The Ghost And The Darkness
1996
At the turn of the century two men set out to hunt for man-eating lions who have taken to killing for sport. Read more
| Starring | Val Kilmer, Malcolm Douglas |
|---|---|
| Director | Stephen Hopkins |
| Genres | Thriller |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Screenwriter William Goldman developed this true colonial yarn of man versus near-mythical beast and writes candidly about its shortcomings in his book Which Lie Did I Tell?. He wanted to tell the tale of the man-eating Tsavo lions that terrorised the building of a railway in East Africa in the late 1800s, but producer Michael Douglas pulled rank and decided he would also star as the enigmatic big game hunter who assists Val Kilmer's engineer. Douglas and Kilmer did not hit it off on a stressful location shoot, and since their relationship is central to the story (the vicious lions are barely seen, even at the climax), it fails to convince on any level. There's majestic scenery, but nothing to get your teeth into in the foreground except ham.
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The British Empire's steaming progress across East Africa is stalled by two lions that wreak such terror on the natives... read more on Time Out
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A stilted, curiously old-fashioned colonial adventure, broadly acted and dully written.
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
View all -
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Lions and Africa
An engineer, who has a brilliant reputation as a bridge builder (and is a Colonel in the army as well) is sent to Africa to build a bridge for a railway company. It was stressed to him that speed was of the essence as the pride of the British Empire needs things done on time.
When he gets there work is slowed down by attacks on the workers by lions. He goes after the lions.
Genre: Adventure
Rating: Average -
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Ripping yarn
I read the book 'Man-Eaters of Tsavo' by Colonel Patterson when I was 14 and thought it was one of the most exciting books I'd ever read. For me, the film was great trip down memory lane. Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas both played their parts to perfection, but the lions were the real stars. This is the African version of 'Jaws', maybe not such a masterpiece, but extremely good none the less. Strongly recommended.
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powerfull
its a powerfull film and no dull parts
exiting and based in truth
this i will recommend
not for the squeamish
good for the first timer -
Most recent members' reviews (2)
View all -
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Lions and Africa
An engineer, who has a brilliant reputation as a bridge builder (and is a Colonel in the army as well) is sent to Africa to build a bridge for a railway company. It was stressed to him that speed was of the essence as the pride of the British Empire needs things done on time.
When he gets there work is slowed down by attacks on the workers by lions. He goes after the lions.
Genre: Adventure
Rating: Average -
lions are king
Excellent film based on a true story. In 1898 Henry Patterson is sent to East Africa to build a railway bridge, during this time over a nine month period two man-eating lions kill and eat 140 railway workers, Patterson has to kill the lions to enable the work to continue, close to the truth apart from the addition of one character, the hunter played by Michael Douglas and the actual lions although male never had manes, the scenery is stunning, the musical score is haunting, the action is edge of the seat stuff, a mystical film that is hard to believe if it wasnt for the fact that it was true, no man-eaters like these have ever been recorded in history, a must see film but be warned it is gory at times
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Lions and Africa
An engineer, who has a brilliant reputation as a bridge builder (and is a Colonel in the army as well) is sent to Africa to build a bridge for a railway company. It was stressed to him that speed was of the essence as the pride of the British Empire needs things done on time.
When he gets there work is slowed down by attacks on the workers by lions. He goes after the lions.
Genre: Adventure
Rating: Average -
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Ripping yarn
I read the book 'Man-Eaters of Tsavo' by Colonel Patterson when I was 14 and thought it was one of the most exciting books I'd ever read. For me, the film was great trip down memory lane. Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas both played their parts to perfection, but the lions were the real stars. This is the African version of 'Jaws', maybe not such a masterpiece, but extremely good none the less. Strongly recommended.
-
powerfull
its a powerfull film and no dull parts
exiting and based in truth
this i will recommend
not for the squeamish
good for the first timer -
Ghost and Darkness
What can I say it was great and always has you at the edge of the seat and makes you look at lions in a different and scary way.
I loved it -
Great Entertainment!
This film was a great but dark movie about a animal that actacks people in the forest. Michael Douglas was, surprisingly, excellent in his roll and Val Kilmer was his same old weird but great self. This is a great watch if your into the supernatural type of movie.
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lions are king
Excellent film based on a true story. In 1898 Henry Patterson is sent to East Africa to build a railway bridge, during this time over a nine month period two man-eating lions kill and eat 140 railway workers, Patterson has to kill the lions to enable the work to continue, close to the truth apart from the addition of one character, the hunter played by Michael Douglas and the actual lions although male never had manes, the scenery is stunning, the musical score is haunting, the action is edge of the seat stuff, a mystical film that is hard to believe if it wasnt for the fact that it was true, no man-eaters like these have ever been recorded in history, a must see film but be warned it is gory at times
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a good movie
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lions
film was about building a bridge while keeping everyone safe from 2 hungry lions
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[Highly rated reviewer]
THE GHOST & THE DARKNESS
THIS IS A GOOD FILM TO WATCH .PLUS IT,S BASED ON TRUE EVENT,S
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0 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Too many dead lions
To all fellow kilmer fans- watch this only for the odd swooning opportunity. However even he is not at his best in this. A very weak story line and too many dead lions for my liking and even with the stunning african scenery and hot smouldering looks from val it never-the -less left me cold.
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Screenwriter William Goldman developed this true colonial yarn of man versus near-mythical beast and writes candidly about its shortcomings in his book Which Lie Did I Tell?. He wanted to tell the tale of the man-eating Tsavo lions that terrorised the building of a railway in East Africa in the late 1800s, but producer Michael Douglas pulled rank and decided he would also star as the enigmatic big game hunter who assists Val Kilmer's engineer. Douglas and Kilmer did not hit it off on a stressful location shoot, and since their relationship is central to the story (the vicious lions are barely seen, even at the climax), it fails to convince on any level. There's majestic scenery, but nothing to get your teeth into in the foreground except ham.
-
The British Empire's steaming progress across East Africa is stalled by two lions that wreak such terror on the natives... read more on Time Out
-
A stilted, curiously old-fashioned colonial adventure, broadly acted and dully written.
Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop
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The Ghost And The Darkness
At the turn of the century two men set out to hunt for man-eating lions who have taken to killing for sport....
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