The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
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A military engineer and a famed hunter must team up to stop a pair of man-eating lions from terrorizing workers on a railway construction site.
The story
In 1898, Robert Beaumont seeks the expertise of Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson to complete a railway project in Tsavo, Kenya. Upon arrival, Patterson learns of a series of brutal lion attacks on the workers. After a failed attempt to hunt the predators alone, Patterson is forced to request help. The famed hunter Charles Remington arrives with Maasai warriors to assist. The group faces a terrifying pair of man-eaters, dubbed 'the Ghost' and 'the Darkness,' who use notorious methods to stalk the camp and slaughter the laborers, bringing the construction to a standstill.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1898, Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson arrives in Tsavo, Kenya, to oversee a railway bridge project. He quickly discovers that a pair of man-eating lions is terrorizing the workers. After several workers are mutilated and killed, Patterson attempts to hunt them but is unsuccessful. The construction halts as workers, led by Abdullah, grow fearful. Beaumont eventually hires the famed hunter Charles Remington to eliminate the threat. Remington arrives with Maasai warriors and begins a campaign to trap the lions, who are dubbed 'the Ghost' and 'the Darkness.' Remington constructs a hospital tent to lure the lions, but they slaughter many patients and Doctor Hawthorne. After Remington is killed by one of the lions, Patterson and a foreman named Samuel set a final trap on the bridge. Patterson successfully dispatches the remaining lion with a double-rifle. The bridge is completed, and Patterson returns home to his wife and newborn son.
- First release year
- 1996
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Stephen Hopkins
- Writers
- William Goldman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Michael Douglas · Charles Remington; Val Kilmer · Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson
- Genres
- historical adventure; adventure
- Themes
- survival; man vs. nature; bravery
- Tone and mood
- suspenseful; adventure
- Premise and plot tags
- historical; animal hunting; survival
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Man-eaters of Tsavo by Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews and grossed $75 million against a production budget of $55 million. It won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing. Critics were divided, with some calling it a suspenseful adventure and others criticizing its attempt at supernatural profundity.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 51% · review count: 53
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Sound Editing · win
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in South Africa due to tax laws.; The lions used in the film were the least aggressive available for safety.; The character Charles Remington was based on Anglo-Indian big-game hunter Charles H. Ryall.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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