The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) Rated:  R  Starring: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer. Director: Stephen Hopkins Genre: Action | Adventure | Drama | Horror | Thriller DVD Release Date: 12/01/1998 Tagline: Prey For The Hunters Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer star in this tense, terrific and true adventure set in 1896 East Africa. There, two lions on a man-eating rampage have shut down the construction of a railway. The beasts hunt together, showing no fear of man or fire. What's more, they're killing for sport rather than for food - and they have an almost supernatural knack for knowing what traps await them. Big-game hunter Remington (Douglas) and construction engineer Patterson (Kilmer) set out to stop these unstoppable monsters. But, in this astonishing tale of man against beast, the hunters become the hunted. Storyline: Set in 1898, this movie is based on the true story of two lions in Africa that killed 35 people over a nine month period, while a bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter tried to kill them. Written by Adil Siddiqi Cast Notes: Michael Douglas (Remington), Val Kilmer (John Patterson), Tom Wilkinson [I] (Beaumont), John Kani (Samuel), Bernard Hill (Dr. Hawthorne), Brian McCardie (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), Jack Devnarain (Nervous Sikh Orderly), Glen Gabela (Orderly #1). User Comment: David • The Ghost and the Darkness is an excellent film. It has the ingredients of a landmark movie. The story is based on fact. There was a bridge being built in Tsavo in 1898. There were two man-eating lions there who killed 130 people for no reason. And I believe there was something more behind the intentions of these lions. Evil can and does exist anywhere. Undoubtedly in humans, and, probably more than we'll ever know, in animals. The Ghost and the Darkness is a reminder how vulnerable we are to nature's fury, and that we should never under-estimate the potential of any animal. In closing, I'll say that this movie is perfectly directed, superbly scored, and beautifully filmed, and to the adventurous and open-minded viewer, a movie with lasting satisfying and chilling effects. Summary: A success in originality, story telling, and terror. User Comment: ccthemovieman-1 from United States, 17 February 2006 • I always found this to be an outstanding based-on a true story adventure film which holds your interest throughout. It features some great suspense and the story is fascinating. It's always been ranked among my top 50 movies. A good surround system doesn't hurt here, either. Stan Winston, one of the best special-effects men in the business, lent his talents to this film while Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas are more than adequate in the starring roles and the African with the freckles (sorry, I don't have his name) is really a likeble fellow. Except for the first one, the lion attack scenes are not gruesome and the filmmakers did a nice job a having just the right amount of action and lulls. Neither is overdone. This film has never been given much due but I've never shown it to anyone who didn't thoroughly enjoy it. This movie scared me so much I stopped hunting lions. It's just not fun anymore. Summary: Something You Can Sink Your Teeth Into. Trivia: The Lions of Tsavo 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. The legend surrounding this event is almost entirely based on the books written by Patterson which became run-away best sellers for their day, and made Patterson a good bit of money. It is possible, if not probable, the count of 140 deaths may have been trumped up a bit. Patterson certainly set himself up as the hero of the story, which certainly fit in with the Western notion of the "great white hunter" of the period. It is known that he killed both lions (both nearly nine feet long), and that they did indeed kill and eat humans. It is also possible that they did this because they may not have been able to kill and eat their normal prey as the jaws of the two show some sign of unusual dental disease. They now reside in the permanent collection of the Field Museum of Chicago, but the government of Kenya is moving to try to obtain the pair. Michael Douglas' character Remington is fictionalized. Val Kilmer's character John Patterson killed both lions. The real John Patterson is credited with killing both lions on his own, and Val Kilmer's character John Patterson does indeed kill two lions on his own in the movie. The first is indeed a mane-less lion (as a Tzavo male lion might be, though not considered part of the Ghost/Darkness pair in the film) killed by Patterson on his first night in the encampment. The second is the second lion of the "Ghost/Darkness" pair. Patterson also wounded the first lion of the pair with a handgun and then (the fictional) Remington finished the lion off. ________ IMDb Rating (08/31/13): 6.7/10 from 33,536 users IMDb Rating (04/04/02): 6.3/10 from 5,028 users Additional information Copyright:  1996,  Paramount Pictures Features:  • Scene Selection • Theatrical Trailer Subtitles:  English SDH, Spanish, French Video:  Widescreen 2.35:1 Color Audio:  ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC] ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround [CC] FRENCH: Dolby Digital Surround Time:  1:49 DVD:  # Discs: 1 -- # Shows: 1 UPC:  097363235071 Coding:  {Comming--->[V-A] MPEG-4 AVC - } D-Box:  No Other:  Producers: A Kitman Ho, Gale Anne Hurd, Paul Radin; Writers: William Goldman; running time of 109 minutes;Packaging: Keep Case; Chapters: 15; [CC].