New R2 version of "Jack The Ripper" (1 Viewer)

[Jeff_HR]

A new R2 version of the "Jack The Ripper" mini-series was recently released. the newer version has a widescreen presentation & also features an audio commentary. The older version had neither.

 

[Gary Tooze]

Jeff,

Is this the one with Michael Caine ?

Thanks,
Gary

 

[Jeff_HR]

Is this the one with Michael Caine

Indeed it is Gary.

 

[Mike_Richardson]

Sounds good, where can we order this from?

My only gripe with the new transfer is that this would likely be yet another case of OAR-alteration since it was shot for American TV and never intended for theatrical exhibition...

 

[Jeff_HR]

Here are 3 places you can order from: BlackStar or from Benson's World (The wrong cover art is shown here) or from Amazon UK (The wrong cover art is shown here).

 

[Julian Lalor]

Wasn't it shot for British television, which introduced widescreen broadcasts well before the US. However, I still think it was made well before widescreen was the norm in broadcasting in the UK.

 

[Douglas R]

I've got this and the picture quality is excellent. The wide screen framing looks perfectly OK.

 

[Theodore]

Will this movie play in my dvd player? Is the format the same as dvd's in the U.S? Thanks.

 

[Jeff_HR]

Theodore, this DVD will only play in your Player if it is a multi-regional player with PAL-to-NTSC conversion capabilities. Judging from your question I'd guess that you only have a Region 1 player, but until you tell us the name of your player, there no 100% way of knowing.

 

[JulianK]

The most interesting thing about this disc is that it contains about twenty minutes of fragments from an earlier, abandoned version of the series, featuring Frenzy star Barry Foster as Aberline, instead of Michael Caine.

They had already started production when they suddenly secured a deal with an American broadcaster, who, in return for their substantial investment, wanted a bigger name as the lead, so filming stopped, and the whole production was remounted with a new star.

The Barry Foster footage is very interesting, and presents an intriguing case for "what if..." speculation. Of course, the two versions are quite different, since the Foster version was made on video, and the Caine version was shot on film.

 

[Malcolm Cleugh]

As this is an Anchor Bay release in the UK then it may well be coded R123456 (as their other releases are). So should work in a R1 only player. However you will need a TV or DVD player which will convert the PAL on the DVD to NTSC.

I don't have this yet as waiting for it to go on promo. In the UK Anchor Bay have a daft pricing strategy. Charge a high initial price of £20 but then after around 3 months they sell them off through many retailers at 50 to 60% off so under £10. I am happy to wait.