From Hell-good blind purchase???
 

opinions?

I liked it a lot, but you have to think of it as a straight-up horror movie, not a historically accurate recreation of the case.

http://www.dvdfile.com/software/revi.../fromhell.html

thanks josh-thats why i posed the question out here.. i read your review of it this morning and it piqued my interest..sounds pretty damn good..im just curious what others thought of it

Expecting a historically accurate flick is just batty. Regardless, like the man says, if you embrace it for what it is (and strives to be) ... you'll discover what may be the classiest slasher flick ever. Take a chance, you'll enjoy it.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=3761

The movie itself received mixed reviews. There wasn't really any consensus on it. At the very least, I'd say it was a competent horror/thriller.

As far as the historical accuracy goes, the movie is in a somewhat strange place. The source material, a graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, isn't really meant to be an accurate historical fiction. Even Moore himself has said the he doesn't think ****** was the Ripper, but he used that theory to tell a polemic involving magick and politics. Some of this gets lost in the movie, especially the magickal elements of the story, as much material had to be cut in order to have a managable running time. Not mention that the more esoteric elements would likely have turned off lots of people or, more likely, gone right over the tops of their heads. The movie was also structured as a conventional whodunnit, whereas the book is told from the point of view of the Ripper.

The DVD, though, has been getting rave reviews from The Digital Bits, DVD File, and DVD Shrine. I'll be adding it to my collection. Just be sure you pick up the two disc set, because it will apparently only be available for a limited time.

of course only you can decide what you like. Here’s my take. Beautifully filmed, stylish visuals glued on to a particleboard of tedious dialog and emotionless, unconvincing performances. The story unfolds without tension or suspense. In <b>From Hell</b> the Hughes Brothers have crafted a boring slide show of disjointed vignettes that feature too many back-stories woven together without artistic skill and punctuated by one of the most heavy-handed scores this side of John Williams. Like a hot, cheap trophy date, <b>From Hell</b> engages the eyes but not the soul.

Agree with this review word for word.

Thanks for the opinions..it seems everyone touched on the historical aspect being inaccurate..i dont normally look for historical accuracy in a horror movie anyway..heck Jack The Ripper uses a time machine In Time After Time yet a lot of people think that movie is great..anyway I think Ill be picking it up..if it sucks I can always E-Bay it

It is worth the blind purchase, IMO. This is a very solid thriller that won't disappoint.

I think you just didn't embrace the movie in the spirit in which it was intended.

To each their own.

Wondering about the content of the 2nd disc? Does it have some deleted scenes, hopefully ones that expand on the magick aspect.

The deleted scenes are on Disc 1 and don't dwell on the mason stuff. From my previously cited review:

Disc 2: Here, there, everywhere a featurette. First, is an exploration of Ripper lore in "Six Degrees of Jack the Ripper" (30 mins) with gruesome crime scene images and expert interviews. In addition, at about 10 different points during the piece, viewers may click an icon for additional clips from a cheesy '70s documentary (ala "In Search Of ... ") effectively doubling the featurette's total duration. Second, is a visit with production designer Martin Childs who miraculously recreated Whitechapel in just three months (12 mins). Third, is a comparison to the graphic novel and its use as an aid in various aspects of production (10 mins). Next, is an ode to Abberline's drink of choice in "Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder" (10 mins) followed by a murder sites tour by Albert and Allen (8 mins). Finally, tasty Ms. Graham hosts "A View From Hell" featuring the typical HBO "Oohs 'n' Ahs." In this case they're warranted (15 mins). Theatrical trailer and a random reel for Unfaithful with Richard Gere. Motion video menus discover Jack fishing nasty implements from his surgical kit.

There are 20 deleted scenes and an alternate ending on the first disc. They do not explore that aspect of the story. That was trimmed out in the scripting stage.

See my review at the link in my first post above for more details on the disc's supplements.

What spirit was that? I'm a fan of the mystery, suspense, thriller, and horror genres. I found the movie boring. Perhaps you can elaborate on your point.

Generally, I just need one strong favorable opinion to buy, but this one sounds like a renter. I can always buy later.

I guess I don't require a movie like this to "engage the soul", whatever that is supposed to mean.

The movie is smart, fun, and surprisingly literate. I enjoyed it greatly. If you found it boring, to each their own.

Re: From Hell-good blind purchase???
 

I thought it was a really good movie. The only downside was that it moved a little fast over some parts. I don't think you could truly understand some parts of the film if you don't know some of the basis of which story they're somewhat telling in the movie.

For anyone who digs the movie and wants to check out a great Ripper site go here

I'll be picking it up. And I'd suggest it to anyone who's interested in JTR or horror/slasher flicks. For a slasher flick, it's one of the better ones.

I missed this one theatrically, but I have an advance copy of the 2-disc LE, and it is excellent.

I liked the film, and it's mixture of fictional and real-life characters into a story that offered an interesting perspective on the Ripper murders. Sure, maybe Graham was too good looking to be a grubby street whore, but that's a small complaint.

A beautiful, in a dark way, looking film, to say the least.

I thought the movie was decent, though not quite what I expected. I didn't think it was overly interesting at times, and because of that, I wasn't paying much attention to what was happening. I definitely want to see it again, especially now that I have read the graphic novel the movie was based on, so I will be picking up the LE.

On a side note, I highly recommend Alan Moore's graphic novel to anyone interested in the movie. I thought it was far better and did a wonderful job making the story interesting, something I think the movie failed to do. Also, as far as the historical aspect goes, Moore has included, at least in the edition I have, a 40-page appendix that delineates page-by-page exactly what is accurate and what he invented for story purposes.

Thanks all, I am getting this with The Others on Tuesday.

DVD SMURF :)

I have been in a horror mood lately.

Boring. I also had an advance copy and I am sorry I watched it for free. Rent at best but I cant imagine buying this DVD

i heard that the extras on disk two are worth the $17 bucks its self... so this is one for buy..plus the single disk version will eb released shortly after and teh two disk wont be round... so i getting the this version..

____________________________________________________________________

Me three!!!!;) Also be getting Season five of X-Files and season one of Friends.

I did the same dang thang!

cheers, Tony Block

RANDOM REVIEW THOUGHTS:
 

I was hoping for another "Sleepy Hollow" but for the most part it was just plain sleepy. It doesn't quite acheive anything in my opinion. It doesn't catch the edginess to be a good suspense flick; it plays too much "who dunnit" by constantly throwing suspects at you, but allows no clues to solve the mystery; and is not suspenseful enough to be a good horror flick (something we haven't seen in a long time).
<P>The lead cast (Johnny Depp and Heather Graham) are outshined by their supporting cast (Robbie Coltrane is quickly becoming one of my favorite "never heard of" actors).
<P>I think that it does suffer from too much condensing, but its based on a comic book, excuse me -- graphic novel, so what do you expect? The story actually is almost worthy of Oliver Stone in its convoluted conspiracy theories.
<P>The sets and costumes are fantastic, often overshadowing the sometimes non-existant action of a scene.
<P>The 20 or so deleted scenes don't offer any excuses. Many times you can watch the deleted scenes and piece the movie back together, but all of the scenes here were cut simply for pacing. They add nothing extra to the story and fill in no missing pieces.
<P>Rented it, and will pick it up used for the extras on the second disc.

Re: RANDOM REVIEW THOUGHTS:
 

I wasn't --- I found that movie dreadful. Nice funny visuals but it just didn't have that... that thing that makes a movie special to me.


Mind you, I will get it when I get a WS TV because it is still a movie I would watch (especially with its glorious photography), but it's not going to rank into my top DVD lists.

I really liked this film (bought as a blind purchase). The visuals were very good as was Depp. The funny thing is that the conclusions made were quite possible. In fact, put together the way they were the assumptions add a somewhat new dimension to the entire "Ripper" case.

As for the deleted scenes........I agree that they should have been cut from the film.

Good effort.

:thumbsup:

This is a flat blind purchase, because it is too clean.

I give the film 6/10.

I was very disappointed from seeing this film, because it had a much larger budget than any of Argento's films and his slasher films are still better even if they are 20 years old. Why do I say this? Well, first of all Heather Graham was way too pale and clean for a person living during this time. I bet she used Aveda to shampoo her hair even while showering under the running water. This was a detail that annoyed me so much, and thinking of the budget that they had they could have hired a make-up artist to make her look a little dirtier. She cut through the screen like a knife that is how clean she was. In addition, she was way to pale for a person of her stature in society, she would have spend more time outside and therefore had a slight tan, not pale like a ghost. Her red hair was beautiful, I mean so beautiful that it would make today's photomodels claw her of envy. O'dear, more dirt please, I blame the art director who was Mark Raggett who also art directed Quills, Portrait of a Lady, and who supervised Shakespear in Love. This was just too clean, and that really took away from the reality feel that was needed in order to feel the terror of Jack the Ripper. (HUGE minus)

Nevertheless, nice cinematography, and good acting. Great cast as well.

Notice, I have not even touched adaptation of Jack the Ripper. I viewed it as a free adaptation, since we still today do not really know. A little sad that we never got to feel the horror that Jack the Ripper spread in London during this time.

Comments please. :)

DVD SMURF

Other than awkwardly casting Heather Graham as a street whore, I thought From Hell was very well done.


My review

I agree........But then again, I don't think Heather Graham is all that much of an actress no matter what the role:D

She might not be a world-class thespian, but she's purty...:hump:

Yup......Enough so to make her rich too:D

1) this is London during the industrial revolution.
yes, i agree she should have been much diriter. she was way too much of a beauty to be realistic. her nice set of chompers alone, make her icongrous with her surroundings.
but as far as being pale, like i said, its industrial London, which means, when its not overcast or raining there's probably a thick haze of soot in the air, obscuring the sun. this isn't the French Riveria and being a street walker, she wouldn't be out sunning herself during the day anyway.
pale is proper, clean and beautiful, probably not.

2) i rate the movie a little higher than you did.
for one thing, this film looked absolutely amazing on my dlp. considering all the problems this transfer could have had because of the dark hazy scenes, i was so impressed that i gave short shrift to its drawbacks.
and i have to admit, i loved the speculative answer to the mystery of Jack, and loved the performances of all the supporting characters.
Ian Holm, who played the royal familys doctor, was just fantastic.
i'm appreciating him more and more, every time i see him.
stylish, without being too gimicky, interesting, with some concentrated, visceral gore scenes, and a story that had a good resolution.
add to this a reference quality transfer and soundtrack and it adds up to one of the better blind purchases i've made since i got into this format.

The UV-beams that comes from the sun penerates clouds and the haze you are mentioning. In addition, if the UV-beams did not penetrate the haze and clouds then would the human beings die in larger numbers from multiple illness caused by environmental abuse. Moreover, you are also right about the industrial revolution, however, it was not as industrialized as it is today. However, I did enjoy your reply, it makes me think, which I love.

Cheers,

DVD SMURF :)

She has red hair - she's light skinned - she's pale. Whether the UV-beams are penerating or penetrating probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference. I think she looks so clean because the UV-beams are reflecting off her red hair thus creating the illusion of cleanliness. This also, of course, has an effect on her teeth. Something to do with the UV-beams, the red hair, and the fact that she has lots of sex. Yeah, yeah that's the ticket.

Heather Graham has the worst English accent I've ever heard.
Johnny Depp's is pretty poor also (And I'm usually a big fan of his)
This movie was slow and boring.

great movie, pick it up!

I just could not get into it. :(


This blind purchase is going to be traded or sold off.

I agree with you Josh. This DVD was a blind purchase for me and I loved it. A few friends have borrowed it and they gave it a thumbs up too. I also thought the movie was fun (and stylish). And didn't find anything boring about it.