Rating: Summary: Very tense action adventure Review: The Ghost and the Darkness is a very exciting movie that is based on fact although liberties are taken. The story is about two man-eating lions who terrorize the village of Tsavo as Colonel John Patterson tries to build an important bridge across a river. Patterson and a famous hunter, Henry Remington, attempt over and over again to kill the two lions until finally the workers decide to leave the area because they are so afraid of the lions. The hunting scenes are truly well done. The scene where Patterson and Remington discover the den of the lions is a great scene that shows that the lions are in no way normal. Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas both give great performances as Patterson and Remington. Douglas' performance is a little over the top, but it works very well here. The film is beautifully shot with an excellent backing by Jerry Goldsmith's musical score. The DVD is a little disappointing with very few extras but for the movie alone it is worth the purchase. Do not miss this very exciting adventure story that is based on a true story!
Rating: Summary: EVEN NOW IF YOU DARE LOCK EYES WITH THEM YOU WILL BE AFRAID! Review: This is the most famous true African adventure-famous because what took place at Tsavo never happened before-remember this-even the most impossible parts of this story-really happened!The men called them The Ghost And The Darkness.There were two of them and that had never happened before because man eaters are always alone-they owned the nights-but they also attacked in daylight alone or together without fear or reason. Some men thought they werent lions at all-but the spirits of dead medicine men come back to spread madness-to others they were the devil-sent to stop the white man from owning the world-I belevied this-that they were evil-and what better place then evil to walk then Tsavo? Because this is what the word Tsavo means:a place of slaughter! Patterson finsihed the bridge-people came back and went their ways-if you want to see the lions today-you must go to America-they are at the Field Musesum in Chicago Ill. Even now-if you dare lock eyes with them-you will be afraid! My favorite part was when one of the lions got into that trap in that old train and was trying to get to the humans on the other side while they are shooting at him but the lion didnt have much luck-and when the lion cant get to the men-man is he upset-actually he looked more evil then upset! I just saw fresh paw prints out there which got me thinking they were alreadly thinkin about feastin in here! In reality the two lions had no manes-they only had little tuffs of hair on them-there are alot of sites about the Tsavo lions-so you can get a first hand look at what these devils looked like! There are two reasons why these lions attacked humans: A large disease killed off mostly what lions eat like zebras and gazzelles! Or one of the lions had a chipped tooth-and when a big cat gets this-they turn to easier prey-like humans! PREY FOR THE HUNTERS! And that cave of theirs-it was pretty creepy with all those human bones! Their doing it for the pleasure! (WE SURE ARE!) ONLY THE MOST INCREDIBLE PARTS OF THE STORY ARE TRUE.
Rating: Summary: Old fashioned, Hollywood production Review: This movie tells the story of Lt. Colonel J. H. Patterson, D.S.O., and engineer that was commissioned to build a bridge in the Tsavo region of Africa during the colonial period. His work was interrupted by the activities of a pair of male lions, intent on thinning out the conscripted and hired labor as quickly as possible. This is based on a true story. The film takes liberties with the book from which it came: "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo", by Colonel Patterson, but I can't say I minded that too much. If it's one thing that drives me to distraction its "experts" that nit-pick about the details of a genre picture. This is a Hollywood film, a Hollywood blockbuster, no less - not a documentary. In short, this was a tremendously tense film throughout, and Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer turned in two fine performances. The cinematography of Africa was beautiful, and the lions were terrifying. Did you expect a historical document?
Rating: Summary: Wow! Edge of your seat Thriller Review: Boy, was I surprised. This film did not get a lot of press. I suppose that's because it's hard to sell true stories when it seems easier to make up even more exciting stuff. I loved the film and can't wait to see it again. Yes, even though I now know what will happen, it is still hard to believe. A great African Adventure. Don't let your kids watch it alone, but yes, they can watch it - unlike most of today's films that seem to depend on bad language for success.
Rating: Summary: Based on a true story!!!!!! Review: Despite obvious flaws in the film's historical accuracy, the film overall depicts what happened in 1895 in Africa as two lions for whatever reason went on a killing spree, Val Kilmer stars as a railroad construction engineer who is hired to build a railraod in Africa thus beating the competiton, he is hired by Tom Wilkinson(Rush Hour) who is the boss you would just love to hate, as Kilmer begins his job, his hired help begins to die by being attacked by the lions, Kilmer begins a manhunt & thus the bridge's construction halted, as Wilkinson grows more impatient with Kilmer's delay, he then sends a professional hunter in the form of Michael Douglas in a somewhat unconventional role, Douglas does not appear until the second hour, this film really belongs to Kilmer as he & Douglas become the hunted, it is clear that the lions are playing with them, & that even Douglas is puzzed at their behavoir, when they think there is one, they discover that there are two, they even bait a trap for them that has little or no effect, the lions stalk Kilmer as if they are saving him for last, won't spoil the ending for those who have not seen it, except to say that the ending is intense as man battles the beast, this is a very gripping movie, the lions are now on display in a museum in Chicago, & they are frightning to look at, you almost sense that they are looking at you, which makes this film all the more scarier!!! Highy Recommended!!!
Rating: Summary: Goosebumps galore Review: This is a sensational film, but one to guarantee you a mood swing from comfort to helplessness as you get sucked into the vortex of the story. Michael Douglas, to my surprise, wasn't even the hero of this movie, but Val Kilmer shined as the one who would have to face down the man-eaters. An incredible movie and highly recommended. Just don't think you have it figured out until the very end, and you still might not have figured it out. But it's a logical, terrifying, and totally mesmerizing piece of work.
Rating: Summary: spirit against man eater."This isnt the lion king" Review: I would call a lion the black soul of africa after seeing this title "THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS".for this chilling tale is vey much so based on a true story.where the hunters become the hunted..this is a tense, terrfic and true adventure set in 1896 EAST Africa. Two key actors Michael Douglas and val kilmer are brought into the movie.Ghost and the Darkness simply mean "Two man eaters"The beasts are on a man eating rampage,they hunt together.with no fear of man.two killing machines KIlling for sport rather than nurishment.. MEAN WHILE the railway construction Project, val kilmer was meant to build is on hold.as they get a top big game hunter REMINGTON (thats when Douglas comes into the picture).into the hunt... But these lions are smart.they no the land better than the people let alone some outside game hunter,who is only in for the money.Egineer Paterson (Kilmer)AND lion hunter (douglas) now set out to stop the devils workers.in other words stop these unstoppable monstes.only the most incredible parts of the story are true in sible (africa)"Breathtaking and thrillng!"its time to prey for the hunters.
Rating: Summary: War between species Review: There is something more to this story than hunting down a pair of man-killing lions. In fact, I originally didn't want to see this because I am tender hearted when it comes to animals. And it's to the films credit that I understood why these two lions had to be killed. Better that they be killed than innocent children mangled and killed. The film, and I quite realize that many of the true story's details were changed in order to tell the story the director wanted told, pits man against the law of the wild. The hunters are flesh and blood, and they stalk their prey as if they were the law tracking down a couple of murderers. And yet, they are not portrayed as evil. You sense that the hunters are not sportsmen, but protectors. There's tragedy in the situation. There's a sense of man's failure to be able to cohabit this planet with the rest of its inhabitants. And yet, the movie somehow fell short of expectations. It is a good movie though it will hurt animal lovers like myself to watch it through.
Rating: Summary: For the love of Kipling... Review: I really enjoyed this film about a man who goes to Africa to build a bridge and ends up taking on: his own fears, his employer, Africa, his workers, and of course, man-eating lions. Val Kilmer is perfect in the role as bridge-building, action hero who has never even seen a lion before going to Africa. But like a real hero should he never flinches... when confronted by the fact that lions had attacked and killed some of his workers he merely states that, "With any luck I'll sort it out tonight." After which he picks up his rifle and climbs a tree to await the lion. Wonderful film, and great testimonial to the power of Reason and Will against savagery and fear.
Rating: Summary: Jaws Strikes in Africa! Review: I watched the Ghost and Darkness yesterday, and I thought it was a very entertaining thriller, with above average direction, acting, and cinematography. It is another Monster/animal against man story, but what makes the film different from the dozens of such movies, is the authenticity of the story, based on true events that actually happened at the turn of the 20th century in Kenya. Watching G&D, you can not help but deduce similarities with Spielberg's Jaws, even though the style of both films is different, and whereas Jaws has had a huge impact on its audience and was highly praised, G&D was not very successful at its time of release. The similarities lie in the fact that both stories are based on true events, but dramatized for the screen, Jaws on the Great White attacks of 1912 in New Jersey via Peter Benchley's best seller, and G&D on the true events of two maneating lions who feasted on more than 200 of our kind.(The actual lions of Tsavo are preserved in the Field Musuem in Chicago Both films, brought these two events to our attention, as both were largely forgotten or unheard of before the films. The experienced shark hunter Robert Powell, who knows it all but has yet to face his greatest challenge in the unusual behavior of the monster fish, is similar to Michael Douglas's character. Both men end their lives tragically in the mouths of the predators they supposedly were the only people who can kill them. But G&D has excellent cinematography, and the lions attacks are very well digitally put with the help of fast editing, preceding the scene in Gladiator with the tigers in the ring but more effective. Val Kilmer,gives a very good performance,but I thought Michael Douglas was miscast,although his acting is as always very good. So G&D is a good thriller, that will keep you at the edge of your seat, and make you reflect upon how powerful nature and its predators can be, and while we have infringed on its territory for years, it is when it fights back that we become vulnerable.
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