THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS : 1996 .109 min. Paramount.

[Flangepart]

Plot? : In 1889, a railroad crew is building a line across africa. And two lions start eating every human thay can catch. they catch a lot. Kind of a P.E.T.A. wet dream.
Stars? : Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer.
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STUFF TO WATCH FOR! :::
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"Even the most increidable parts of this story realy happened" ? Then why is it "Based" on a true story?

Now THATS a Capitilist Bastard!
Hero with wife. Awww, he's talkin' all "Lt.  deadmeat!" That can't be good.
Best seats on train= bugs in teeth!
Mankey Scots comedy relief.
religion,politics,social upheavel...look like Africa ain't changed a bit.
A .303 Enfield sporter! Nice rifle, but i'd not hunt lions with that cartrige...........
Bridge building is cool.
Lion cam!
Your gonna need a bigger gun!
Now, the fear begins.....
Does reading his wife's letters mean he's doomed?
Well, so long, Mankey Scots comedy relief. We hardly knew ye.
He's honest about being a Capitilist Bastard. I can respect that.
Reeeely poor panic control.Aim, ya bone heads!
Great enterance, son of Sparticus!
Typical American. Takes over right off the bat...
Got Cows blood?
A .45-70 Henry-Martini. Thats more like it, but its a single shot. Humm...
Spring loaded Zebra?
Click!...the sound you do NOT want to heard from your lion hunting gun!
Real bloody cow skull.
Um...does thier HMO cover lion attacks?
Hauling ass is a sensable option at this point.
Cat scratch fever....du du duhhhhh.
Bad! Bad Kittys! No scratching post.
Lion cam thermal imaging.
Hey, guys...there is another Lion roaming round.....
O-key. Now its personal.
and, finaly,(yea)....Want some cat food? I got yer cat food right here!
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Flangepart says, check it out!
Kilmer does a nice, unforced Irish Accent, Douglas makes a colorful cat fancier, and the supporting cast does a good job. Nice music and photo work, also. I say go for it.
Addendum. Recomended reading.: "Death in the long grass" by the late Peter Hathaway Capstick. A great writer for those who hunt. Eloquant about his professions as Hunting guide, game warden,and historian of the hunting of dangerious game. He knew his stuff, and he loved Africa for what it is. Give it a try.
And that includes you, Andrew.

[Chadzilla]

Being a writer geek, I also want to point at that the movie was written by William Goldman, one of Hollywood's best screenwriting talents (and a dang good novelist to boot).

[Flangepart]

Well pointed, Sir Chad.
....Also, put in Maneaters of Tsavo in the Google search engin, and the first three listings tell the real story. the nzgirl one has a synopisis of the real story.

[Andrew]

I have seen it, Flangepart my man.  If you want to see a less adept version, check out "Bwana Devil."  You know the reason that people use bolt action rifles?  Ah, reliability?  Well, that idea went out the window in the older, lower budget version...

[Flangepart]

Hummm...heard about that puppy. Could be usefull in my experiments...........
....I like my Enfield. Classic Brit army rifle. But .303 for lion? I don't THINK so! Douglas's double rifle was along the lines of a 45-70. An elephant gun. Most were still blackpowder, but they worked like a charm if you knew how to aim.
....Oh, btw. I ment for you to check out Capstick's book, "Death in the long grass." Your fellow Marines would get a kick out of the adventures with mean animals he recounts. Leopard hunting at night? Not for the faint of heart! And remember....4 of the seven most dangerious animals in Africa....are herbivores. Cape Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, and Hippo. Do NOT leave a Cape Buff alive...he will hunt your ass down! Not all vegitarians, are peaceful.

[Gerry]

I really like THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS, but it's most effective the first time you see it.  I picked it up on VHS a few years back, and while it's entertaining on a reviewing, it doesn't have near the impact when you know how things are going to turn out.  Solid direction by Stephen Hopkins who also directed PREDATOR 2 (another underrated gem IMO).

[Jim]

I'd always thought people used bolt actions partly for reliability but primarily because they're more accurate because of the more solid nature when ready to fire.  Something like that.  Isn't that why most of the really long range sniper rifles are bolt even today?

or maybe I'm just out of it.

[Flangepart]

No no, your right. Though its realy a combo of things. A free floating barrel and a bolt are the best for a multi shot piece. (Free floating = no contact with the frame/stock  so the barrel will vibrate in an even manner when the bullet and gases are rushing forward. Think tuneing fork).
.... I'm trying to collect a bolt action from all the major combatents of WW2. I have the British Enfield #1 mk3*, next, i want the Moisan-nagant ( 7.62 by 54R), then a Mauser 98k, a Japanese Arisaka 7.7mm, and fianaly...(if i hit the lottery,schyeah right), a Springfield 03.
....Hey, a guy can dream!

[Andrew]

I would love to get a good old Marine Corps' Springfield from pre-WWII.

In "Bwana Devil" the shooter engages the lion at all of about 40 yards, maybe less.   That is why the reliability aspect jumps to my mind.  In recent years it has become less of an issue as semi-autos are more reliable.  I think I'd still rather have a Super Model 70 30-06 if I was dealing with "get it right the first time," regardless of the range.

With a rest, good windage, and a scope, that Model 70 will ding man-sized targets at 1000 yards.  They are really sweet.  The muzzel brake/optimization system takes some tweaking, but you can get handloaded accuracy out of factory ammo.

[peter johnson]

i have an older friend in virginia who has the standard 7.65mm bolt-action single shot mauser for the wehrmacht foot-soldier from ww2.  also 2 lugers -- one with party (you know what party) tie-tacs imbedded in the wood-part of the grip.
i'm surprised that no one has bothered to mention that bwana devil -- 1953 -- was the first commmercially released 3-d feature.  all those period photos one sees from the 50's of folk wearing those 3-d specs were shot in audiences for bwana devil.
peter johnson