History Buffs: The Ghost and the Darkness 

Bob Gymlan does an incredible job recounting the events as told in Patterson's book. The quote that gets me the most from Patterson's account: "The Indians called them ghosts. The Muhammadans called them devils. The Africans simply called them Lions."

That scene where he is staring at the lion and his rifle goes, "click", scared the crap out of me. The critics were a bunch of stuffed shirts.

"Val came to the set under the worst conditions imaginable. He was completely exhausted from doing The Island of Dr. Moreau; he was dealing with the unfavorable publicity from that set; he was going through a divorce; he barely had time to get his teeth into this role before we started; and he is in nearly every scene in this movie. But I worked him six or seven days a week for four months under really adverse conditions, and he really came through. He had a passion for this film." -Stephen Hopkins (director of "The Ghost and the Darkness")

I just love the scene at 11:55 after Paterson's gun misfires, Lion is just looking at him like "Bruh"

"Lost his hearing due to the lion's powerful roar" Or the numerous rifle shots next to his ear in an enclosed boxcar.

Nobody bats an eye when a house cat hunts and kills a mouse, but it’s a whole different ordeal when you are the mouse.

That scene where the man who killed a lion with his bare hands looked out at the grass is INTENSELY chilling. The close ups. The open grass. The shadow of the ghost and the music score put over it. It alone is astounding.

the standoff against the second lion was wild, in all versions of the story this cat took three gunshots and two broken legs, was still alive and raring to go 10 days later, got shot again then got back up TWICE and nearly got Patterson's ankle as he climbed up a tree to grab the rifle that fired the final shot legendary cat

This was a freakin great movie and going to watch it again. It's a crime Val Kilmer has not won an acadamy before especially for his work in Tombstone. One of the most underappreciated actors of our time.

I remember watching this movie as a kid and it scarring the living crap out of me, and loving it by the end. Oh the joy I felt at seeing those evil lions dead. It is an incredible movie and now I'm more pleased to find out that the more unbelievable parts of it, like the lion in the cage, is actually true.

One of the main reasons I love this story and the movie is that when you learn the true history,it gets even crazier.

As a Kenyan this movie was equally and exciting & terrifying to watch. Quite accurate for the most part. Nice review 👍

"The next obvious question is why did the filmmakers feel the need to ditch it?" Presumably because nobody was brave enough to try shaving the lion

*Sees corpse pile* "They're doing it for the pleasure..." Sooooo, they're just regular house cats, but big?

This movie is a prime example of a heavily underrated masterpiece.

Hi. I spent the 17 first years of my life in Africa and my dad spent almost is whole life there and was raised not very far from the Tsavo. This is THE story every old timer in Africa knows about. So when I saw the movie I was just soooo amazed! To this day, it remains one of my very favorite one and indeed very close to what was told at the time. It is largelly believed there there that the weird behaviour of these 2 lions (killing for pleasure, no fear of men or fire, 2 males hunting together while a male is usually quite territorial and lives with females) is because they were brothers probably grown up by humans... Before deciding that humans were better eaten then alive. Thank you for making a video on this movie that means so much to me and a lot of people who have lived in Africa. And a movie with such an amazing cinematography!

I watched this as a kid and was like man I’m glad this isn’t real and my dad was like, yes it is, and I was like well time to not sleep for a couple weeks

18:02 “I’ve seen worse, and I am pretty sure you all have too”. You are 110% correct with that statement. I saw 2001’s Pearl Harbor

An underrated movie that deserved more attention. Still get goosebumps when I hear the soundtrack

My Great Uncle Captain Alfred Haslam was one of the characters left out or combined. He was a veterinarian who had come to help solve the lion problem but an illness had come over the local goats at the same time, he was killed by the local African tribe during a necropsy of a goat because they thought he was performing magic. Anyway, he's in the book. He is buried there too. I found this movie great, even though my Uncle was left out. Your review was wonderful.

I love this movie, thought it was a little underrated

My cat is giving me some weird looks right now...

I saw this in the theater, and it was instantly one of my faves, the score, the locale, the story.. and it had intrigued me then to research the true story. I am so thrilled to have found this channel just recently, and especially someone like minded on this particular film. Keep up the great work!

In his book, Death in the Long Grass. Peter Hathaway Capstick recalls his experiences as a big game hunter guide in Africa.There were accounts of lions entering sleeping huts selecting prey who were not closest to the door and removed the body without alerting anyone else. An interesting book with many interesting stories. It’s been posited that man eating lions become that way when they are older and not as adept at catching wild prey.

The Ghost and the Darkness: "*ROAR*" Patterson: "I'm your huckleberry."

This has happened before. A tiger had over 300+ confirmed kills, a leopard the same. There are other stories as well

Deeply underrated film, I watched it as a kid after a historian at the Field Museum told me the whole story while I was standing in front of the lions. I think your essay captured many of the interesting points about both film and the true story upon which it was based. Bravo!🎉

Thanks for filling in some good historical details! I saw this movie when it first came out. Having been a huge fan of animal behavior since I was a very young child (I'm now nearing 80), I have watched everything I can having to do with animal behavior. Working specifically with dogs for nearly 60 years now, I find that people seriously underestimate or simply deny the mental and emotional power of animals. Truly, these lions were unlike any others known before or since, but your explanation of the slaves being thrown out by the wayside explains a lot! Don't ever underestimate the intelligence of ANY animal! The more I work with animals, the more I realize that I know very little about the extent of their intelligence, emotions and uncanny abilities. The animal kingdom is truly amazing!

Historians are skeptical about the 135 killed but what they don't know is that there are tigers and leopards that have killed up to 4 times as much people. The Champawat Tiger was responsible for 436 documented deaths. The Panar Leopard in 1910 allegedly killed 400 people. The Ghost and the Darkness is definitely my favorite movie. I have read the book numerous times and seen the movie too much to count and it never gets old.

Why didn’t they use a mane-less lion? You ever try to shave a Lion?

If they analyzed their hair to determine how many people they are in the last 3 months of their lives, and it came out as 11 and 24, then it isn’t implausible to suggest they could’ve eaten over 100 between them in one year.

I feel the best genre description for a film like this is Historical Natural Horror. After all, historical basis, natural threat, horrific events (real or embellished).

The Ghost and the Darkness was an excellent film!

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I grew up in South Africa and my dad worked on the film. He was a stunt double for both Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas at various points in the movie. I know some of the bridges and tracks are fake, but you can't even tell in the movie!!!

I love this movie and had no idea how accurate it was!

This was one of the best movies of the '90s. Truly a spectacular passion project that shows in every frame and second of film. History Buffs is my favorite RU-vid channel. Every video is an excellent production that provides insights into our favorite movies. Even for a cinephile like me, I always learn something new. Thank you for doing this.

I loved this movie you’re right the cinematography alone is gorgeous. It also has personal significance for me, it was the first date movie for my now husband of 20 years

"Face the animal on his own terms, you will find you are not so very strong." --The Beastmaster

I can watch this movie again and again and it still terrifies me. I am no Val Kilmer fan but he did an amazing job in this film. This is truly a movie that should be considered a classic. Well shot, no pun intended, mostly great acting, beautiful scenery and a true story. What more could you ask for.

One of the movies that always creeped in the back of my head and I never really remembered if it was a nightmare, a cruel joke of my own mind or an actual product.

You just convinced me to rewatch "The Ghost and the Darkness." I love that movie.

you know what this movie needs, a damn Blu ray release

I remember tripping over this movie while channel flicking late one night & found it absolutely captivating. Then I had the chance to see it on TV a few years later & once again, brilliant movie, once you put it on, you cannot turn it off. I actually think this is one of Val Kilmer's better films (he has been pretty terrible in a lot of films, but this isn't one of them) & I liked Micheal Douglas in this film too. Also, the actor who played his African second in command was the coolest guy ever.

I remember when the movie was in the cinema. It had a major impact on me. I loved it. In my opinion, this is not about someone chasing some lions, it's a movie about friendship: the friendship between the 2 lions and the sadness I felt for the lion left behind. Truly a masterpiece!

I never understood the negative reviews this film got either, I always thought it was the Jaws of the African Plains and I mean that in the best way. The Ghost and the Darkness captures the same tense moments, not knowing where the lions are, or when they'll strike next, and the music by Jerry Goldsmith creates a great sense of tension along with an epic score, much like Jaws had. I too love this film, I've seen it numerous times, and never have grown tired of it, sure it has historical inaccuracies, or be a more romanticized account much like Patterson's book, but it's still a good watch.

I’ve seen the lions at the Field Museum numerous times. It’s pretty crazy to see the remains of such feared beasts but their legend is kept alive by our museum

I remember seeing this film in the theatres back in the day. I still enjoy it too!

First saw this movie when it came out on video, thought it was awesome. At the end of the movie when they said the two lions were on display at the museum in Chicago, realizing this was a true story, made me rewind it and watch it again.

I recall being at a lecture by one of the cinematographers/vfx guys for this, and he was talking about the lions, and said they were pre-trained lions hired for the movie- so they didn't have to re-train any non-mane lions. The lion that attacks the woman at the train is really attacking his trainer, and iirc when the one lion is stalking one of the guys and crawling low, the trainers were holding a piece of glass over him that forced him down like that.

My great grandfather worked this railway, i never knew him but he was truly a man. Bhagwan bless his soul

Still my favorite movie. Love the whole thing. The critics can kiss my ass.

I agree, one of the most underrated films ever made. Deserves a lot more love and appreciation.

There were also safety concerns; Tsavo lions are much more capricious and violent than the maned ones, and cannot be reliably trained. They couldn't just shave the ones they had because, well, animal handlers tend to not allow it.

I asked Jerry Goldsmith if there was a movie where he was particularly fond of his score and he said The Ghost and the Darkness which he thought was an underrated movie. I'd never heard of it but found it on DVD and it's been a favourite and I did enjoy his score.

Interesting, I thought Kilmer gave an amazing performance - well outside his usual range, conveying a stuffy englishman of the victorian age so well. Perhaps the problem is its not a particularly likeable archetype?

The musical score of a movie has a great deal of influence on the viewers. The Lord of the Rings was partially successful because it had such great music that enhanced the audience’s enjoyment and understanding of the movie.

Our two cats are sitting on my bed one watching this with me, I swear she taking notes!

Not only one of the most underrated films of the 1990's. The Ghost and The Darkness is one of the most underrated films of all time

One of my favorite all time movies. It was cool to hear how historically accurate it is. Is the acting on the part of Kilmer and Douglas the greatest, no. But the cinematography more the makes up for it, as well as the supporting actors. I highly encourage anyone who loves Africa, animals, hunting, or adventure to watch it, fantastic film.

Coincidentally I watched the movie yesterday after not seeing it in like 10 years or longer. I was surprised at how tense and cruel the movie could be. Building up and building up to events and the pasing is outstanding! Of course with movies based on historical events I always question how much of it is true and how much the director made up or filled in, but in this case I think he did a splendid job being as truthfull as possible. They had a lot of data to work with. The scenes that got to me were the part where Patterson was facing one of the lions and his gun failed him. The realisation, the "HOH SHIT I'M FUCKED" look in his eyes the moment he ears a click but no shot. And the lion looking straight at him with his face covered in blood. Haunting. The other scene was the nightmare where his wife and newborn visit and get mauled by one of the lions. I was like "THIS BETTER BE A DREAM". Of course it turns out it is, and at the end of the movie when she truely visits him and he takes a quick peek at the tall grass where the lion in the dream used to be, juuuuuussst to make sure.... Suspensefull even after the threat has been defeated. THAT is great film making!

How 4 guys with rifles missed that close in the trap is insane.

When you loose your hearing from a lion roaring 15ft away but not a gun shooting 1ft away

Such an underrated soundtrack! And an underrated movie. This movie and The Edge always seemed to be on TV when I was a kid in the late 90s, so I always think of them together. 2 of my all time favorite movies and movie soundtracks, both by the brilliant Jerry Goldsmith. The 90s had so many epic movies, and movie soundtracks.

I've watched this a handful of times and I love the movie and think the acting is very good.

Oh val Kilmer how awesome you were in the 90s

Personally, I love this movie. It scared me shit-less when I was a kid, and still gives me goosebumps. As for the low rating, I think it's probably because people thought it painted nature as the "bad guy".

I loved this movie. It says at the beginning of the film that even the most fantastic parts of this film were true. Adds to the tension of the movie.

The Tsavo lions attacked the site for nine months so the 35 eaten found by analysis of the hair samples only covered a third of the period they were attacking. Times it by 3 and the figure comes much closer to Patterson's claim of 135

11:52 It honestly looks like the lion is going "Dude, Bad LUCK." Also, still more expressive then Disney's 2019 The Lion King.

The Bone cave was an odd thing IMO in both versions.. as far as i am aware lions usually don't Cache their kills in general, much less in caves. I've sometimes wondered if the bones weren't that of the sick slaves that the slaver used to dump along the route.. Leopards also lived in that region, and leopards ARE known for caching their kills, and using caves. a few decades of dragging the bodies of dying or dead captives into the cave to feast would certainly have created a fairly large amount of bones. (some of out best finds of prehistoric fossils in africa, especially for hominids, come from the pits and outcrops that Leopards liked to bring their kills to to eat and cache.) Leopard behavior wasn't well understood at the time, in large part because they were solitary and harder to see in the wild, and it was believed at the time that lions were the top predators of the ecosystem. so it would make sense that Patterson attributed the cave to Lions rather than some other animal. why the cave doesn't have bones now is an oddity, but perhaps the bones finally just rotted away. or some of the local people found the place and gave them burials without telling anyone else.

I vaguely remember seeing this film one time as a kid when I visited my nan. It genuinely terrified and disturbed me whenever the lions attacked. And the fact that this was something that really happened made me even more respectful but scared of Nature as a whole.

I remember watching this as a kid and i didn't know that John Kani was in the movie and and I watched it two days back and i knew immediately that it was him. This movie is amazing. I would watch it over and over and over

This film deserves a remake more focused on the horror, suspense element rather than just an action movie. Like imagine a ten minute tense scene only hearing the sounds of lions in total darkness.

The Ghost and the Darkness is an all time favorite of mine! If you don’t come close to losing a grip on your kidneys through this at least four or five times you aren’t paying attention!! It puts an eerie feeling up my back every time I watch it. It reminds me that as a hunter of big game you can become the hunted and I have been hunted by mountain lions and bears. It is sure to keep you on your toes!!

It is a very tense and frightening movie, and I was an adult when I first saw it! As for Kilmer's performance, I liked it. Perhaps a bit understated, but it was a good portrayal of a modern man of science and engineering coming face to face with a savagery that bordered on the supernatural. Best of all, though, was the character and courage he displayed, despite being afraid. Trying to understand why the lions behaved the way they did makes for an exciting story; trying to understand why Patterson behaved the way he did makes it a deep one.

It's intriguing that it doesn't come to their mind that the locals might retrieved their families remains from the cave after the lions were dead. Most of us regardless want that basic human dignity given to our loved ones. I hope they did a mass burial and funeral procession. As an after thought it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get the human remains out of the den to ensure its new occupants didn't develop a scent for humans as well. The original story was terrifying enough without imbelishing on the cave. I don't believe he lied. Also they didn't take into account the harsh elements destroying the bones. I love this movie too. Wish Michael Douglas would come back and do more movies. However I'm sure he's perfectly content with his treasure Catherine Zita Jones. 🙂

When Patterson's rifle jammed I have the loudest facepalm I ever had.

I volunteer at Chicago's Field Museum, where the horrifying lions now reside. I enjoy this movie despite the frequent cliches-it's a great historical story and one of the better "killer animal" stories. And this film is beautiful,. and the lions one of our star attractions. Numbers are still debated: from 30 to 135 men were killed. Our mammal expert Bruce D. Patterson, (who is very friendly and open to questions) argues for the lower number, since their nitrogen isotopes show less than 24 people were actually eaten. Of course, killing for sport is not to be ruled out, and may account for the larger estimates. He also discovered that one of the lions had a tooth infection, an infection that would have made it difficult for the lion to kill large, difficult prey. To this very day, the lions in Tsavo are maneless.

I used to work with a guy who was from Kenya. When his grandfather and two great uncles were young men, they walked to Kenya for a chance to work on this railroad. He said that this story was pretty close to what his grandfather told of the lion attacks on the camps. Two of the men that were killed by the lions were his two great uncles. His grandfather barely escaped during the attack that night and was forever terrified to be outside after dark. They're all gone now, but I hope my friends children and grandchildren pass on the story and realize how close the family came to being wiped out.

This is one of my favorite movies. It's so beautifully made, and the fact that the true story is so well represented makes it even better. Thank you for this critique.

One of my favorite lines came from this movie that I've used in life. You don't take an untested rifle into battle!!!!!

"Remmington's Death" was an awesome track! It's worth noting that the sound editing was given an award.

from Patterson's account: "The Indians called them ghosts. The Muhammadans called them devils. The Africans simply called them Lions."

YOOOOOO... This could be Season 3 for "The Terror."

Both this movie and The Cango scared the every living Jesus out of me when I was a kid. Like pure nightmare fuel. Dracula...whatever. Killer lions and gorillas? Yeah... I'll see myself out now.

Sadly as of 2019 slave trade is still going on in parts of Africa and middle eastern countries

This is one of my favorite man vs nature stories of all time. I live in New York and I've never been to Chicago but I would love to go to the Field museum and see the Tsavo lions in person.

I love how after pattersons gun doesnt shoot, the lion looks the exact same and doesnt even change its body language

I think probably the reason they used lions with manes is because your average person would think they were female, and a major point in the movie is the lions are male. The audience would have been confused. Of course, they could have explained through dialogue that Tsavo lion don't have manes, but then you're getting into exposition and not moving the story forward.

The Rotten Tomatoes score blows my mind as well; Mahina scanning the savanna and spying a lion's silhoutte still gets me.

My father was born and grew up on a sisal plantation in Africa till he was sent to boarding school in England. Returned home and while still a young man his parents died and he took over. A lion was attacking the local villages, so the 'boss' was dutibound to do something about it. He never talked about it, but told my mother how he had sat in a tree overnight with a goat tied to the tree as bait for the lion. In his usual British self-depractory way, he'd then only tell how the lion roared nearby, and he completely wet his pants. She did not tell us whether he had told her what happened subsequently.

15:40 To also be fair, the testing method the scientists used has a flaw: It only detects how much of a _meat-eating animal or human_ (the technical part way to say it escapes me, so I'm using a simpler wording here) they ate, and Patterson himself made note of how the men at work on the railroad did not consume much if any meat for the most part, so the count might be off if that was their only means for the scientists to object to Patterson's account.

As much as this film doesn't measure up to other genuinely epic films set in Africa such as ZULU in terms of historical significance it still remains a thoroughly entertaining and memorable film that I've re-watched a fair few time over the years. The acidic vitriol poured upon it when some genuinely awful films, such as AVATAR, send people into a celluloid based delirium is beyond me.

Man, I just have to tell you that this is one of my favorite channels on RU-vid. The care and love that you put into every video, coupled with the production value is outstanding.

I saw these two lions in the Chicago museum, unfortunately, they had been through some terrible taxidermy prior to their final situation. They were less than impressive. But there are vintage photographs that show them in their full size before they were skinned, they were to quite impressive lions, strangely, they did not have manes.

I read that the Tsavo area is where the male lions are maneless. The high heat and less nutrition causes their bodies to decrease the mane. When they move to other areas with less extreme heat and better food sources, the manes return. Likewise, the dental issue can be contributed to the nutrition levels. I loved the movie regardless of inconsistencies. My oldest daughter has said that this is the scariest movie she ever saw because it DID happen. It was real, and could possibly happen again.

As they say, Truth is stranger than fiction.

I agree this is one of my favourite movies of all time as well. The music always gets my blood pumping and wanting to go to Africa as well. This story is fascinating regardless of how many people the Lions devoured.

I haven't watched it for, at least 20 years. I can still whistle the entire soundtrack and mimic the terrorizing sounds in my head. It truly deserved an Oscar.

I LOVE this movie, still have it on DVD and watch it every so often.