The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

The Age of Commercialism

good back-story, and good acting

Brilliant and touching

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Have heard that one of the lions ended up in one of the two leading men's family home foyer in Oregon while the second lion is in the Smithsonian Museum in D.C. One lions head was at the five foot mark while standing flat foot on all fours. Man said the movie was "spot on" save for one part he didn't like.

first its really nice and good that sometimes very original stories come out of Hollywood, a movie in Africa at the end of the 19th century is not necessarily what would attract the most viewers (i guess), so i give 10/10 for the originality of the story.great atmosphere and on-site filming in Africa, this was really enjoyable.the movie starts great, but then slowly it feels like its forcing itself to go forward, the story telling becomes less and less smooth.michael douglas an actor i love i thought didn't act well in this movie, may be because i am so used to watching him as a NY socialite millionaire CEO but still i feel he didn't act well.finally, i thought the way the lions were depicted is wrong and ''racist'', lions are wild animals who eat meat so they hunt which is totally normal, however in the movie they are depicted as evil monsters with a black and dark heart, whereas they are only doing what animals do, hunt for food.

You watched Jaws with the same amount of fear for water like the protagonist? Well what about a equally great Lion hunt in the African Savannah? The Ghost and the Darkness is based on a true story, which only unfaithful parts are the ones that Michael Douglas (producer and one of the heroes of the movie) changed. He also edited 45 minutes of the movie out, so that his (side-)character could get more room, which is why director Stephen Hopkins isn't that fond of the final cut.It's even more of a sign of the great quality that the movie, regardless of this trivial facts, won a deserved Oscar and a cult- following.The cinematography is really effective in bringing you into the wild, African, atmosphere and showing you both the beautiful and the dangerous sides of the African continent.The fitting soundtrack is composed by the legendary Jerry Goldsmith and really effective.The visual effects are really good for the most part, and they used mostly real lions which are very well integrated into the shots with the actors, so that it feels fairly real for the most part.The production design is incredible and the movie feels really grand scaled.Also the actors are very good, Val Kilmer is a believable protagonist you root for and Michael Douglas (even though he sabotaged the movie behind the scenes) is really great as this experienced hunter.All in all a very effective, grand scaled adventure movie, based on a heroic and (mostly) true story...

The Ghost and The DarknessThe only time it's acceptable to kill a lion is if it's dressed like a cow, chicken or pig.Mind you, the most consumed animal in this action movie is man.Sent to Kenya by his boss (Tom Wilkinson) to expedite work on his railroad, military engineer Col. John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmer) is advised by the project supervisors (Brian McCardie, John Kani) that two man-eating lions have been holding up progress.When he fails to slay the stealthy predators, Patterson's boss hires an experienced hunter (Michael Douglas) to eliminate the threat for good.But even the famed huntsman can't kill the cunning cats, and he soon finds himself on their dinner menu.Based on Patterson's book, this adaptation of his harrowing account is as frightening as it is fascinating, with the lions serving as truly menacing antagonists.But to fair, big game hunters should have to dress as injured gazelle.Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca