The Ghost and the Darkness

I saw this when it came out, and got CLAWED to bleeding by my date when I roared during a lion-attack scene. Multiple people jumped out of their seats, screamed and wet themselves. I would have laughed, but my date clawed bloody furrows down my arm when I roared.Fast forward to 2024, and keep in mind this is a TRUE STORY (“The Man-Eaters Of Tsavo”)…my older teenagers thought it was an AMAZING film. They struggled to believe it was true, except that I actually own the biography of the engineer/hunter played by Val Kilmer. Also one of Michael Douglas’ best roles as “Remington”, the big game hunter who sticks around even after the Masai warriors (famed for their lion-hunting skills) are smart enough to take off.Without spoiling anything, the lions are EXTREMELY well-done and probably as scary as the real ones. There’s one big critical difference between the true story lions and the movie ones, but considering the huge kill numbers and the “they’re hunting for pleasure” parts are completely true, this is a terrifying yet excellent movie. NOT for younger kids!!!! Even the adults, when we walked out of the theater (me still dripping blood onto the parking lot), were looking fearfully at the roofs of nearby buildings…that’s how realistic this movie was.

If you haven't seen this movie you are missing out! Based on actual events and true stories. This is a must see. Kinda scary so anyone under about 12-14 may not enjoy it. I would definitely recommend seeing it. I watch it probably twice a year.

Great movie, grew up watching it, as aged well in my opinion

I like documentaries and this in movie form was great! I liked it all - nothing to dislike

An underrated movie that, surprisingly, got a lot,of negative reviews, “The Ghost and The Darkness” is based on a true story that the late writer William Goldman has fashioned into “Jaws” in Africa. Charles a Remington (Val Kilmer) receives a commission to built a bridge for the railroad in Africa. He faces man eating lions that begin picking off his workers.When writer William Goldman first pitched the story for this, he sold it as “Jaws” in Africa and the parallel works. While it deviates from the true story, the story does capture the spooky feeling that is hinted at around the legend of these lions.Roger Ebert, a man I usually trust, disagrees with me about the film. He named it one of the worst films of 1996. He was often wrong and is in this case as well.The Blu-ray from Shout features a new 4K scan of the negative and it looks fairly good although the colors aren’t quite as bold as they should be. WHY Paramount won’t license out their titles for 4K releases is beyond me. They seem to do this to torture fans; license 4K scans of movies for Blu-Ray, wait for fans to buy the title and release it in 4K almost to spite film fans. Oh and then they’ll stream this (n compressed 4K just to rub salt in the wound.The audio is quite good with a solid 5.1 mix.Unfortunately, Shout has elected not to provide any special features for the film. A commentary track would have been helpful especially given the rewriting that occurred when Michael Douglas came on board in a supporting role asking for his role to be significantly expanded. Douglas, reportedly, also recut the film against the director’s wishes (which also bulked up his role). If the director’s original cut exists, it would be worth digging it out of the vault and adding it as a special feature even if it is in lower resolution.We do get the theatrical trailer and that’s it.A fine film that took it on the chin by many critics, time has been pretty kind to “The Ghost and The Darkness” it’s just too bad Ebert isn’t around to change his opinion.

Do not know how I missed this one. As I write this review it has been nearly thirty years since its original release. WOW! The lead actors look so young. Imagine! I do like both Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas so I bought this expecting a “treat”. I was not disappointed. Michael Douglas can play “the weird guy” so well and truly does in this one. And, Val Kilmer is so “serious”. Good acting. Even considering the eons of technology advancement this movie is enjoyable. Read its back story (i.e., the actual story on which it is based) and you will appreciate it even more. Hope you like this one. I did.

Michael Douglas is terrific.

Epico

J'adore se film...Bon visionnement

Deze film is deels gebaseerd op waargebeurde feiten. Kolonel Patterson (Kilmer) heeft echt geleefd en werd geplaagd door een koppel "mensen etende" leeuwen, bij de aanleg van de spoorweg door Tsavo (Kenya).

Wow wow trippant ce film et nous pouvons voir ces lions au musée Chicago complètement fou

Der Fim hält sich erstaunlicherweise sehr eng an der Buchvorlage von Patterson, der die beiden Löwen auch nach längerer Zeit getötet hat. Ich habe das Buch gelesen. Ein großartiger Film. Die Filmlöwen hatten jedoch im Gegensatz zu den Originallöwen Mähnen. Die beiden Menschenfresser von damals waren zwei mähnenlose riesige Männchen. Es gab sogar Wissenschaftler, die diese beiden Tiere einer besonders aggressiven Unterart zuordnen wollten. Die Originallöwen stehen noch heute ausgestopft im Field-Museum in Chicago...im Internet kann man sie anschauen.

Excellent film. And the cinematography and musical score are fantastic.