| The Ghost and the Darkness | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Stephen Hopkins |
| Produced by | Grant Hill Michael Douglas Paul Radin |
| Written by | William Goldman |
| Starring | Michael Douglas Val Kilmer John Kani Brian McCardie Emily Mortimer |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Vilmos Zsigmond |
| Editing by | Roger Bondelli Robert Brown Jr. |
| Studio | Constellation Films |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 11, 1996 |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Swahili Hindi |
| Budget | $55,000,000 |
| Box office | $75,000,000 (Worldwide) |
The Ghost and the Darkness is a 1996 adventure film starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer set in Africa at the end of the 19th century. It was directed by Stephen Hopkins and the screenplay was written by William Goldman.
The film tells a fictionalised account about the two lions that attacked and killed workers at Tsavo, Kenya during the building of the African Uganda-Mombasa Railway in 1898.
It won an Academy Award for Sound Editing.
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In 1898, Sir Robert Beaumont (Tom Wilkinson), the primary financier of a railroad project in Tsavo, Kenya, is furious because the project is running behind schedule. He seeks out the expertise of John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmer), a military engineer, to get the project back on track. Patterson travels by train to Tsavo, where he meets supervisors Angus Starling (Brian McCardie) and Samuel (John Kani), a native African (and the film's narrator), and the doctor, David Hawthorne (Bernard Hill). Hawthorne tells Patterson of a recent lion attack. That night, Patterson kills an approaching lion with one shot, earning the respect of the workmen. The project gets back on schedule. However, not long afterwards Mahina (Henry Cele), the construction foreman, is dragged from his tent in the middle of the night. His half-eaten body is found the next morning. Patterson then attempts a second night-time lion hunt, but the next morning another worker is found dead at the opposite end of the camp from Patterson's position.
Soon, two lions attack the camp in the middle of the day and kill Starling. Patterson attempts to kill them, but they both escape. Samuel explains that there has never been a pair of man-eaters before because they are always alone. The men, led by Abdullah (Om Puri), begin to turn on Patterson due to the lion attacks. The men dub the lions "the Ghost and the Darkness" because of their notorious methods of attack. Work is stopped on the bridge to fight the lions. Beaumont visits the camp and tells Patterson he will ruin his reputation should the bridge not be built on time. He tells Patterson he will contact the famous hunter Charles Remington (Michael Douglas) to help. All of Patterson's attempts to kill the lions have failed at this point.
Later, Remington arrives with skilled Maasai warriors to help kill the lions. Their initial attempt fails when a gun Patterson borrowed from Dr. Hawthorne misfires. The warriors decide to leave, but Remington offers to stay to help Patterson. Remington builds a new hospital for all the lion victims, and attempts to draw the lions to the old one by covering it with animal parts. The lions, however, outsmart Remington and attack the new hospital, killing many patients and Hawthorne. Abdullah and the rest of the men soon leave, leaving Patterson, Remington, and Samuel alone with the lions. Patterson and Ramington eventually locate the lions' lair where they find the bones of dozens of the lions' victims. That night, Remington kills one of the lions by using Patterson and a baboon as bait. The next morning, Patterson finds the remaining lion has dragged Remington from his tent and killed him; Patterson cremates his body on an open pyre where he died. Grief stricken over Remington's death and now desperate to end the bloodshed, Patterson decides to burn the tall grass surrounding the camp in order to drive the lion towards the camp where he hopes to ambush it.
Patterson and Samuel are soon attacked by the beast on the partially constructed bridge. After a long fight, Patterson kills the lion outside of camp. Abdullah and the men return, and the bridge is completed on time. The film ends with a narration by Samuel, where he says the lions are now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, and that even today "if you dare lock eyes with them, you will be afraid."
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Douglas | Charles Remington |
| Val Kilmer | Col. John Henry Patterson |
| John Kani | Samuel |
| Bernard Hill | Dr. David Hawthorne |
| Tom Wilkinson | Robert Beaumont |
| Brian McCardie | Angus Starling |
| Emily Mortimer | Helena Patterson |
| Om Puri | Abdullah |
| Henry Cele | Mahina |
The film is based upon The Man-Eaters of Tsavo by Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson, the man who actually killed both real lions.
The film completely fictionalises Patterson's account. The script by Goldman introduced an American big game hunter called Charles Remington. The character was based on Anglo-Indian big game hunter Charles Ryall, superintendent of the Railway Police.[1] In early drafts of the script, Remington was originally going to be an enigmatic figure named Redbeard but when Douglas chose to both produce and play the role, the character's role was expanded.
In Goldman's book Which Lie Did I Tell?, the screenwriter argues that Douglas' decision ruined the mystery of the character.
The film was shot mainly on location at Songimvelo Game Reserve in South Africa, rather than Kenya, due to tax laws. Many Maasai characters in the film were actually portrayed by South African actors, although the Maasai depicted during the hunt were portrayed by real Maasai warriors who were hired for the movie.
While the real man-eaters were, like all lions from the Tsavo region, a more aggressive, maneless variety, those used for filming were actually the least aggressive available, for both safety and aesthetic reasons. The film's lions were two male lions with manes. They were brothers named Caesar and Bongo, who were residents of the Bowmanville Zoo in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, both of whom were also featured in George of the Jungle. The film also featured three other lions: two from France and one from the USA.
The film won an Academy Award in 1997 for Best Sound Editing. However, it also received a Razzie Award nomination for Val Kilmer as Worst Supporting Actor. Reviews were mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 52% rating. Roger Ebert said the film was so awful it "lacked the usual charm of being so bad it's funny" adding it was "an African adventure that makes the Tarzan movies look subtle and realistic".[2]
The Ghost and the Darkness is available as a one-disc DVD. There are no special features besides a theatrical trailer for the film.
Although Patterson claimed the lions were responsible for up to 135 deaths, research undertaken in 2009 says that they likely ate about 35 people. (This figure does not take into account people that were killed but not eaten by the animals).[3] The original lions are on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
In the film, both lions are depicted having manes. In reality, the man-eaters lacked manes, a trait common among male lions in Tsavo where they possess either minimal manes or none at all.
Michael Douglas's character, Charles Remington, is entirely fictional. Patterson hunted and killed the rogue lions more or less on his own.
The location where the bridge was built is now called Man-Eater's Camp. It is in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, about 200 miles (300 kilometers) southeast of Nairobi, at .
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