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The Ghost and the Darkness

1996 1h 49m
Adventure Thriller History
MOVIEVIBE Rating
6.9/10
1,200 reviews
Your Rating
The Ghost and the Darkness

Sir Robert Beaumont is behind schedule on a railroad in Africa. Enlisting noted engineer John Henry Patterson to right the ship, Beaumont expects results. Everything seems great until the crew discovers the mutilated corpse of the project's foreman, seemingly killed by a lion. After several more attacks, Patterson calls in famed hunter Charles Remington, who has finally met his match in the bloodthirsty lions.

"Prey For The Hunters"

Top Billed Cast

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

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

J John Chard Verified TMDB Critic
2019-01-27

Oh, you're right. The devil has come to Tsavo. Look at me, I am the devil.

The Ghost and the Darkness is directed by Stephen Hopkins and written by William Goldman. It stars Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill, Brian McCardie and Emily Mortimer. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond.

Tsavo, Kenya and a bridge engineer teams up with an experienced professional hunter to hunt for two lions that have been attacking local construction workers.

As is often the case, one should seek out the real stories that are involved in this re...

S sykobanana Verified TMDB Critic
2021-01-02

I loved this movie when I got to see it when it was first released.
Based on a true story (in fact the only part that was made up for is the lions' den scene), this movie breathes Africa due to the incredible cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond. Africa is as bright and as amazing in this film as it is in person. There is no CGI, only real, trained lions and real effects.
Set during the European colonialisation of Africa, we focus on the British need to complete a railway bridge across a small river which is complicated by 2 lions who seem to hunt for fun, not just food.

Even now, 2...

F Filipe Manuel Neto Verified TMDB Critic
2023-12-26

**Overall, a good African adventure film.**

Overall, I liked this film. Africa has always held a fascination for Europeans, and anyone who has lived there will certainly recognize that it leaves a mark, a kind of spell or enchantment. Anyone who is there for a while never forgets Africa, and always brings with them a little bit of this magnificent and martyred continent. The film manages to give a flavor of the wild enchantment of Africa, especially the natural beauty that hides in its most untouched regions.

And that leads us to talk about the production and visuals of this film, which ...