The Ghost and the Darkness 1996
"His strength. Just because Africa is trying to kill him with its lions, he never stops loving the country. There are great stories about him. He rode through Nairobi on this great stallion and burned down the town because it was infested with rats. He got tired of everyone complaining. Patterson had a very vivid life, and all the old-timers loved to talk about this guy. He was confronted with the most difficult circumstances imaginable. There were all kinds of wonderful, spectacular hunting stories, but this one really goes beyond just stalking an animal. Patterson got to confront himself, but he never loses his heart or his love for Africa. Hemingway wrote two or three Patterson stories." ~Val Kilmer (His thoughts on John Patterson)
The Man-eaters of Tsavo
In 1896, a construction engineer from the British Army, J.H. Patterson (Val Kilmer) is sent to build a railway bridge across Uganda's Tsavo River for the British East African Railway.
Soon after he arrives, workmen begin to disappear at night from their tents - never to be seen alive again. The engineer soon discovers that a pair of man-eating lions are stalking around the bridge and campsites, killing the workmen for food. He tries a number of different methods to get rid of them, but the beasts always seem to know what Patterson is doing and avoid being shot.
After 30 men have been killed Patterson's boss recruits a hunter, Charles Remington (Michael Douglas) to hunt down and destroy the lions. But the lions continue killing the workmen until they flee the camps, jumping onto the train as it rolls through Tsavo. Now Remington, Patterson & his aide (John Kani) must face these brilliant yet frightening monsters alone.
Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas, John Kani
The Ghost and the Darkness is a fascinating film. The story is riveting, the African scenery is spectacular, the performances are top notch. This is a must see film.
Kilmer and Douglas also narrated the documentary Maneaters of Tsavo. Kilmer also appeared in the documentary Africa Unbottled.