Product Details

• Actors: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill
• Directors: Stephen Hopkins
• Writers: William Goldman
• Producers: Michael Douglas, A. Kitman Ho, Gale Anne Hurd, Grant Hill, Paul B. Radin
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: December 1, 1998
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (311 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305181926
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,316 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Ghost and the Darkness" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Val Kilmer stars as Lt. Col. John Patterson, a 19th-century Irish engineer drafted by Britain's railroad bosses to build a trestle bridge over an African river, thus expanding the empire a tiny bit more. In Tsavo, Patterson is instantly hailed for killing a man-eating lion that had been making life hell for native workers. But morale sinks when a pair of unstoppable big cats devour more men and destroy the project. Along comes an Ahab-like, expatriate American hunter (Michael Douglas) to help Patterson face the almost preternatural powers of the two killers. The script by William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) is based on fact, though the film owes more to Spielberg (specifically to Jaws) than history. There are also suggestive echoes of Kipling and Conrad in the material and characters, and there are hints of emotional complexity and psychological nuance that make one wish this could have been a great film instead of a merely fun one. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Only the most incredible parts of the story are true. Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer star in this tense, terrific and true adventure set in 1896 East Africa. There, two lions on 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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 77 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspense light-years beyond Jaws May 4, 2005

By 5/0

Format:DVD

The Ghost and the Darkness is about the two maneating lions that terrorized the crew building a bridge at a desolate, nowhere place called Tsavo, Africa, circa 1890s, a place that had long been known as an area of active maneating lions. The original account written by Col. John H. Patterson, the engineer responsible for building the bridge and killing the lions (and played superbly by Val Kylmer), is one of the greatest Classics of African Hunting Literature ever written and known very well by legions of non-Bambi outdoor enthusiasts around the world. Subsequent accounts, the best of which is the well-researched wrtiing of 20th Century African hunter Peter Hathaway Capstick in his "Death in the Silent Places" and "The Maneaters of Tsavo" have become nearly as popular.

The movie does take some liberties with events but most of the key scenes in the movie actually happened though perhaps in a bit different context. For example, the movie has the den of the maneaters being found prior to the lions' deaths but it was actually found some weeks afterward. But that wasn't the point in 1898. The cave actually contained (as in the movie) the skeletal remains of hundreds of human victims, so many, in fact, the probability is that den had been used by maneaters for centuries. Not too surprising the crews and locals felt Tsavo was a place of Evil. Adding credibility to the longevity of use theory is the fact that four other maneaters who ran up a score of 50 souls in that same area were killed in a single day by hunter Robert Foran - in 1947. But wait. Professional hunter John Kingsley-Heath killed another maneater there too - in 1965. But wait - Peter Capstick's boss was killed and eaten not too far from Tsavo on Labor Day 1974. That's right - 1974. Where were YOU in 1974?

The African and Indian cultures of the 1890s weren't, and aren't, the United States. The liklihood these two lions would quickly be seen as "more than just lions", as some unstoppable Evil is more like a guarantee. The abject Terror of 2000-3000 African and Indian laborers was a real as Death itself. That Terror is amply displayed in the movie, but is still understated.

The movie's lions, even with their ominous role as "more than lions", act very much like real maneaters did, and do. And when they do it in a joust with unarmed humans, they usually win, bigtime, and assorted gore and human body parts are a consistant by-product of such festivities. I've never never read anything at all about a famous lioneater.

The movie's filming and effects are very good. Michael Douglas, as the ficticious hunter Remington, supports Kylmer well, and with a well-done, darkly amusing style. The "shock" scenes are "SHOCK" scenes, especially one in particular. You will FEEL your blood pressure drop to zero only to be red-lining again in a flash. You WILL hold your breath and you may regain it. Seriously, allowing a young child to watch this is probably not the best of ideas, and not because of the gore but because many of the scenes of the primal, nightmarish Horror these maneating lions deliver take place after dark and "after dark" is already an "iffy" proposition for many kids without the fangs of Hades clashing in their minds. Sweet Dreams.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Scary, smart and atmospheric. October 17, 2001

By Hannibal

Format:DVD

The Ghost and the Darkness, an unexpected, dark, tantalising thriller is a total success. I didn't read much into this movie before viewing, but I came out really satisfied and although many critics disliked this movie, I thought it was highly entertaining, well executed and very scary. The film succeeds a lot thanks to the direction and visuals; the lions look truly fantastic! Wow! The other reason the movie really made me keep watching was for the atmosphere of the film. The camera angles, backgrounds, lions POV and stuff like that really gives the movie a real feeling. I personally felt like I was in Africa, running from the Ghost and the Darkness, experiencing the true terror of their roar. The film also gets high marks thanks to its very believable performances. Michael Douglas takes a surprising back seat, but it still a strong character in the film and plays out his tough character well. Val Kilmer is the star though. This is one of his best performances, he masters an Irish accent accurately, is a believable loving husband and a likeable bridge builder. The movie is not perfect however. I didn't really appreciate the voice-overs by the African friend and some of the lion attack sequences are cut too short. Despite that, the film is an atmospheric, amazingly true experience that - if you're like me - will leave you shaking and breathless.

DVD STUFF: 1/5. Theatrical trailer and viewing options. How about commentaries, bloopers or an insight into the fascinating training of the lions? That would give this disappointing DVD way more credit.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ghost and The Darkness July 4, 2006

By Shari Jackson

Format:DVD

Excellent portrayal of a true story. Douglas and Kilmer are perfect for their roles as big game hunter (Douglas) and construction engineer. The story in itself is magnificient. Great excitement and terrific scenery!