|
The Ghost and the Darkness is a 1996 Oscar-winning film about the Tsavo maneaters, two lions who attacked the builders of the Uganda-Mombassa Railway in 1898, and the subsequent hunt to kill them. The attacks, which took place in Tsavo, Kenya, were recounted by Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson in his book The Man-Eaters of Tsavo. Image File history File links Ghostandthedarkness. ...
Stephen Hopkins (born in 1958) is a film director and producer. ...
For other people bearing this name, see Michael Douglas (disambiguation). ...
William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ...
Val Edward Kilmer[1] (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. ...
For other people bearing this name, see Michael Douglas (disambiguation). ...
John Kani (1943 -) is a South African actor, director and playwright. ...
Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was a famous American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. ...
Vilmos Zsigmond (born June 16, 1930) is a Hungarian-American cinematographer. ...
Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ...
is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
The year 1996 in film involved some significant events. ...
Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...
“Moving picture†redirects here. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation). ...
The Uganda Railway is a railway system linking the interiors of Uganda and Kenya to the Indian Ocean at Mombasa in Kenya. ...
Tsavo is a small town in Kenya located at the crossing of the Uganda Railway over the Tsavo River, close to where it meets the Athi River. ...
Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson, D.S.O. (1867-1947) was an Anglo-Irish soldier, hunter, and author, best known for his book The Man-Eaters of Tsavo. ...
The Man-eaters of Tsavo is a book written by John Henry Patterson in 1907. ...
Tagline: Prey for the hunters
Summary The film, although based loosely on Patterson's account, romanticises his story and fictionalises important elements of the plot, William Goldman's script introducing Michael Douglas as the big game hunter Charles Remington. In reality, Remington did not exist and Patterson shot both lions. Many Maasai characters in the film were actually portrayed by South African actors, although the Maasai depicted during the hunt are real Maasai warriors who helped for the movie. William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ...
For other people bearing this name, see Michael Douglas (disambiguation). ...
Languages Maa (ɔl Maa) Religions Monotheism Christianity The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. ...
The film shot mainly on location at Songimvelo Game Reserve in South Africa rather than Kenya due to tax laws. The main lions featured were two male lions with manes (brothers) named "Caesar" and "Bongo"(deceased), who were residents of the Bowmanville Zoo in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The film also featured three other lions (two from France and one from the US). The real man-eaters were, like all lions from the region, a more aggressive, maneless variety: those used for filming actually being the least aggressive available, for both safety and aesthetic reasons. The man-eating lions shot by Patterson in Tsavo in 1898 are now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. Look up mane in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
The Bowmanville zoo is a well known zoo in Bowmanville, Ontario. ...
Bowmanville is a suburban community or a town located about 55 km east of Toronto and about 15 km east of Oshawa and west of Port Hope on the old highway linking Toronto and Kingston and Scugog Road linking north to Caesarea Bowmanville since the 1950s is accessed with the...
Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area [1] Ranked...
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago The Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex called known as the Museum Campus which includes Soldier Field, the football stadium that is the home of the Chicago...
The film won an Oscar in 1996 for Sound Editing. Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...
The Academy Award of Merit for Best Sound Editing is an Academy Award granted yearly to a film exhibiting the finest or most aesthetic sound editing or sound design. ...
Synopsis The film begins with Colonel Patterson walking into the office used by Sir Beaumont, who is the primary financier of the British railroad project. Furious at the fact that 'his' railroad's scheduled progress is becoming more late, he has sought out the expertise of Patterson, a military engineer to get the project back on track. Beaumont tells Patterson himself that if he doesn't get the bridge built, and on time- then he will use ALL of his power and influence to personally ruin him.
From there, Patterson boards the train to Africa and is shown pulling into an outpost station, where he is enthusiastically greeted by camp supervisor Angus Starling. Starling has reserved the front seats on the train for himself and Patterson, whereas Patterson surprises Starling by telling him interesting facts about the animals that they pass on the way to Tsavo. Starling tells the Colonel that he's been in Africa almost a year and he doesn't know all of the things that Patterson does. When they arrive in Tsavo, Starling introduces Patterson to the first team supervisor, Samuel (who also serves as the narrator of the movie itself). Samuel is one of the only men at the work site who is respected and trusted by everyone, the others follow his orders without fail. Patterson also meets the camp's doctor, David Hawthorne, who tells the colonel he's brought back luck with him; showing him a man who was attacked by a lion and injured. Hawthorne demands to know what Patterson will do about this problem, to which the colonel replies: "I'll sort it out."
That night, accompanied by Starling- Patterson manages to shoot and kill a lion using only one shot while perched in a tree. This impresses the doctor who watches as the workers cheer around Patterson and Starling who have returned to camp with the body of the dead lion. This makes the men's morale higher, as they feel Patterson is one who will take risks on their behalf. However, the lion Patterson shot is not the one doing the killing, and soon afterwards, a lion attack occurs during work hours. Starling rushes to the scene with his rifle, as Samuel goes to retrieve a rifle for himself and another for Patterson, along with ammo. The three reach the attack site in time, however the lion has already killed the worker and is trying to eat him. Slowly approaching the lion in a flanking move, Patterson has the lion in his sights just as he hears something slightly above him and a shadow is cast across the ground. Looking up at the roof of the building in horror, Patterson, Starling, and Samuel realize that it's not one lion doing the killing, it's two. The massive cat assaults them by jumping down, Samuel dives out of the way along with Patterson, but Starling is killed by a slash from the lion's claws. Driving the lions off, Patterson attends to Starling's body and says a prayer over him as Samuel stands over them.
After attempting to trap the lions using a railway car known simply as the device, Patterson shows the trap to Beaumont- who has come to Africa to find out why his bridge isn't getting built on time. Patterson vouches for his trap, and Beaumont leaves, but not before telling him that he will seek out the hunting expertise of a big game hunter known as Remington, and also reminding Patterson that if the task is not done on time, that he will use his influence to destroy him.
Patterson's trap almost works, he employs three of his workers to sit in the car as bait for the lion, while he himself is away from the camp, hunting the lions out there just in case. Only the men don't exactly shoot the lion, as their fear makes them shoot quickly and without aiming. Infuriated, Patterson shouts at the men and is then confronted by the other team supervisor, Abdullah- who commands the majority of the Muslims working at the site. Backed by his men, Abdullah shouts at Patterson that "HE is the trouble in Tsavo." A man suddenly grabs Abdullah and puts a pistol to his head, then tells him to get his men back. It turns out that Remington has already heard what was going on at the site and was headed there to offer his assistance. He also tells Patterson some encouraging words: "Knowing Beaumont, you're not the imbecile he says you are."
Remington has also brought along some Massai warriors with him to hunt the lion, and the men spend all night preparing themselves for the hunt. Dr. Hawthorne asks Patterson to exchange rifles with him, and Patterson agrees. The next day, Patterson finds out during the hunt that Hawthorne's rifle will not fire, and thus misses his chance to shoot the lion when it's in his sights. Remington can't believe that the lion didn't kill the colonel, and the Massai warriors leave the hunt as well. In retaliation, the lions attack the camp and kill everyone in the newly made hospital, whereas Remington and Patterson had locked themselves in the old one in an attempt to trick the lions into coming for them. Among the dead is revealed to be Dr. Hawthorne, who was killed possibly before he could fire a shot off.
With Patterson's help, they successfully track the lions to their caves after enough killings have taken place, and upon killing the first lion, they celebrate into the night by drinking. Patterson dreams that his wife and child are killed by the lion, but in reality, he heard the lion actually attacking the tent of Remington and dragging him away to be killed. Samuel and he go to look for Remington's body, finding it in a field away from the camp. Taking his body back, Patterson decides that this hunt has dragged on long enough and takes a torch to the surrounding tall grass around the camp, effectively robbing the lion of it's advantage to hide.
He and Samuel don't have to wait however, the remaining lion attacks them and Samuel, who is afraid of lions, sees Patterson leading it back to him and runs the other way. Patterson manages to make it to his rifle and shoots the lion, further wounding it with the pistols given to him by Remington. At the end of the film, Patterson is shown greeting his wife and son at the Tsavo station, and holds his son high in the air- reminiscient of what Remington told him.
Cast Val Edward Kilmer[1] (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. ...
Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson, D.S.O. (1867-1947) was an Anglo-Irish soldier, hunter, and author, best known for his book The Man-Eaters of Tsavo. ...
For other people bearing this name, see Michael Douglas (disambiguation). ...
John Kani (1943 -) is a South African actor, director and playwright. ...
This article is about the English actor. ...
Om Puri Om Puri (born October 18, 1950) is an Indian actor of Hindi movies. ...
Bernard Hill (born December 17, 1944) is an English actor. ...
Brian McCardie (born on 22 January 1965 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish actor. ...
Emily Mortimer (born 1 December 1971) is an English actress. ...
See also This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Bwana Devil was a 1952 American movie produced by Sidney W. Pink. ...
External links |
Feeds |
Contact