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IMDbPro

The Ghost and the Darkness

  • 19961996
  • RR
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
63K
YOUR RATING
Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
Home Video Trailer from Paramount Home Entertainment
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
99+ Photos
AdventureDramaThriller
A bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers.A bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers.A bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
63K
YOUR RATING
    • Stephen Hopkins
    • William Goldman
  • Stars
    • Michael Douglas
    • Val Kilmer
    • Tom Wilkinson
    • Stephen Hopkins
    • William Goldman
  • Stars
    • Michael Douglas
    • Val Kilmer
    • Tom Wilkinson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 210User reviews
    • 73Critic reviews
    • 46Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar

    Videos1

    The Ghost and the Darkness
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch The Ghost and the Darkness

    Photos111

    Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Michael Douglas in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Val Kilmer and John Kani in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Val Kilmer, Stephen Hopkins, John Kani, and Brian McCardie in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
    Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael Douglas
    Michael Douglas
    • Charles Remington
    Val Kilmer
    Val Kilmer
    • Col. John Henry Patterson
    Tom Wilkinson
    Tom Wilkinson
    • Robert Beaumont
    John Kani
    John Kani
    • Samuel
    Bernard Hill
    Bernard Hill
    • Dr. David Hawthorne
    Brian McCardie
    Brian McCardie
    • Angus Starling
    Emily Mortimer
    Emily Mortimer
    • Helena Patterson
    Om Puri
    Om Puri
    • Abdullah
    Henry Cele
    Henry Cele
    • Mahina
    Kurt Egelhof
    Kurt Egelhof
    • Indian Victim
    Satchu Annamalai
    • Worker #1
    Teddy Reddy
    • Worker #2
    Raheem Khan
    • Worker #3
    • (as Rakeem Khan)
    Jack Devnarain
    • Nervous Sikh Orderly
    Glen Gabela
    • Orderly #1
    Richard Nwamba
    • Orderly #2
    Nick Lorentz
    • Photographer
    Alex Ferns
    Alex Ferns
    • Nigel Bransford
      • Stephen Hopkins
      • William Goldman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Stephen Hopkins said about filming: "We had snake bites, scorpion bites, tick bite fever, people getting hit by lightning, floods, torrential rains and lightning storms, hippos chasing people through the water, cars getting swept into the water and several deaths of crew members including two drownings... Val came to the set under the worst conditions imaginable he was completely exhausted from doing "The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)" he was dealing with the unfavorable publicity from that set, he was going through a divorce he barely had time to get his teeth into this role before we started filming, and he is in nearly every scene in this movie but I worked him 6 or 7 days a week for 4 months under really adverse conditions and he really came through, he had a passion for this film."
    • Goofs
      In reality, Patterson killed both lions himself. The great white hunter Remington is complete fiction, and no one like that was ever present in Tsavo during the time the events took place.
    • Quotes

      [Samuel hands John a letter from his wife]

      Samuel: You like her?

      John Patterson: Very much.

      Samuel: I don't like any of mine.

    • Crazy credits
      The beginning of the end credits is shown with a photograph of the real bridge as background.
    • Connections
      Edited into Kot (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      Hamara Haath (Our Hands Unite)
      Written and Produced by George Acogny

      Performed by The Worldbeaters with The Johannesburg Choir, featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

    User reviews210

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Based on real events about two lions whose attacks stop the construction of the East African Railroad
    Thrilling as well as handsome adventure story set in 1896 , dealing with of two man-eating lions , hunting together for sport rather than food , as they killed 130 people and nearly derailed the building of the East African Railway . These Lions of Tsavo (prophetically means place of slaughter) were maneless, perhaps due to environmental variables, although maneless lions are not unique to Tsavo. Their taste for man may have been due to an outbreak of Rinderpest at the time, which may have depleted their normal prey. Engineer John Patterson (Val Kilmer) is sent by his chief (Tom Wilkinson) to build a bridge over the Tsavo river . Then the workers become convinced the lions , nicknamed ¨The Ghost¨ and ¨the Darkness¨ are actually demons carrying out a cruel carnage . John sets in pursuit the beasts but he has little luck killing the lions , though he gets to survive on a mixture of cunning and bravura . As the beasts contemptuously evade all traps set for them . After losing dozens of workers to the lions, the company brought in Remington, an American , to hunt them, but even his reputation for being the best could not prevent yet more massacre . There is eventually formed a team between the brave engineer and a famous white hunter (Michael Douglas ,despite having top billing, he doesn't appear on screen until 45 minutes into the movie) but the legendary lions survive to kill and kill again ; as they still seem to have advantage until a frenziedly breathtaking last reel .

    This nail-biting film packs thrills , chills , grisly events , slurping blood , quick cut edition is used to depict the lions' attacks and terror elements . Based on a true story well screen-written by the notorious writer William Goldman , he took the actual experiences by real Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson published a book about his adventures , titled "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" ; however , Michael Douglas' character Remington as a 'great white hunter' is fictionalized , while Val Kilmer's character John Patterson killed both lions . Lt. Col. Patterson owned the skins and skulls of the two Tsavo man-eaters. After the lions were killed, their skins were used as rugs by Patterson. They were later sold In 1924, Patterson sold them to the Field Museum in Chicago for $5,000 . Because they were originally used as rugs with resulting deterioration of the hides, the lions are much smaller than they originally were . There is only one scene involving an animatronic lion , all the other shots were used using two real life lions named Bongo and Caeser ; the same lions also appeared in the film George of the jungle (1997).

    Very good acting from main cast , and nice support casting . As Val Kilmer is magnificent as an engineer in charge of building a bridge and turned into a relentless hunter . Michael Douglas is top-notch as a two-fisted as well as legendary game hunter with his complex mixture of bravado , toughness and calm . Impressive production design and art design from Stuart Wurtzel and Giles Masters , including wonderful outdoors and a lot of extras . The location where the bridge was built is now called Man-Eater's Junction, after the two lions. It is in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, about 200 miles southeast of Nairobi . Support actors are frankly engaging such as Tom Wilkinson as Robert Beaumont , John Kani as Samuel , Bernard Hill as Dr. David Hawthorne , Brian McCardie as Angus Starling , Om Puri as Abdullah and Emily Mortimer as wife . Rousing as well as exciting musical score by maestro Jerry Goldsmith . The motion picture was compellingly filmed by Director Stephen Hopkins (Lost in space , Predator 2 , Under suspicion , Blown away) , he wanted his longtime collaborator Peter Levy to be the film's cinematographer, but he was overruled by the studio, who wanted to hire Vilmos Zsigmond who carries out a splendid and colorful cinematography . Rating : Above average . Well worth watching .
    helpful•13
    3
    • ma-cortes
    • Mar 25, 2014

    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 11, 1996 (United States)
      • United States
      • Germany
      • English
      • Hindi
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Tsavo National Park, Kenya
    • Production companies
      • Constellation Entertainment
      • Douglas/Reuther Productions
      • Bernina Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 50 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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