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The Ghost and the Darkness [Region 2] | ![The Ghost and the Darkness [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513WX19TERL._SL500_.jpg)
| Director: Stephen Hopkins
Actors: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill
Category: DVD
Buy Used: $23.25
Used (2) from $23.25
Rating:  141 reviews
Format: Pal
Language: German (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
EAN: 4040316721783
ASIN: B00004WN5C
Theatrical Release Date: October 11, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Val Kilmer stars as Lt. Col. John Patterson, a 19th-century Irish engineer drafted by Britain's railroad bosses to build a trestle bridge over an African river, thus expanding the empire a tiny bit more. In Tsavo, Patterson is instantly hailed for killing a man-eating lion that had been making life hell for native workers. But morale sinks when a pair of unstoppable big cats devour more men and destroy the project. Along comes an Ahab-like, expatriate American hunter (Michael Douglas) to help Patterson face the almost preternatural powers of the two killers. The script by William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) is based on fact, though the film owes more to Spielberg (specifically to Jaws) than history. There are also suggestive echoes of Kipling and Conrad in the material and characters, and there are hints of emotional complexity and psychological nuance that make one wish this could have been a great film instead of a merely fun one. --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 136 more reviews...
 The Ghost and the Darkness June 27, 2009
Barbara S. Green
The Ghost and the Darkness is a wonderful and powerful film about one of the most horrible and true out-breaks of man-eating by the African lion, the 'Man-Eaters of Tsavo'. In March 1898 young army engineer Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmar) arrives in Tsavo, British East Africa to build a railway bridge over the River Tsavo that is part of the Uganda-Mombasa Railway. But things take a turn for the worst. Two male lions start to attack and kill the railway crews. For over nine months the lions kill and devour 135 men. A Professional hunter comes to Col. Patterson's (Val Kilmar) aid. A man named Charles Remington (Michal Douglas). The two men hunt these unstoppable beasts that seem to have a supernatural power about them. Giving the true meaning of Tsavo ("A Place of Slaughter"). The name of the movie is what the workmen actually called the lions. I watched it and I love it just as much as the 1907 narrative it is based on "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" written by the real Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson.
 A real horror story June 26, 2009
D. J. Nardi (Washington, DC)
This movie is when a David Attenborough documentary meets the movie Aliens. It is roughly based on an incident in southern Kenya in 1898 when two man-eating lions attacked and killed dozens of railway workers. It is definitely a dramatized version of this history, beginning with the fact that the actual lions did not have any manes. However, the movie is pretty entertaining and definitely scary, without being too unrealistic.
Simply amazing June 20, 2009
C. Martin (Nebraska)
Allright a couple weeks ago I found this movie in my parents shelf and I asked my mom if I've ever seen it. She said I had when I was really young (about 3) and I didn't remember any of it. So I put it in the old tape player and was shocked at how great it was. I'm so surprised I didn't remember it. The movie is great, and the story that actually happened is just plain shocking. The movie is about engineers working on a bridge in Tsavo Africa. And at night two man-eating lions murdered and gruesomly mauled many workers. The movie defiantly has it's ammount of gore but more amount of drama in a way you wouldn't think. The drama for me is thinking what it was like for those actual workers during that time. Just shocking. Great movie and I highly reccomend it.
"The Devil has come to Tsavo!" May 28, 2009
Eric S. Kim (Southern California)
If you love Jaws, then you'll probably love this film even more. Set in 1898, John Henry Patterson (Kilmer) has been chosen to finish the Uganda Railway in order to transport imports and exports between Kenya and Uganda. Along with his supervisors Starling (McCardie) and Samuel (Kani), it all runs pretty smoothly despite some bitter conflicts between Indians and Africans. But everything is plagued by a standstill as two mean-eating lions attack every single man that they prey on. Not even with the assistance of the famous hunter Charles Remmington (Douglas) can they manage to stop these lions from killing over a hundred men.
This isn't really historically accurate: Remmington is a completely fictional character. But hey, it's a great film nonetheless. It has magnificent cinematography, a memorable film score, and some astonishing editing involving man vs. beast. Douglas, Kani, McCardie, and Bernard Hill as Doctor Hawthorne give fine performances. Kilmer, however, doesn't seem to even try in some scenes. His "Irish accent" is sometimes absent, and his acting overall is almost laughable. But that's only one of the few flaws found in this film. I can easily recommend The Ghost and the Darkness to those who love Jaws and Lake Placid.
Great movie, awesome cinematography, visualization, and soundtrack. April 19, 2009
Curtis Heston (Tennessee)
Based on the true elements of the Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo. Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Om Puri, Bernard Hill, so in other words, a great cast.
Check this movie out, it has a solid place in my library, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. If at least from the simple fact that most of what occurred in the movie actually happened.
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