The Ghost and the Darkness | 
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Director: Stephen Hopkins
Actors: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
Buy New: $4.15
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Avg. Customer Rating:  127 reviews
Sales Rank: 2319
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 109
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Letterbox
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 097363235071
ISBN: 6305181926
UPC: 097363235071
EAN: 9780792153047
ASIN: 6305181926
Theatrical Release Date: October 11, 1996
Release Date: December 1, 1998
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Amazon.com
Val Kilmer stars as Lt. Col. John Patterson, a 19th-century Irish engineer drafted by Britain's railroad bosses to build a trestle bridge over an African river, thus expanding the empire a tiny bit more. In Tsavo, Patterson is instantly hailed for killing a man-eating lion that had been making life hell for native workers. But morale sinks when a pair of unstoppable big cats devour more men and destroy the project. Along comes an Ahab-like, expatriate American hunter (Michael Douglas) to help Patterson face the almost preternatural powers of the two killers. The script by William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) is based on fact, though the film owes more to Spielberg (specifically to Jaws) than history. There are also suggestive echoes of Kipling and Conrad in the material and characters, and there are hints of emotional complexity and psychological nuance that make one wish this could have been a great film instead of a merely fun one. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
A renowned big game hunter joins forces with an engineer to kill the lions which threaten completion of a bridge in 1896 East Africa.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 29-DEC-2004
Media Type: DVD
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| Customer Reviews: Read 122 more reviews...
 Exciting drama--good transfer to DVD--but not Anamorphic June 30, 2008
This review refers to the Region 1 "Widescreen Collection" DVD edition of "The Ghost and the Darkness". Based on a true story in 1898 British colonial Africa, the film deals with man-eating lions that are attacking & killing workers on a railway construction project through Uganda. The lead engineer assigned to the project (perfectly played by Vil Kilmer) was hired to build a bridge across a river. Little does he know that he will face the biggest challenge of his life in tracking down, outwitting, and killing these savage beasts. Micahel Douglas joins the action about half-way into the film.
This is a fast-moving, well-crafted, action/drama/horror/thriller type of film--very entertaining and suspenseful. If you like the "Jurassic Park" films--you will like this action and suspense (who will be eaten next?). The movie is rated R--but there is absolutely no nudity, no profanity (I think the "S" word was used once or twice--but no "F" word). The R rating is due to some gore relating to the lion attacks (which look very real, but computer graphics & special effects must have played a large part)--but this is no slasher type movie. The gore shown is minimal--enough to give the viewer a flavor as to how powerful and efficient these lions were in hunting and attacking their prey. This film is much closer to PG-13 than R.
Hopefully there will be a future anniversary or special edition that this film deserves. This a bare bones DVD. It is a shame that there is no historical account given regarding the actual events (it is mentioned that the actual lions are stuffed and on display in a museum in Chicago). While the transfer to DVD gives excellent sound and a good picture (sharp and crisp with excellent color), as viewed on my 46-inch large screen, high-defintion TV, played on a Toshiba 1080p HD DVD player)--the picture format is letterboxed, not anamorphic. The letterbox does seem to be larger than other letterboxes. Nonetheless, this DVD is worth owning.
 Scary, scary scary! May 25, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Here's the deal.
Watch this with the lights off, and let your mind go off to an Africa where animals were still the biggest threat to man. I felt like this was so much scarier than say Jaws that it got into my sleep. This film is scarier for being based on actual events. Of course today, there will be some people on the side of the Lions in the tale, but for my part, just kill them! There is only room for one at the top of the food chain.
But that's just me.
However, if you want to take something different away from this film, it makes a good allegory for running a business. If you create a culture of fear in the workplace (i.e. management becomes the lions to the workers) people will work in such a way as to not get eaten (written up or fired), rather than accomplish the desired goals of a company... But again, that's just me.
The Ghost And The Darkness May 2, 2008
This is an incredible movie,I really enjoy true stories whether they are romantic, action, drama etc. If it is a true story, thats what makes it more meaningful to watch. ( to me)
I strongly suggest this movie to anyone who loves true stories.
Brilliant!
'The Devil has come to Tsavo' February 9, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is one of the best adventure/suspense movies ever made and deserves ten stars! Well written and paced, even the music chosen was excellent in keeping the tension at the proper level. Douglas and Kilmer are terrific, believable characters as they round out an already intense story based on two real lions who terrorized an area of Africa. I saw one of the stuffed lions at the Field Museum in Chicago (don't know where the other one was that day) and it truly did send a chill down my spine. If you love action/adventure, or just superb acting period, buy this one for your shelf. My only regret is that it doesn't have the added director commentary or special added features that we are spoiled with when we buy more recent DVD's. Though I could only put five stars, this is a ten star movie!!! Be sure to also pick up a copy of Patterson's book 'The Man Eaters of Tsavo' for more info on the real lions.
Chrissy K. McVay - Author
awesome February 8, 2008
Great movie, and knowing the storie is true makes it even better, Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer rock!
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