Viiltäjä-Jack

Relatively richly detailed for a TV production, with an easily believable illusion of late 19th century London. The artfully written and directed story retains a dramatic charge throughout the two episodes that doesn't let you get bored for the entire three hours. As we know, Jack the Ripper was never identified, so in order to avoid an open ending, the filmmakers slightly manipulate the facts and reveal the would-be "real" identity of the killer based on their beliefs (quoted in the end credits). Who knows, maybe their guess is right, maybe they really hit it, but no one will ever know. (06.07.2005)

Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, this is the best movie about the weirdo who called himself Jack the Ripper. He didn't have much to do, so he wandered around gloomy old London, murdering prostitutes in the manner of a butcher who might have a shop on your street. And who was that, you say? It's hard to say - but maybe Inspector Fred Abberline, the guy who looks like Michael Caine, drinks excessively, thinks like a NASA supercomputer and talks like (the great) Karel Heřmánek, will tell us. He doesn't have it easy, this Abberline, but he takes the case with vigor and is as motivated as a bulldog. Moreover, thanks to Caine, he constantly shows us that he is a man full of all kinds of emotions, which he shows whenever it is (in)convenient for him, and not a superman. Jack the Ripper is an unexpectedly great film by TV standards and bears comparison with its full-blown silver screen brethren. The atmosphere is as thick as a bucket of tar, the actors don't act, but directly reincarnate into the characters, the plot keeps escalating until the end, which is... And you know what? You'd better watch it yourself. You will definitely not be disappointed.__P.S. I don't even need to say that the film From Hell is quite weak compared to this one. Five absolute stars. (15.08.2010)

This two-part television thriller about the most famous criminal case investigated in Great Britain was created on the occasion of the centenary of the series of attacks by the mysterious Jack the Ripper. From today's perspective, when ambitious quality TV projects keep pace with filmmaking, it may not stand out as much, but in the second half of the 80s, it was a generously funded project that was intended to be a dignified tribute to this event. There is an evident effort to approach the subject matter as seriously as possible and at the same time create an atmospheric genre film with a socially critical subtext. Anyone who has ever dealt with the case of the London serial killer will not be too surprised by the choice of the perpetrator; his name has always been one of the debated ones in the case, and it is addressed in literary form, for example, in Alan Moore's successful comic novel "From Hell." Although the television film is by no means as multifaceted, it is not a work that tries to be a complete statement about Victorian England society, but as an unconventional detective story set in historical settings with a non-conformist protagonist surpassing the abilities of his surroundings, it holds up more than decently - undoubtedly thanks to Michael Caine's casting in the main role, because he couldn't act badly even if he wanted to. Overall impression: 80%. (23.07.2017)