The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

A bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers.

Director:

Stephen Hopkins

Writer:

William Goldman

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Charles Remington
Val Kilmer	...	Col. John Henry Patterson
Tom Wilkinson	...	Robert Beaumont
John Kani	...	Samuel
Bernard Hill	...	Dr. David Hawthorne
Brian McCardie	...	Angus Starling
Emily Mortimer	...	Helena Patterson
Om Puri	...	Abdullah
Henry Cele	...	Mahina
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

Storyline

Sir Robert Beaumont is behind schedule on a railroad in Africa. Enlisting noted engineer John Henry Patterson to right the ship, Beaumont expects results. Everything seems great until the crew discovers the mutilated corpse of the project's foreman, seemingly killed by a lion. After several more attacks, Patterson calls in famed hunter Charles Remington, who has finally met his match in the bloodthirsty lions.

---

Plot Keywords:

lion | railway | africa | 1890s | lion attack | 

---

Taglines:

Prey For The Hunters

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and gore involving animal attacks

Details

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English Hindi

Release Date:

11 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Geist und die Dunkelheit

Filming Locations:

Songimvelo Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,215,063, 13 October 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,619,405

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$36,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constellation Entertainment, Douglas/Reuther Productions, Bernina Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paramount originally wanted Michael Mann to direct.

---

Goofs

In one scene, Remington tells Patterson that "We have an expression in prize fighting: 'Everyone has a plan until they've been hit.' Well my friend, you've just been hit." The events of this film take place in or closely around 1898, however the prizefighting expression used by Remington was coined by World War 2 era boxing great Joe Louis, who was not even born until 1914.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Samuel: This is the most famous and true African adventure.

---

Crazy Credits

The beginning of the end credits is shown with a photograph of the real bridge as background.

---

Connections

Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)

---

Soundtracks

Terere Obande
Traditional music
Lyrics by George Acogny
Produced by George Acogny
Performed by The Worldbeaters with The Johannesburg Choir

User Reviews

" There is nothing like the fear a man eater brings. They own the night and kill so quickly "

In the year 1898 in the country of Kenya, near a town called Tsavo, arose a story so terrifying, it still elicits fear today. The entire incident was recorded in a book which was instrumental in becoming the factual basis for the movie. Two incredible large marauding lions, began stalking, attacking and devouring people working on a trans-African railroad bridge. So successful were these lions, that after killing over a hundred people, the Africans named them, 'The Ghost and the Darkness." A British royal engineer, one Col. John Henry Patterson was commissioned to construct a bridge over the Tsavo river. Unfazed by the lions, he began work, until the lions became a definite threat to his project. Halting his work Patterson set out to do battle with these two kings of the night. The film which was made depicting the true story, stars Val Kilmer as Col. John Henry Patterson and is so well done, it is surprisingly real. It is also interesting that Michael Douglas is in the film portraying Charles Remington, a great white hunter type, even though no such character was ever in the book. Tom Wilkinson, an exceptional character actor is Robert Beaumont and John Kani is Samuel. This movie has been slated for eventual status as a classic. But only time will tell. ****