely seen today, and that's a bloody shame. Though cheaply produced, the film's an entertaining psycho-thriller with a spooky signature line ("Are you Mary Clarke?" precedes every stabbing) and some of the wildest tilted angles this side of THE THIRD MAN. Best of all, U.S. distributor Joseph E. Levine (of GODZILLA and HERCULES fame) commissioned Pete Rugolo to replace Stanley Black's serviceable but unexceptional music score with an astonishingly flamboyant, original creation. Only the British JACK with the Black score is offered on this DVD, but in what amounts to a minor miracle, the original LP record release of the U.S. RIPPER score is included as a special feature -- and it's in stereo to boot! So yes, this is a highly recommended DVD for a number of reasons. For the record, JTR is mastered decently from 35mm material, and does contain the famous "color insert of Jack's blood" at the climax of the elevator scene. Gary Gerani, 2012