From Hell

Theatrical Release Date: 2001 10 19 (USA)

UPC: 024543054481

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Graphic Violence, Nudity, Not For Children, Profanity, Substance Abuse, Sexual Situations, Drug Content]

Summary: The true-life horror story of Jack the Ripper gets a new spin in this screen adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. In 1888, a ruthless and cold-blooded killer begins hunting prostitutes in East London, and while the murderer's work is savage, the mutilation of his victims suggests the fiend has an extensive medical background. Amidst a background of political unrest and barely contained scandal among the royal family, the murderer's grisly exploits shock and frighten all of England, and one of Scotland Yard's top inspectors, Fred Abberline (Johnny Depp), is put on the case, along with his partner, Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane). Abberline, depending on one's viewpoint, is either blessed or cursed with second sight, and while he blurs his ability to see future events with opium and other drugs, he still has an uncanny ability to ferret out dangerous criminals, which is put to the test as he and Godley search for the Ripper. As Abberline and Godley investigate the neighborhood where the crimes occur, they become acquainted with the prostitutes and street people who were friends and compatriots of the victims, and Abberline finds himself falling in love with Mary Kelly (Heather Graham), a beautiful Irish streetwalker. As Abberline tries to identify the killer before Mary Kelly can become the next victim, he and Godley have to contend with Sir Charles Warren (Ian Richardson), their superior who is keen to pin the murders on a culprit who isn't British, and Sir William Gull (Ian Holm), a respected physician who has his own ideas about the murders and the benefits of psychosurgery. From Hell marked a change of pace for Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes, the sibling directorial team best known for their gritty depictions of America's urban underground in such films as Menace II Society and Dead Presidents. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Thriller

Features: ccFull-length commentary by directors Albert and Allen Hughes
Screenwriter Rafael Yglesias, cinematographer Peter Deming and actor Robbie Coltrane
Alternate ending and over 20 deleted scenes with optional commentary by Albert Hughes
Anamorphic widescreen (aspect ratio 2.35:1) Audio: English 5.1 DTS, English 5.1 Dolby Surround
French Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Surround subtitles: English

From Hell

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 10/22/2002

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: THX THX-Certified Mastering, DTS Digital Theater Systems, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DS Dolby Surround (4.0)

Runtime: 121 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Chasing the Dragon (Main Titles)
2. The Prostitutes' Problem
3. Kidnapped
4. A Vision of Death
5. The New Treatment
6. A Dead Woman
7. A Different Breed of Killer
8. Absinthe and Laudanum
9. A Request For Help
10. My Gentleman
11. Ritual
12. Butchers Aplenty
13. Sir William's Advice
14. Our Grandson's Malady
15. Visions of Mary
16. Special Branch
17. Queen Annie
18. Annie's Prince
19. The Secret Ceremony
20. Still a Woman
21. The Surgeon's Assistant
22. Unfinished Business
23. Find a Scapegoat
24. The Writing on the Wall
25. The Freemasons
26. Below the Skin
27. The Ripper's Prisoner
28. The Last Victim
29. You're Being Watched
30. Judgment
31. Abberline's Choice
32. End Titles

Derek Armstrong

Allen and Albert Hughes clearly studied films like Bram Stoker's Dracula and Sleepy Hollow in preparation for their own gothic costume horror, from the operatic camera work to the eye-candy fetishizing of blood and other atmospheric fluids. From Hell boasts gorgeous art direction and as comfortable a genre shift by its directors as one could imagine, given that modern inner-city dramas (Menace II Society, Dead Presidents) were their claim to fame. Although the film's moldering period look may not be trailblazing, it's handled as adroitly as Francis Ford Coppola (Dracula) or Tim Burton (Hollow) presented similar cityscapes, carriages, and cobblestone streets. The directors' own touches distinguish the effort, such as the cool use of time lapse photography to chart policemen and onlookers rubbernecking a victim over a period of hours. It's a 19th century London that's filthy and hopeless, in every respect except for the leads -- Heather Graham is too manicured for a destitute street walker, and Johnny Depp is, well, unavoidably handsome. What holds From Hell back is that even with gruesome disembowelments and sprays of arterial blood, it's never all that creepy or unsettling. Beyond a few morbid snippets of dialogue, you never get a sense of Jack the Ripper as a character, given the film's (correct) decision to cloak his identity until the end. The chosen plot is a reasonable way to address the lingering unknowns about the killer, but it keeps him at a regrettable distance. In the era of Hannibal Lecter, viewers expect a dynamic villain to haunt them after they leave the theater -- especially if it's one of history's most methodologically twisted serial killers. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Mark Dexter  Actor 
Trevor Jones  Composer (Music Score) 
Jane Hamsher  Producer 
Terry Hayes  Screenwriter 
Albert Hughes  Director 
Albert Hughes  Executive Producer 
Allen Hughes  Director 
Allen Hughes  Executive Producer 
Don Murphy  Producer 
Amy Robinson  Executive Producer 
Rafael Yglesias  Screenwriter 
Thomas M. Hammel  Executive Producer 
Johnny Depp  Actor 
Heather Graham  Actor 
Ian Holm  Actor 
Robbie Coltrane  Actor 
Ian Richardson  Actor 
Jason Flemyng  Actor 
Katrin Cartlidge  Actor 
Terence Harvey  Actor 
Susan Lynch  Actor 
Lesley Sharp  Actor 
Annabelle Apsion  Actor 

Country: USA