From Hell (Rental) (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	117:21
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	The Hughes Brothers
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	Johnny Depp Heather Graham Ian Holm Robbie Coltrane
Case	?
RPI	Rental	Music	Trevor Jones

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes, both tobacco and opium.
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Many have categorised From Hell as a horror movie (and it certainly has a good quotient of gore and squeamish moments), but at its heart it is really a murder mystery/whodunit. While the graphic novel on which this film is based (also titled From Hell) is the story of the Ripper from his perspective, the Hughes brothers decided that in order for an audience to connect with the film it would need to follow a more palatable character. As a result, we have the story of Inspector Abberline (Johnny Depp), the detective assigned to the case. Along with his offsider Godley (the great Robbie Coltrane), he attempts to track the killer who is systematically removing a circle of friends (and prostitutes) that includes Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) - the fifth and final victim of the Ripper (who was literally dismantled by the Ripper on November 8th, 1888). It is through these friends, and the help of royal surgeon Sir William Gull (Ian Holm), that Abberline finds his leads, but at the same time as it becomes clear that Mary Kelly will be the next target of the Ripper, he finds himself falling for her.

    If there is one weak link in the film, it is the casting of Heather Graham as Mary Kelly - she is simply too shiningly beautiful and unburdened by worry to be a woman driven to prostitution through lack of means. The rest of the casting is superb. Johnny Depp is excellent as the detective struggling to come to terms with his precognitive dreams. Ian Holm is equally as good as the brilliant doctor forced out of practice and into teaching by his age, and Robbie Coltrane steals every scene he is in as Abberline's Shakespeare-quoting offsider. The other prostitutes in the circle of friends are also excellently cast, being far more of the appearance that one would expect from an "unfortunate".

    From Hell is a film to be experienced - not just seen. While the wild conspiracy theory of the plot could be a little hard to swallow for those looking for an insight into the real happenings of late 1888, as a work of fiction it is excellent, and this is one film that just gets better with every viewing.

Video

    Presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, this transfer is 16x9 enhanced.

    The sharpness, although not spectacular, is certainly very good. There is sufficient detail present to be able to pick up everything the Hughes' brothers intended, and for the atmosphere of the film to come across without hindrance. There are only two minor occurrences of noticeable grain (aside from during the dream sequences, where the grain is intentionally - and for once effectively - high), being from 50:18 to 50:22, and in the sky at 108:53. The shadow detail - vital in what is an extremely dark film - is simply superb. The transfer displays everything that needs to be seen, and nothing that shouldn't be. A very good indication of this is that it is still very easy to make out necessary detail even when the majority of the screen is dark - and in From Hell that is a frequent occurrence. Additionally, there is no low-level noise present in the shadows.

    The colours are very good, although they are lacking a little in comparison to the Region 1 disc. Even so, this transfer is vibrant and sumptuous for the rich, upper class parts of 19th century London, then easily switches to the dark and dank Whitechapel district, while the gardens of the royal gallery are vibrant and green.

    Although there are no specific compression artefacts visible in this transfer, there is always a slight feeling that things are not quite as good as they might otherwise have been. This is most likely due to the single-layered nature of this disc resulting in a reduced amount of space for the transfer. On a more specific note, the number of film and film-to-video artefacts present in this transfer is also quite disappointing. Film artefacts are not infrequent, and while all are small, they are also mostly white and stand out very obviously in such a dark film, occurring regularly enough to become annoying. Aliasing is also quite frequent, especially early in the transfer. From the very opening Fox logo, there are many instances, such as on the edge of the table from 9:11 to 9:16 and on the assorted boxes and papers on the desk at 48:25. Probably the most obvious, however, is on the stairs of the royal gallery from 64:54 to 65:07. The biggest disappointment about these artefacts however, is that the Region 1 transfer is entirely free of both film artefacts and aliasing.

    The only subtitles available on this disc are English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles. From the sample I took, they are not particularly good, being poorly paced, and regularly misquoting dialogue to the point of changing the impact of the line.

    This is a single layered disc, and therefore does not contain a layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is only a single audio track present on this disc, being an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track (at 384 Kbps).

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. The sound mixing is not at all problematic - and for a film that uses such aggressive sound design as this, that is quite a feat. The score, dialogue, and sound effects are all woven together without any problems. Audio sync was never a problem in this transfer.

    The score for From Hell is provided by Trevor Jones, and is very effective at combining a standard orchestral score with a more modern "techno-infused" instrumental track. It combines brilliantly with the sound design to create a foreboding sense of dread for the entire length of the film.

    The surround channels are aggressively used to carry both score and effects sounds. The surrounds are also often put to very effective use for ambient surround (the sound of flies buzzing around behind you in the morgue scenes is very disturbing). There are occasions when the soundfield collapses to the front channels, but this is usually during dialogue scenes in quiet locations, where there is little chance for surround use. The surrounds are only occasionally used for directional effects, but as there is not an enormous opportunity for that type of sound design in the film, it is not really a shortcoming. One final note on the surround audio in From Hell is that the surround channels (indeed, all the channels) are at times used to output extensive bass, so those with small surrounds may find themselves missing out somewhat.

    This transfer includes a subwoofer track that will test the best out there. There is an almost constant rumbling that underlies the entire movie, and really adds to the tension, and then in certain scenes - mostly dream sequences - there are bass effects that will almost knock the walls down. This is not a good soundtrack to put on for noise-sensitive neighbours.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

• DTS 5.1 half bitrate soundtrack
• 448 Kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
• Audio Commentary featuring both directors, screenwriter, cinematographer, and actor Robbie Coltrane
• 22 deleted scenes, with and without commentary
• Interactive documentary Jack The Ripper: 6 Degrees of Separation
• HBO making of featurette A View From Hell
• Tour of the Murder Sites featurette
• Production design featurette
• Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fonder featurette
• Graphic novel to film comparison
• Original theatrical trailer
• Trailer for Unfaithful
• French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround soundtrack
• Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround soundtrack
• French and Spanish subtitles

• Nothing

    The video quality is very good, only being let down by a few too many film artefacts, and too many instances of aliasing.

    The audio quality is excellent, making extensive use of the 5.1 format without drawing attention to itself.

    There are no extras at all.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall