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	Michael Douglas Val Kilmer John Kani Bernard Hill Tom Wilkinson Brian McCardie Emily Mortimer
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography	Vilmos Zsigmond
Editing by	Robert Brown Roger Bondelli Steve Mirkovich
Studio	Constellation Films Douglas/Reuther Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	October 11, 1996
Running time	110 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Swahili Hindi
Budget	$55,000,000
Box office	$75,019,405

The Ghost and the Darkness is a 1996 historical adventure horror film starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer set in Africa at the end of the 19th century. It was directed by Stephen Hopkins and the screenplay was written by William Goldman.

The film tells a fictionalised account about the two lions that attacked and killed workers at Tsavo, Kenya during the building of the African Uganda-Mombasa Railway in 1898.

Despite receiving a mixed critical response, the film won an Academy Award for Sound Editing.

Plot

In 1898, Sir Robert Beaumont (Tom Wilkinson), 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 John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmer), a military engineer, to get the project back on track. Patterson travels by train to Tsavo, where he meets supervisors Angus Starling (Brian McCardie) and Samuel (John Kani), a native African (and the film's narrator), and the doctor, David Hawthorne (Bernard Hill). Hawthorne tells Patterson of a recent lion attack. That night, Patterson kills an approaching lion with one shot, earning the respect of the workmen. The project gets back on schedule. However, not long afterwards Mahina (Henry Cele), 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 next 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 firepits around the tents, a lion attacks the camp in the middle of the day and while Patterson, Starling and Samuel are tracking the lion to one end of the camp as it feeds on a worker, another one surprises them when it jumps down from the roof of a building, surprising the men as it kills Sterling by slashing his throat and injuring Patterson, who attempts to kill them, but they both escape. Samuel explains that there has never been a pair of man-eaters before because they are always alone. The men, led by Abdullah (Om Puri), begin to turn on Patterson due to the lion attacks. The men dub the lions "the Ghost and the Darkness" because of their notorious methods of attack. Work is stopped on the bridge to fight the lions. Beaumont visits the camp and tells Patterson he will ruin his reputation should the bridge not be built on time. He tells Patterson he will contact the famous hunter Charles Remington (Michael Douglas) to help because all of Patterson's attempts to kill the lions have failed.

Later, Remington arrives with skilled Maasai warriors to help kill the lions. Their initial attempt fails when a gun Patterson borrowed from Dr. Hawthorne misfires. The warriors decide to leave, but Remington offers to stay to help Patterson. Remington builds a new hospital for all the lion victims, and attempts to draw the lions to the old one by covering it with animal parts. When the lions fall for the trap, Remington and Paterson shoot at them, and they flee and attack the new hospital, killing many patients and Hawthorne. Abdullah and the rest of the men soon leave, leaving Patterson, Remington, and Samuel alone with the lions. Patterson and Remington eventually locate the lions' lair where they find the bones of dozens of the lions' victims. That night, Remington kills one of the lions by using Patterson and a baboon as bait. The next morning, Patterson finds the remaining lion has dragged Remington from his tent and killed him; Patterson cremates his body on an open pyre where he died. Grief-stricken over Remington's death and now desperate to end the bloodshed, Patterson decides to burn the tall grass surrounding the camp in order to drive the lion towards the camp where he hopes to ambush it.

Patterson and Samuel are soon attacked by the beast on the partially constructed bridge. After a long fight, Patterson kills the lion outside of camp. Abdullah and the men return, and the bridge is completed on time. The film ends with a narration by Samuel, where he says the lions are now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, and that even today "if you dare lock eyes with them, you will be afraid."

Principal cast

Actor	Role
Michael Douglas	Charles Remington
Val Kilmer	Col. John Henry Patterson
John Kani	Samuel
Bernard Hill	Dr. David Hawthorne
Tom Wilkinson	Robert Beaumont
Brian McCardie	Angus Starling
Emily Mortimer	Helena Patterson
Om Puri	Abdullah
Henry Cele	Mahina

Production

The film is based upon The Man-Eaters of Tsavo by Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson, the man who actually killed both real lions.

Screenplay

William Goldman first heard about the story when travelling in Africa in 1984, and thought it would make a good script. In 1989 he pitched the story to Paramount as a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Jaws, and they commissioned him to write a screenplay which he delivered in 1990.

The script heavily fictionalises Patterson's account, introducing an American big game hunter called Charles Remington. The character was based on Anglo-Indian big game hunter Charles Ryall, superintendent of the Railway Police. In original drafts the character was called Redbeard, and Goldman says his purpose in the story was to create an imposing character who could be killed by the lions and make Patterson seem more brave; Goldman's inspiration for the part was Burt Lancaster.

Kevin Costner expressed interest in playing Patterson, but Paramount wanted to use Tom Cruise who ultimately declined. Michael Douglas then came on board as producer and Stephen Hopkins was hired to direct. Val Kilmer, who had just made Batman Forever then expressed enthusiasm for the script, which enabled the project to be financed. The part of Remington was originally offered to Sean Connery and Anthony Hopkins but both declined; the producers were considering asking Gerard Depardieu when Douglas decided to play the role himself.

In early drafts of the script, Remington was originally going to be an enigmatic figure but when Douglas chose to play him, the character's role was expanded and was given a history. In Goldman's book Which Lie Did I Tell?, the screenwriter argues that Douglas' decision ruined the mystery of the character, making him a whimp and a loser.

Locations

The film was shot mainly on location at Songimvelo Game Reserve in South Africa, rather than Kenya, due to tax laws. Many Maasai characters in the film were actually portrayed by South African actors, although the Maasai depicted during the hunt were portrayed by real Maasai warriors who were hired for the movie.

Filming

While the real man-eaters were, like all lions from the Tsavo region, a more aggressive, maneless variety, those used for filming were actually the least aggressive available, for both safety and aesthetic reasons. The film's lions were two male lions with manes. They were brothers named Caesar and Bongo, who were residents of the Bowmanville Zoo in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, both of whom were also featured in George of the Jungle. The film also featured three other lions: two from France and one from the USA.

Reception

The film won an Academy Award in 1997 for Best Sound Editing. However, it also received a Razzie Award nomination for Val Kilmer as Worst Supporting Actor. Reviews were mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 50% rating based on 46 reviews. Roger Ebert said the film was so awful it "lacked the usual charm of being so bad it's funny" adding it was "an African adventure that makes the Tarzan movies look subtle and realistic". Conversely, director David R. Ellis listed this film at #8 on his "Top 10 Animal Horror Movies" countdown, a list he made to promote the release of Shark Night 3D.

Home release

The Ghost and the Darkness is available as a one-disc DVD. There are no special features besides a theatrical trailer for the film.

Historical accuracy

The Tsavo Man-Eaters on display in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois.

Although Patterson claimed the lions were responsible for up to 135 deaths, research undertaken in 2009 says that they likely ate about 35 people. (This figure does not take into account people that were killed but not eaten by the animals). The original lions are on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Col. Patterson's 1907 book itself states that "between them (the lions) no less than 28 Indian coolies, in addition to scores of unfortunate African natives of whom no official record was kept" were killed. This lesser number was confirmed in Dr. Bruce Patterson's definitive book The Lions of Tsavo: Exploring the Legacy of Africa’s Notorious Man-Eaters published by McGraw-Hill in 2004. Patterson wrote the book at the Field Museum in Chicago, where the lions are on display. He showed that the greater toll attributed to the lions resulted from a pamphlet written by Col. Patterson in 1925, stating "these two ferocious brutes killed and devoured, under the most appalling circumstances, 135 Indian and African artisans and laborers employed in the construction of the Uganda Railway."

In the film, both lions are depicted having manes. In reality, the man-eaters lacked manes, a trait common among male lions in Tsavo where they possess either minimal manes or none at all.

Michael Douglas's character, Charles Remington, is entirely fictional. Patterson hunted and killed the rogue lions more or less on his own.

The location where the bridge was built is now called Man-Eater's Camp. It is in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, about 200 miles (300 kilometers) southeast of Nairobi, at 2.993558°S 38.461458°E / -2.993558; 38.461458.

See also

• Tsavo maneaters
• Bwana Devil
• The Man-Eaters of Tsavo, by J. H. Patterson. (Wikisource)

References

• Goldman, William, Which Lie Did I Tell?', Bloomsbury, 2000

External links

• Chicago Field Museum - Tsavo Lion Exhibit
• The Ghost and the Darkness at Internet Movie Database
• The Ghost and the Darkness at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Ghost and the Darkness at Virtual History