Review of From Hell: Directors` Limited Edition

Introduction

When I first saw the early publicity photos surrounding From Hell all I could think of was Sleepy Hollow. Johnny Depp looked liked he`d been picked from that set and dumped here. I hated Depp in Sleepy Hollow and therefore tried to give this a wide birth on its theatrical release. Luckily my husband had the original From Hell graphic novels and was a big fan. He dragged me, with protest, to a late night showing at my local multiplex and I must now say I am ever so grateful.

This is an absolute gem in respect of cinematography and atmosphere as It captures the seedy prostitute lined streets of 1888 London perfectly. The movie also retains its heritage in the comic book style framing and darkness.

Directed by the Hughes brothers we get a stylish twist on the Jack the Ripper story, with elements cribbed from the multitude of other films and books on this subject. What we don`t get is any highly original ending. It wouldn`t take Sherlock Homes to figure out who the ripper is from the outset but it still offers some good thrills and chills.

Violence and gore has been extremely toned down from the graphic novel. I read it after seeing the movie and was shocked by the amount of gore in what is basically a comic book version.
Ardent fans of the original will not be seeing Whitechapel prostitutes getting their faces peeled of like an onion or their breasts surgically removed and put on the bedside table. I don`t think this would have sat well with a mainstream audience.

The biggest thing that detracted from the story was inspector Abberline`s Absinthe and Opium abuse and subsequent gift for seeing into the future. This felt like a scapegoat and an easy way of getting him to do very little actual detective work. This was plausible in a comic but not when transferred it to the real world.

There are a few nice touches. My favorites being the quick introduction of one Mr John Merrick (The Elephant Man) to a group of surgeons and other dignitaries, and a gloriously gory CGI cut throat scene.

So how does the disc fair?

Video

It`s a new movie, and we get a sparkling new, crystal clear, 2:35.1 anamorphic transfer. There`s no noise or macro-blocking. The contrast level was very good considering the majority of the movie is in darkness. Blacks remain solid and whites are perfectly balanced with nothing too bright and no smearing or haloing. The colours are intentionally muted but do shine vividly on some of the indoor scenes.

Menus are imaginatively animated and scored throughout but do take a few seconds to fully load to selection which is a tad annoying.

Audio

From Hell has DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. This is one disc were the DTS overshadows the DD5.1. Don`t get me wrong the 5.1 is great but the DTS is much more spacious and the great directional sound steering is pin point accurate. On both the surrounds are used to great effect for both ambient and musical moments but again the DTS really brings you into the movie with superbly enveloping audio. The bass extension on both packs a punch when required and the dialogue cuts through the nosier action sequences with gusto.

Features

This is a well packed and packaged two disc set. I hate the cardboard gatefold sleeves and much prefer these slimmer plastic cases that have a second hinged disc holder.

Disc One contains the main feature and a full length, engaging audio commentary by the Hughes brothers, Albert and Allen, plus screenwriter Rafael Yglesias, choreographer Peter Deming and good old Robbie Coltrane.

Also on the first disc are a selection of deleted scenes and an alternate ending. Some of these scenes are great and I don`t quite understand why some were deleted. On the other hand some are obvious time related trims to keep the pace of the movie brisk. On all these you get an additional commentary by Albert Hughes.

Disc two gives us a number of hours of bonus feature browsing with a standard length making of featurette. You also get a "Jack the Ripper - 6 Degrees of Separation" feature that gives you a greater insight into the original material, graphic novel and police investigations from the period.

There`s also an HBO "View from Hell" feature, introduced by Heather Graham that presents the viewer with short and sweet interviews with the main actors, directors and production crew.

Yet more features to come with another on production design and a separate one dedicated totally to the graphic novel to screen process.

And yes here`s another quick one called "Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder", looking at the relationship of this beloved drink feature in the movie.

To cap it off we have the usual theatrical trailer and a trailer for another coming movie "Unfaithful".

Just one other interesting snippet of info. that has nothing to do with From Hell. The trailer for Unfaithful features music taken from an album called "Unearthed" by E.S Posthumus. Music from this album has been used on many new trailers recently including Spiderman, Time Machine and Planet of the Apes. The album can be bought only online from www.espothumus.com. and it is awesome a must for anyone into movie scores.

Conclusion

It`s a great looking and sounding movie with some fabulous performances from the principals. Hypnotic cinematography, amazing sets and top notch direction by the hughes brothers set it above most other ripper movies. It also pulls itself out of the stereotypical quagmire of many period pieces. The DVD is a fully loaded platter which is both informative and entertaining.

It`s also worth noting that this is tagged as a limited edition and I have been told that it is now quite hard to get hold of this double disc set as fox have now launched the single disc version.

Get it now while you still can!