The Ghost and the Darkness
| The Ghost and the Darkness | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Stephen Hopkins |
| Produced by |
Gale Anne Hurd Paul B. Radin A. Kitman Ho |
| Written by | William Goldman |
| Based on |
The Man-eaters of Tsavo by John Henry Patterson |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Vilmos Zsigmond |
| Edited by |
Robert Brown Roger Bondelli Steve Mirkovich |
|
Production
company |
Constellation Films
Douglas/Reuther Productions |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
|
Release date
|
October 11, 1996 |
|
Running time
|
110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $45,000,000 |
| Box office | $75,019,405 |
The Ghost and the Darkness is a 1996 American historical adventure film directed by Stephen Hopkins and starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. The screenplay was written by William Goldman. The story is a fictionalized account of the Tsavo Man-Eaters, two lions that attacked and killed workers at Tsavo, Kenya, during the building of the Uganda-Mombasa Railway in East Africa in 1898.
The film received a mixed critical response upon release, and later won an Academy Award for Sound Editing.
In 1898, Sir Robert Beaumont, the primary financier of a railroad project in Tsavo, Kenya, is furious because the project is running behind schedule. He seeks out the expertise of Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson, a British military engineer, to get the project back on track. Patterson travels from England to Tsavo, telling his wife, Helena, he will complete the project and be back in London for the birth of their son. He meets British supervisor Angus Starling, African foreman Samuel, and Doctor David Hawthorne. Hawthorne tells Patterson of a recent lion attack that has affected the project.
That night, Patterson kills an approaching lion with one shot, earning the respect of the workmen and bringing the project back on schedule. However, not long afterwards, Mahina, the construction foreman, is dragged from his tent in the middle of the night. His half-eaten body is found the next morning. Patterson then attempts a second night-time lion hunt, but the following morning, another worker is found dead at the opposite end of the camp from Patterson's position.
Patterson's only comfort now is the letters he receives from his wife. Soon, while the workers are gathering wood and building fire pits around the tents, a lion attacks the camp in the middle of the day, killing an other worker. While Patterson, Starling and Samuel are tracking it to one end of the camp, another lion leaps upon them from the roof of a building, killing Starling with a slash to the throat and injuring Patterson. Despite the latter's efforts to kill them, both lions escape. Samuel states that there has never been a pair of man-eaters; they have always been solitary hunters. The men, led by Abdullah, begin to turn on Patterson. Work on the bridge comes to a halt. Patterson requests soldiers from England to protect the workers, but is denied. During a visit to the camp, Beaumont tells Patterson he will ruin his reputation if the bridge is not finished on time and that he will contact the famous hunter Charles Remington to help because Patterson has been unable to kill the animals.
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