The Ghost and the Darkness

[DnSchlng]

anyone please tell me what they thought of the 1996 movie The Ghost and the Darkness, starring Micheal Douglas and Val Kilmore

 

[carebear]

I enjoyed it, even with the changes from the true story.

 

[Doug C]

I liked it alot, have it on DVD too, Val Kilmer does a good job (of course) and I like the setting, story too. I like Michael Douglas in this one too.

Doug C

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Quite good, actually! A dramatization of course, but made me want to know more about the actual event. The lions are on display somewhere now, much smaller than their original size - they'd been cut to rugs after they were killed and only later stuffed for display. If I remember correctly, they were both females. I recomend it if you haven't already seen it.

http://home.texoma.net/~hardini/lions_of_tsavo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsavo_maneaters

-dixon cannon

 

[Hondo]

I also enjoyed it, Val Kilmer did an excellent job, so did Michael Douglas, his character reminded me is his role in "Romancing The Stone" without the humor, more real, great film.

 

[Doug C]

Actually, I read (I think..it's been a long time since I thought about it) that the lions were both Males but were both with-out manes of hair on their heads and it's thought that they were outcast by other lions because of this. Therefore they found it hard to live as normal lions would. Also, I distinctly remember finding a website a few years back that had black and white vintage pictures of the cave that the pair lived in, and that was full of bones including human ones. That cave had long since been forgotten until someone recently found it again and took new pictures of it. The website compared the two pictures and the folage around it was a little different but you could tell it was the same place, some 100+ years later. BTW, the lions are on display at the Smithsonian Field Museum I believe.

Doug C

 

[Smithy]

I really enjoyed it, worth watching for sure.

 

[carebear]

The male lions in that region typically are maneless. It is a desert thing.

Tsavo Lions are generally maneless and also larger and more aggressive than lions from other regions.

 

[eightbore]

The Patterson lions are on display at the Chicago Field Museum. What causes a maneater is of course a topic of debate but it was likely a matter of age. Older males get booted out of prides by younger interlopers looking to breed. Being less physically able to hunt, they look for easier prey as did the female that was causing problems during this years' Zimbabwe Professional Hunter's Exam. Don Heath's description states that this lioness apparently was quite the granny lacking any teeth whatsoever. No real surprise that "usual" prey became unattractive to her as humans are much slower and lacking the usual defenses lions come to expect.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1411043/m/693101747

Best,

eightbore

P.S. Michael Douglas made up his character to stroke his own ego. It's too bad as there was no need to enhance an already interesting story.

 

[Rockapin-up]

I saw it in the theaters and enjoyed it alot.

 

[Smithy]

Thought I should also mention that Kenya wants the lions back. This ran on the BBC last month...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6988918.stm

 

[eightbore]

I read that article a while ago, Smithy! I'd say the likelihood of Kenya getting those lions back is about 1/10 that of Egypt getting Nefertiti's bust returned...which ain't all that much.

Best,

eightbore

 

[Smithy]

They sound just fine where they are. I'd love to see them one day. So they're one my list when I visit Chicago.

Cheers,

Smithy.

 

[nyx]

The Patterson lions are on display at the Chicago Field Museum. What causes a maneater is of course a topic of debate but it was likely a matter of age. Older males get booted out of prides by younger interlopers looking to breed.

I read an article saying that there is evidence that the lions also had some abcessed teeth, making it hard for them to hunt and kill prey with harder hides. Humans were easy to catch and have nice easy to bite through skin (was the the theory anyway--I'm not speaking from experience ) I think the same article said the lions had been digging up the recently deceased members of the crew and got the taste for it as well. *Edit: I just went back and realized that was the wikipedia article included at the top :eusa_doh: I read it awhile back and didn't realize it had been included in the first post. Oops!

I have to say that the taxidermist did a FANTASTIC job restoring the skins in the museum after what they had been through. Although, it's a shame because the lions were apparently much bigger originally.

 

[Feraud]

The Patterson story is a great read.

I also have read about a potential tooth problem that caused the lions to seek out weaker prey.

About the manes... there is an article I cannot now find that discusses the Tsavo area lions.
It discusses how the lions are not all totally maneless but have variations of classic manes. There is apparently also a genetic flaw in these lions that probably contribute to the physical features of these lions.

I will try to find this fascinating article..

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I saw it some years ago, thought it was a good story; interesting, exciting and quite scary. Both Kilmer and Douglas acted well in it.

Also, there were some nice hats in that film, Kilmer's especially.

karol

 

[Gatsby84]

I originally read about this story in a compilation book by P. H. Capstick, if I remember correctly... and I was captivated by it. I just bought the movie on dvd the other day and have watched it several times. I think it's a great movie, although some aspects seem a bit "Hollywoodish". I recommend reading the book (the one by Patterson himself) before watching the movie.
-Allen

 

[catsmeow]

I found this movie to be entertaining. I might get it out again come to think of it.

 

[Badluck Brody]

Very Sharp!

Very under rated film!

I liked the unseen aspect, then to suddenly realize there are two of them was excellent!!

Loved it on the big screen!!