Date: 16. januar 2002 02:11
Newsgroups: alt.movies,alt.politics.clinton
Subject: Jack the Ripper movie-plot 
makes Watergate and Clinton like scandals looks kind of lame
Author: Simon Laub
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From Hell, staring Johnny Depp, is a brilliant movie.

I certainly enjoyed the poorly lit alleys,
hansom cabs and gaslights, the fog, the prostitutes,
the homeless and then the unknown assailant,
aka. "Jack the Ripper". Out there stalking the dimly lit,
fog blanketed streets of Londons EastEnd Whitechapel
district.

So London 1888 seemed very real to me.
I don't know about the story though.

As I understand it: Chief Inspector Abberline, Johnny Depp,
is/was the real life policeman on the case - and 
his favorite suspect was one George Chapman,
who was hanged in 1903 for poisoning his wife. This seems
interesting enough for me - and I would have liked to see
that story alone explored in a movie.

But I see why the movie went with the prince Albert Victor story.
It does have all the ingredience of a tabloid block buster!
>i.e. The prince goes to the East End. Here "Prince Eddie",
>secretly and illegally, married Annie Crook, a Catholic girl.
>It was then that the Royal Physician,
>William Gull, allegedly became involved and in an attempt
>to silence the scandal picked up all possible prostitutes
>who had seen the wedding.
>Or the even better version: The prince has syphilis. 
>Where the disease supposedly
>causes Eddy to go insane and commit the Whitechapel murders.

Both Watergate and Clintons various escapades seems pretty
lame in comparison!

But whatever the truth of these murders, to me it all
boils down to these poorly gas lit alleys in London
and the people who lived there. Wayback then.
That could hardly
be anything but one hell of a story.

So - ok, storywise I understand why involving the royal connection
gives more drama and contrast to the powerty of east London.
Still, there is plenty of drama in old East London by itself.
So - Certainly, It would have been nice to see the 
old London scenery explored even more.

Still, a brilliant movie, which reminds us that the good old days
where a lot more than just "good".

Simon Laub