Jack the Ripper: Limited Edition – Cauldron Films (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: West Germany, 1976
Director: Jesús Franco
Writer: Jesús Franco
Cast: Klaus Kinski, Andreas Mannkopff, Josephine Chaplin, Andreas Mannkopff, Herbert Fux, Lina Romay

Release Date: April 28th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 92 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English, DTS-HD Stereo English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $54.99

"During the late 1800’s, the Whitechapel area of London was gripped in fear as Jack the Ripper (Klaus Kinski — Code Name: Wild Geese) literally tore through the prostitutes of the area.  Desperately trying to solve the grisly murders and placate the panicking residents, Inspector Selby (Andreas Mannkopff) finds himself obsessed with finding the killer and protecting his girlfriend (Josephine Chaplin — The Canterbury Tales) who may be next…” – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Jack the Ripper was scanned in 4K from the original camera negative & best available film materials by Ascot Films. Grading and restoration by Gamma Ray Digital. SDH subtitles, additional grading restoration by Outer Realm Studio. Authoring and Dolby Vision HDR grade by Duplitech."

Jack the Ripper comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 68.2 GB

Feature: 60.4 GB

The source is in excellent shape; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, and compression are solid, black levels are strong, and the image always looks organic.

Jack the Ripper comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray. 

Disc Size: 45.5 GB

Feature: 26.5 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English), 4/5 (DTS-HD Stereo English), 3.75/5 (Dolby Digital Mono English)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English, and a Dolby Digital mono mix in English. All tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. The DTS-HD 5.1 track is the strongest of the three. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with Ryan Verrill and Dr Will Dodson.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital mono German with removable English subtitles), a deleted gore scene (15 seconds, no sound), a video essay by Eugenio Ercolani titled Whitechapel Shadows (17 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay by Troy Howarth titled Klaus the Ripper (21 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Andreas Mannkopff titled He Caught Jack the Ripper (26 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with non-removable English subtitles), an archival featurette titled Erwin C. Dietrich's Tribute to Jess Franco’s Jack the Ripper (22 minutes 31seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Ryan Verrill and Dr Will Dodson.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a rigid slipcase (limited edition only), a double-sided poster (limited edition only), and a 40-page booklet (limited edition only) with cast & crew information, an essay titled Jess and Erwin: A Match Made in Switzerland written by Troy Howarth, an essay titled Jess Franco’s Jack the Ripper written by Dr Stella Marie Gaynor, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Jack the Ripper was one of eighteen films that Jess Franco made with producer Erwin Dietrich over a three-year period. Their collaboration began with Downtown and ended with Girls After Midnight.

The story of Jack the Ripper, the most infamous killer whose identity to this day has not been uncovered, has been told countless times. Many films about Jack the Ripper have taken liberties with the known evidence surrounding his crimes. Some of these films merely use his notorious acts as a foundation for their stories, while a select few attempt to remain closer to the actual events. While Jess Franco’s Jack the Ripper falls somewhere in between, it does lean more to the latter.

Over the course of his 18 film collaborations with Jess Franco, producer Erwin Dietrich takes advantage of Jess Franco’s three greatest assets: his ability to work quickly, his ability to overcome anemic budgets, and his knack for crafting exploitation cinema that perfectly blends erotica and horror. Although Jack the Ripper incorporates all of these elements, it stands out as the most resource-intensive project that Jess Franco collaborated on with Erwin Dietrich. Additionally, Jack the Ripper distinctly differs from their other 17 collaborations by being the most mainstream film among the 18 they produced together.

Known for his frequent collaborators, Jess Franco works with Klaus Kinski (Nosferatu the Vampyre) for the fourth and last time. Klaus Kinski is frequently cast in roles that demand limited screentime, but in the role of Jack the Ripper, he is given his most substantial part among his four collaborations with Jess Franco. He has a natural intensity and menace to him that makes his casting a perfect choice.

When it comes to the rest of the performances, they are very good, especially Hans Gaugler in the role of a blind man who’s the police’s only witness to Jack the Ripper’s identity. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Josephine Chaplin in the role of the inspector’s girlfriend, who uses herself as bait for Jack the Ripper, and Jess Franco’s muse, Lina Romay (Female Vampire); she has a brief role as a dancer who becomes one of Jack the Ripper’s victims.

The opening setup effectively draws you in, but after this initial hook, Jess Franco’s characteristic slow pacing begins, which some viewers may find overly drawn out. While the film includes the essential elements typical of a Jack the Ripper story, it is far less graphic than one might anticipate from Franco's work. The most notable moments that reflect Jess Franco's style include a scene in which Jack the Ripper experiences hallucinations and a lively can-can dance sequence set in a nightclub. Ultimately, Jack the Ripper stands out as one of Jess Franco’s more accessible films.

Cauldron Films gives Jack the Ripper a first-rate release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of informative extras. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer