Review of Secret Identity of Jack the Ripper, The

Introduction

Alas, not the Michael Caine film of the same year but a TV Special made for American television in 1988-exactly 100 years on from the final Jack the Ripper murder.

Fronted by one-time Poirot, Peter Ustinov, it offers a specialised panel of judges who will sift the available evidence using up to date FBI techniques and come up with a definitive Jack the Ripper suspect.

Filmed in front of a live audience the aim was to build up the suspense by presenting evidence against each one of the five main suspects, interspersed with dramatised reconstructions of the murders.

On hand to help Ustinov live from London (in the early morning there) is Jan Leeming- the London field reporter. One of the expert judges is a Queen`s Counsel and the panel includes the FBI and a forensic expert Dr William Eckert.

As Ustinov approaches through the television mock up of `ole London town` I half expected the cast of Scrooge to be following behind him singing `that`s the nicest thing that anyone`s ever done for me`.

The presentation is ponderous as each of the five key suspects are examined. In between this the five murders are shown on film reconstructions and a voice over plods through what actually happened.

Video

This is a 1988 TV show put onto a dvd the picture is reasonably clear but not really what you pay for. As it was a television show it is in 4:3. The picture is slightly misty at the edges for the re-constructions.Locations are used-Jan Leeming gets to walk past some derelict warehouses. The studio set does look ver Dickenish and the studio audience are strangely mute.

Also useful as a reference point for the width of female shoulder pads in the late 1980`s.

Audio

The sound is adequate; there is nothing about the programme that would have warranted any tweaking. It`s in Dolby but quite frankly it doesn`t matter.

Features

Trailer

This appears to be the trailer sent to the advertisers and I`m sure it would have made me want to sell my product during this programme. Let`s see what sort of products-personal attack alarms .

Biographies

A screen for each of Ustinov, Leeming and Dr William Eckert. Annoyingly Ustinov`s is the marketing blurb sent to the advertisers to convince them of his credentials!

Stalking the Ripper-screens of information including transcriptions of the famous Ripper letters.
Production stills-very few and poor quality and pointless.

The screens are difficult to read but at least they made the effort to include some extra information.

Conclusion

This disc is not of particularly good quality and looks like it has been released on the back of the `From Hell` movie. Having been made in 1988 for American television it lacks any of the requirements for a good DVD and will only appeal to the avid collectors of such memorabilia and Peter Ustinov groupies.

Despite the programme`s claims to have the final say on the identity of Jack the Ripper there continues to be intense speculation .It is time and distance that makes us forget just how gruesome these particular murders were. Five women were murdered over a short period and the methodology of the murderer grew increasingly more deranged. This 100-year on look appears to be a genuine investigation with a popular response from the American public towards a case that intrigues because like many others it has its own conspiracy theories attached to it.

As with many of these programmes the investigation and evidence has been superseded by others which shows how it continues to interest the viewing public..