Customer Reviews

JACK THE RIPPER: PHANTOM OF DEATH

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Over a decade after it aired this is the only Jack The Ripper documentary that still holds up. Full of great info not readily sited by most books (racial & class biases, political & press motivations, Conan Doyle's midwife theory) it whets the appetite for further investigation. Most importantly, unlike any other Ripper film it's the only one to capture the unrelenting terror behind the granddaddy of serial killers. There can rightfully be no firm resolution to the identity of the murderer and that fear of the unknown and the socially deviated shows through in spades. I recommend it highly to anyone interested in the case or the human phenomena of serial murder; but even as a true-to-life scary story it's terrifically effective, making the idea of particularly foggy nights unappealing to walk in.

The subject is arguably the most famous serial killer in history. In this dvd we are given the familiar "facts" but nothing really new. It would have been refreshing if more were covered on suspects and modern forensic methods that might be applicable. Still and all, an above average dvd.

I think this video as a begining one is good. For a forensic class, this works as a begining. It does not have much depth to it, but it does cover the murders Jack the Ripper is blamed for. They do touch on a couple of theories very quickly. I was looking for a more historic biography of Jack the Ripper. I almost obtained that goal. The students in my high school class thought is was good.

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This 1995 Biography treatment of Jack the Ripper provides quite a good summary of the Whitechapel murders and the unknown individual responsible for the crimes. The narrative sticks to the facts as the five accepted Jack the Ripper murders are described, and then offers a short and objective look at a number of the suspects named over the years by Ripperologists. Unlike many a Jack the Ripper documentary, this one does not engage in wild speculation or attempt to play up any possible suspect. Obviously, you can only fit so much information in a 45-minute documentary, but Jack the Ripper: Phantom of Death certainly stands as a good starting place for those with little background on the case - but it's also a valuable resource for armchair Ripperologists such as myself because it does mention a few facts that aren't mentioned all that often (e.g., a political dimension that led the most radical of newspapers to play the story up from the very start).

The first half of the documentary examines each of the five accepted Ripper murders one by one, with a look at how the police investigators in both Scotland Yard and the City of London never truly combined their individual investigations. Then it's on to the suspects, with various authorities (including - of course - Donald Rumbelow, Stewart Evans, and others such as author Caleb Carr) quickly describing the pros and cons of all prominent suspects mentioned up until the time of this documentary (so that includes James Maybrick and Dr. Tumblety). Sir William Gull and the Duke of Clarence are among these, in case you're wondering, but no mention is made of Stephen Knight's controversial and thoroughly debunked (for just about everyone other than Patricia Cornwell) theory. The modern-day insight of famed FBI profiler John Douglas is also brought to bear on some of the actual murders.

With its objective look at the Whitechapel murders, Jack the Ripper: Phantom of Death makes for a valuable resource in any Ripperologist's collection.

i dont own this i just watched it on youtube for free and at $25 i would say its not worth.