The Ghost and the Darkness - wikipedia 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 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 million 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 the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for supervising sound editor Bruce Stambler. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Screenplay 3.2 Locations 3.3 Filming 4 Reception 5 Home release 6 Historical accuracy 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Plot 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, Kenyan foreperson 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 workers and bringing the project back on schedule. However, not long afterwards, Mahina, the construction foreperson, 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 another 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 workers, 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. Remington arrives with skilled Maasai warriors to help kill the lions. They dub the lions `` the Ghost '' and `` the Darkness '' because of their notorious methods of attack. The initial attempt fails when Patterson 's borrowed gun misfires. The warriors decide to leave, but Remington stays behind. He constructs a new hospital for sick and injured workers and tempts the lions to the abandoned building with animal parts and blood. When the lions fall for the trap, Remington and Patterson shoot at them ; they flee and attack the new hospital, killing many patients and Hawthorne. Abdullah and the construction men leave, and only Patterson, Remington, and Samuel remain behind to face the marauders. Patterson and Remington locate the animals ' lair, discovering the bones of dozens of the lions ' victims. That night, Remington kills one of the pair by using Patterson and a baboon as bait. The workers celebrate, though later Patterson dreams about his wife and infant son visiting him in Tsavo, only for them to be killed by the remaining lion before he can get to them. Waking from his nightmare the next morning, Patterson discovers that the remaining lion has dragged Remington from his tent and killed him ; Patterson and Samuel cremate Remington 's corpse on a pyre at the spot where he died. Grief - stricken and desperate to end the carnage, the two men burn the tall grass surrounding the camp, driving the surviving lion toward the camp ( and the ambush they set there ). The lion attacks Patterson and Samuel on the partially constructed bridge and after a lengthy fight, Patterson finally kills it. Abdullah and the construction workers return, and the bridge is completed on time. The film ends with Patterson 's wife arriving with their son, and a narration by Samuel, who informs the audience that the lions are now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. Even today, he says, `` If you dare lock eyes with them, you will be afraid ''. Cast Val Kilmer as Col. John Henry Patterson Michael Douglas as Charles Remington John Kani as Samuel Brian McCardie as Angus Starling Bernard Hill as Doctor David Hawthorne Tom Wilkinson as Sir Robert Beaumont Emily Mortimer as Helena Patterson Om Puri as Abdullah Henry Cele as 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. `` My particular feeling is that they were evil, '' said Goldman of the lions. `` I believe that for nine months, evil popped out of the ground at Tsavo. '' The script fictionalises Patterson 's account, introducing an American big game hunter called Charles Remington. The character was based on Anglo - Indian big game hunter Charles H. 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 says his ideal casting for the role would have been Burt Lancaster. According to Goldman, Kevin Costner expressed interest in playing Patterson, but Paramount wanted to use Tom Cruise who ultimately declined. Work on the film slowed until Michael Douglas moved his producing unit with partner Steven Reuther, Constellation Films, to Paramount. Douglas read the script and loved it, calling it `` an incredible thriller about events that actually took place. '' Douglas decided to produce and Stephen Hopkins was hired to direct. Val Kilmer, who had just made Batman Forever and was a frequent visitor to Africa 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 Gérard Depardieu when Douglas decided to play the role himself. Stephen Hopkins later said he was unhappy about this. 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 `` wimp '' 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. Director Stephen Hopkins later said of the shoot : We had snake bites, scorpion bites, tick bite fever, people getting hit by lightning, floods, torrential rains and lightning storms, hippos chasing people through the water, cars getting swept into the water, and several deaths of crew members, including two drownings... Val came to the set under the worst conditions imaginable. He was completely exhausted from doing The Island of Dr. Moreau ; he was dealing with the unfavorable publicity from that set ; he was going through a divorce ; he barely had time to get his teeth into this role before we started ; and he is in nearly every scene in this movie. But I worked him six or seven days a week for four months under really adverse conditions, and he really came through. He had a passion for this film. Reception The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing ( Bruce Stambler ) at the 69th Academy Awards. However, Val Kilmer was nominated for the Razzie Award for 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 ''. Ebert would put the film on his list of the worst movies of 1997. Conversely, the late 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. Hopkins said in a 1998 interview that the film `` was a mess... I have n't been able to watch it. '' In India, the film was remade in Telugu as Mrugaraju and released in 2001. 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. The film was released on LaserDisc in 1997 as a one - disc, double - sided release featuring a Dolby Digital audio track. 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, the definitive peer - reviewed paper on man - eating lions and the circumstances surrounding this notorious event states that only about 28 -- 31 killings can be verified ( Kerbis Peterhans & Gnoske, 2001 ). ( This figure does not take into account any people who may have been killed but not eaten by the animals. ) The original lions are on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. 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 the definitive paper on man - eating behavior and the Tsavo lions by Kerbis Peterhans and Gnoske ( 2001 ) and soon thereafter 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. Kerbis Peterhans & Gnoske 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, as male Tsavo lions 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. However, as noted in the article on the real Patterson, some time later another man was killed under mysterious circumstances ; this death is said to be inspiration for Hemingway 's `` The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber ''. The film claims that Tsavo means `` a place of slaughter ''. Tsavo is the Akamba word for ' slaughter '. The region has been referred to as `` a place of slaughter '' due to a history of tribal warfare between the Maasai and the Akamba. The location where the bridge was built is now called Man - Eater 's Camp. It is in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, about 125 kilometres ( 78 mi ) east of Mount Kilimanjaro and 260 kilometres ( 160 mi ) southeast of Nairobi, at 2 ° 59 ′ 37 '' S 38 ° 27 ′ 41 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 2.993558 ° S 38.461458 ° E ﻿ / - 2.993558 ; 38.461458. See also Bwana Devil ( 1952 ) Mrugaraju The Man - Eaters of Tsavo, by J.H. Patterson References Notes Jump up ^ `` '' The Ghost and the Darkness '' -- Business ``. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 6, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Ghost and the Darkness ( 1996 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. December 6, 1996. Retrieved January 15, 2013. Jump up ^ `` The Ghost and the Darkness ( 1996 ) ''. World Wide Box Office. Retrieved January 15, 2013. Jump up ^ `` The 69th Academy Awards - 1997 ''. Retrieved 7 September 2017. Jump up ^ Goldman ( 2000 ), pp. 72 -- 74. ^ Jump up to : Dawes, Amy ( 10 October 1996 ). `` The Lion Sleeps Tonight : Troubles on this film were n't caused by the cats or reputed bad boy Kilmer ''. Daily News. Los Angeles. p. L. 3 -- via The Free Library. Jump up ^ Patterson, Bruce D. ( 2004 ). The Lions of Tsavo : Exploring the Legacy of Africa 's Notorious Man - Eaters. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 33. ISBN 978 - 0 - 07 - 136333 - 4. Jump up ^ Goldman ( 2000 ), p. 89. ^ Jump up to : Logan, Brian ( 29 July 1998 ). `` Arts : Some of Stephen Hopkins 's films are so bad he ca n't bear to watch them... But Lost In Space is different. Brian Logan meets the man who won the hearts of Heather Graham and Hollywood ''. The Guardian. London, UK. p. 14. Jump up ^ Goldman ( 2000 ), pp. 91 -- 93. Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( October 11, 1996 ). `` The Ghost And The Darkness ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Retrieved May 3, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Fall Preview : `` Shark Night 3D '' director David Ellis ' top 10 animal horror movies ``. IFC. August 23, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Man eating lions -- not ( as ) many dead ''. Railway Gazette International. November 27, 2009. Jump up ^ Kerbis Peterhans, Julian C. ; Gnoske, Thomas Patrick. `` The Science of ' Man - Eating ' Among Lions ( Panthera leo ). With a Reconstruction of the Natural History of the ' Man - Eaters of Tsavo ' ''. Journal of East African Natural History. Nature Kenya / East African Natural History Society. 90 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 40. doi : 10.2982 / 0012 - 8317 ( 2001 ) 90 ( 1 : TSOMAL ) 2.0.CO ; 2. Jump up ^ Patterson, J.H. ( 1925 ). The man - eating lions of Tsavo. Zoology : Leaflet 7. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. p. 89. Bibliography Goldman, William ( 2000 ). Which Lie Did I Tell ?. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978 - 0 - 74754 - 977 - 2. 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 Films directed by Stephen Hopkins Dangerous Game ( 1987 ) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 : The Dream Child ( 1989 ) Predator 2 ( 1990 ) Judgment Night ( 1993 ) Blown Away ( 1994 ) The Ghost and the Darkness ( 1996 ) Lost in Space ( 1998 ) Under Suspicion ( 2000 ) The Life and Death of Peter Sellers ( 2004 ) The Reaping ( 2007 ) Race ( 2016 ) Works by William Goldman Plays Tenderloin ( 1960 ) Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole ( 1961 ) A Family Affair ( 1962 ) Misery ( 2012 ) Novels The Temple of Gold ( 1957 ) Your Turn to Curtsy, My Turn to Bow ( 1958 ) Soldier in the Rain ( 1960 ) Boys and Girls Together ( 1964 ) No Way to Treat a Lady ( 1964 ) The Thing of It Is... ( 1967 ) Father 's Day ( 1971 ; sequel to The Thing of It Is ) The Princess Bride ( 1973 ) Wigger ( 1974 ) Marathon Man ( 1974 ) Magic ( 1976 ) Tinsel ( 1979 ) Control ( 1982 ) The Silent Gondoliers ( 1983 ) The Color of Light ( 1984 ) Heat ( 1985 ) Brothers ( 1986 ) Films Masquerade ( 1965 ) Harper ( 1966 ) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ( 1969 ) The Hot Rock ( 1972 ) The Stepford Wives ( 1975 ) The Great Waldo Pepper ( 1975 ) Marathon Man ( 1976 ) All the President 's Men ( 1976 ) A Bridge Too Far ( 1977 ) Magic ( 1978 ) Mr. Horn ( 1979, TV ) Heat ( 1987 ) The Princess Bride ( 1987 ) Misery ( 1990 ) Memoirs of an Invisible Man ( 1992 ) Year of the Comet ( 1992 ) Chaplin ( 1992 ) Maverick ( 1994 ) The Chamber ( 1996 ) The Ghost and the Darkness ( 1996 ) Absolute Power ( 1997 ) The General 's Daughter ( 1999 ) Hearts in Atlantis ( 2001 ) Dreamcatcher ( 2003 ) Wild Card ( 2015 ) Non-fiction The Season : A Candid Look at Broadway ( 1969 ) The Story of ' A Bridge Too Far ' ( 1977 ) Adventures in the Screen Trade ( 1983 ) Wait Till Next Year ( with Mike Lupica, 1988 ) Hype and Glory ( 1990 ) Which Lie Did I Tell ? ( 2000 ) The Big Picture : Who Killed Hollywood ? and Other Essays ( 2000 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Ghost_and_the_Darkness&oldid=804337031 '' Categories : English - language films 1996 films 1990s adventure films American films American adventure films Films based on non-fiction books American buddy films Films directed by Stephen Hopkins Screenplays by William Goldman Films set in Kenya Films set in the British Empire Films set in 1898 Films shot in South Africa Films about lions Films featuring hunters Film scores by Jerry Goldsmith Films that won the Best Sound Editing Academy Award Paramount Pictures films Films produced by Gale Anne Hurd Hidden categories : Film articles using image size parameter Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego Italiano Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi ไทย 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 8 October 2017, at 09 : 26. 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Question: where was the movie the ghost and the darkness filmed
Answer: mainly on location at Songimvelo Game Reserve in South Africa