Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Jack the Ripper Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 12, 2013

Jess Franco's "Jack the Ripper" (1976) arrive son Blu-ray courtesy of German label Ascot Elite Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers; audio commentary by Swiss producer producer Erwin C. Dietrich; stills gallery; featurette; new video interview with actor Andreas Mannkopff; archival audio interview with teh Spanish director; and more. In English, German, Italian, or French, with optional Japanese, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, and Mandarin subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"I can smell you..."

Jess Franco’s Jack the Ripper is unlike any other film made about the notorious serial killer. It has a rough, at times even trashy look that brings it closer to many of the Spanish director’s more exotic films. This roughness, however, is what makes Jack the Ripper worth seeing.

The mystery element is also missing. Franco’s film is not a period thriller, but an exotic show with wild characters whose actions are quite simply unpredictable. Shortly after the opening credits, the audience already knows perfectly well that Klaus Kinski is Jack the Ripper; what it does not know is how to read his mind. This is where Franco steps in with his bag of tricks.

The impression Kinski creates is that the killer is a man on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown. He is attracted to young women, but when approached he is overwhelmed by an inexorable desire to hurt them because they make him feel weak. Kinski is the right actor to play such a man. When Franco’s camera looks straight into his eyes, it sees a real madman.

There are scenes of extreme but kitschy brutality in Jack the Ripper. Because Franco’s camera seems quite comfortable around the women Kinski mutilates, it is easy to tell that these scenes were meant to be amongst the highlights in the film. Quite a few of them, however, are so over the top that they look almost surreal. In these scenes, Kinski also looks like a man who has taken a large amount of drugs and is in some trance-like mode.

The transitions between the different acts are often abrupt. At first this seems a bit awkward, but later on it all begins to make sense. In one of the interviews included on this release, producer Erwin C. Dietrich points out that with his unconventional way of shooting Franco essentially crafted a style which years later the Dogme directors would enthusiastically embrace. Indeed, watching this quite rough low-budget period film with its complete disregard for conventional style and movement rules, it is difficult not to agree with the Swiss producer.

In addition to Kinski’s performance, there are also memorable cameos by Franco’s muse, Lina Romey (Female Vampire, Exorcism), who rather predictably is right in the middle of one of the most explicit scenes in the entire film, and a young Josephine Chaplin (The Canterbury Tales. Andreas Mannkopff, known for frequently dubbing the great Benny Hill, also plays the ambitious Inspector Selby.

The film was shot on location in Zurich, Switzerland. The Thames scenes, in particular, were done right at Schanzengraben, which according to Dietrich was a surprising but ultimately very good alternative option for Franco and his team. The film was lensed by cinematographer Peter Baumgartner, who also frequently worked with Dietrich on a number of films he directed for his company (see Higher and Higher, Voluptuous Vixens ‘76, She Devils of the SS).

Note: German label Ascot Elite Home Entertainment’s Blu-ray release of Franco’s Jack the Ripper contains the uncensored director’s cut of the film, which runs at approximately 92 minutes.

Jack the Ripper Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jess Franco's Jack the Ripper arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German label Ascot Elite Home Entertainment.

I am very pleasantly surprised with the high-definition transfer used for this release. It appears to have been sourced from the same restored master, supervised by cinematographer Peter Baumgartner, that was used by producer Erwin C. Dietrich and VIP a few years ago when a number of Franco films were released uncut on DVD in Switzerland. Generally speaking, detail and especially image depth are very good. Some of the nighttime footage has minor clarity fluctuations, but it appears that some of them are a byproduct of inherited fading while the rest simply have to do with the manner in which the film was shot (the film was shot with a limited budget and at times the use of light makes it quite clear). Colors are stable. Similar to the Anchor Bay R2 DVD release of the film, the reds and browns are the most prominent colors, but there are also solid blues and greens. Saturation, however, is very good across the entire spectrum of colors. Digital work has been performed to remove large debris, scratches, cuts, and even problematic noise, but there are no traces of overzealous degraining. Also, there are no traces of problematic sharpening corrections. This being said, there are a few warping effects that I noticed during select frame transitions, which are also present on the DVD release, but none of them are overly distracting. Additionally, there are light compression artifacts that pop up during a few of the darker sequences, but again I was not distracted. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3-3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Jack the Ripper Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and French Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Ascot Elite Home Entertainment have provided optional Japanese, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, and Mandarin (Traditional) subtitles for the main feature.

The English language version of Jack the Ripper features plenty of dubbing, but it is indeed an official one and was used by producer Erwin C. Dietrich to promote the film in various international markets. Generally speaking, dynamic intensity is quite limited, but both clarity and depth are pleasing. Walter Baumgartner's music is not always perfectly balanced, but the unevenness is obviously part of the film's original sound design. The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow. Also, there are no problematic pops, cracks, hiss, or distortions to report in this review.

Jack the Ripper Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - this is the same very informative audio commentary by Swiss producer producer Erwin C. Dietrich which initially appeared on the uncut R2 DVD release of Jack the Ripper from the "The Jess Franco Collection". Mr. Dietrich offers a tremendous amount of information about the film's production history, Jess Franco's directing style and work ethic, Klaus Kinski's image at the time when the film was produced, the film's censoring, etc. The commentary is in German with optional English subtitles.

• Entfernte Szene - a very graphic deleted scene. Without audio. (7 sec).

• Werkstattbericht zur Restauration - this featurette was produced for "The Jess Franco Collection", which appeared on DVD quite some time ago, and focuses on the life and legacy of Jess Franco, as well as the restorations of the films he directed for producer Erwin C. Dietrich. In German, with optional English subtitles. (18 min).

• Erwin C. Dietrichs Hommage an Jess Francos Jack the Ripper - in this terrific video interview, producer Erwin C. Dietrich discusses his professional relationship with Jess Franco, his directing methods, the censoring history of the films he financed, Jack the Ripper and its production history, etc. In German, with optional English subtitles. (22 min).

• Interview mit Andreas Mannkopff - new video interview with Andreas Mannkopff (Inspector Selby). In German, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Audio-Interview mit Jess Franco - this archival audio interview with the Spanish director was conducted in Hotel Gregory in Zurich on June 17, 1976. In French, not subtitled. (43 min).

• Fotogalerie - a collection of posters, stills, lobby cards, and magazine clips. (1080p).

• Trailers - four original trailers. In German, not subtitled.
  
  1. Jack the Ripper
  2. Greta - House ohne Manner/Ilsa the Wicked Warden
  3. Ruf der blonden Gottin/Call of the Blonde Goddess
  4. Frauen fur Zellenblock 9/Women in Cellblock 9

Jack the Ripper Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am very pleased with German label Ascot Elite Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Jess Franco's Jack the Ripper. If the rest of the announced Blu-ray releases in the label's Jess Franco Golden Goya Collection look as good as this one, I think that fans of the Spanish director and his work are in for a very special treat. I personally am very optimistic that they will, because for Jack the Ripper the German label used the recent restoration of the film. The rest of the films Franco directed for Swiss producer Erwin C. Dietrich were also restored. RECOMMENDED.