Jack the Ripper (1976)
By: David Michael Brown on March 24, 2005.
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| Big Sky Video (Australia). Region 4, PAL. 1.78:1 (16:9 enhanced). English DD 2.0. 88 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Jess Franco
Starring: Klaus Kinski,
Lina Romay
Screenplay: Jess Franco
Music: Walter Baumgartner
Country: Spain
Tagline:Close your
eyes and whisper his name... |
Everyone's favourite Spanish pervert Jess
Franco is back. His back catalogue is a weird and
wonderful selection of cheap sleaze and gore that
some love but many think is an inept display of
the directors prurient interests. His films are
often poorly acted, terribly directed and barely
watchable but every so often he produces a cult
classic.
He has made rubbish zombie video nasties (The
Devil Hunter), sexy vampire fun (Vampyros
Lesbos), historical bondage movies starring
Christopher Lee (Justine) women
in prison movies (Barb Wire Dolls),
he even made a Ilsa film (Greta the Mad
Butcher became Ilsa the Wicked
Warden.) His soundtracks are often better
than the films themselves, the score to Vampyros
Lesbos was used in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. He often adds hard
core footage or extra gore depending on where
his films are released; he is a one of a kind,
has made hundreds of films and is still going
strong.
The pairing of this Euro maverick and the equally
"out there" actor Klaus Kinski, of Nosferatu and Fitzcarraldo
fame, was always going to be a strange experience.
The fact that they chose to tell the story of
London's infamous East End slayer makes Jack the Ripper even weirder.
This film should have been a salacious thrill
but unfortunately is a bit of a dull bore. Yes
Kinski is great, yes there are a few gory moments
but its all very pompous and very wordy; not good
when you're hindered by a terrible script
and atrocious dubbing. They're the worst
cockney accents this side of Dick Van Dyke. Franco
regular Lina Romay is her usual self, disrobing
for a very dodgy scene with Kinski as the film
shows the seedier side of the Jack the Ripper
legend. In her death scene he chops her to bits
but the make up effects are frankly awful leaving
the film with a distasteful yet amateurish feel.
A shame as the film is one of Franco's better
looking efforts. The Prague locations look sensational
and the colours and lighting are eye catching.
He still zooms the camera far too many times but
for the Spanish auteur this is almost a restrained
movie. |
| Video |
| It's quite astounding how good Jack
the Ripper looks. The picture is sharp,
the colours of the period costumes are vibrant and
the gloomy dark candle lit streets of old London
town look ominous. It makes Franco's film
look closer to a million dollars than it ever has. |
| Audio |
| The sound doesn't quite live up to the visuals
but is still good job considering the budget that
Franco usually worked to. |
| Extra Features |
| Things kick off with a documentary on Franco
and the making of Jack the Ripper.
Big Sky Video's disc is a carbon copy of
the original German DVD so the documentary is
in German with English subtitles. The film was
one of fifteen films that Franco made with Swiss
producer Erwin. C. Dietrich. In one hilarious
moment the films producer claims that Franco was
a forerunner of Lars Von Trier's Dogma 95
manifesto, despite the fact that his poor lighting,
blurred camera work and terrible acting was due
to his ineptness rather than a predetermined plan
to produce modern art. It's a bit dry in
places but a healthy amount of clips enhances
the proceedings.
We also get a report on the restoration of Jack
the Ripper, which is fascinating but
often repeats many of Dietrich's quotes
from the making of documentary. It does, however,
show how much work went into this pristine transfer.
The producer also gives a running commentary
and we get a trailer and a large selection of
stills and historical documents gathered together
by the producer. |
| The Verdict |
| Not quite the movie that thrill seekers would
expect Kinski and Franco to make on Jack the Ripper.
To be frank it's a ponderous piece of Euro
sleaze masquerading as an arty period piece that
just doesn't work. |
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