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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Stephen Hopkins
USA 1996

 

Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer star in this tense, terrific and true adventure set in 1896 East Africa. There, two lions on a man-eating rampage have shut down the construction of a railway. The beasts hunt together, showing no fear of man or fire. What's more, they're killing for sport rather than for food—and they have an almost supernatural knack for knowing what traps await them. Big-game hunter Remington (Douglas) and construction engineer Patterson (Kilmer) set out to stop these unstoppable monsters. But, in this astonishing tale of man against beast, the hunters become the hunted.

***

Sir Robert Beaumont is behind schedule on a railroad in Africa. Enlisting noted engineer John Henry Patterson to right the ship, Beaumont expects results. Everything seems great until the crew discovers the mutilated corpse of the project's foreman, seemingly killed by a lion. After several more attacks, Patterson calls in famed hunter Charles Remington, who has finally met his match in the bloodthirsty lions.

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 3rd, 1996

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Review: Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:49:55.714        
Video

2.12:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 32,341,576,244 bytes

Feature: 31,762,771,968 bytes

Video Bitrate: 32.00 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 2633 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2633 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1711 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1711 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Shout! Factory

 

2.12:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 32,341,576,244 bytes

Feature: 31,762,771,968 bytes

Video Bitrate: 32.00 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Original Theatrical Trailer (2:14)


Blu-ray Release Date: May 10th, 2022

Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 12

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Shout! Factory Blu-ray (May 2022): Shout! Factory have transferred Stephen Hopkins's The Ghost and the Darkness to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "4K Scan from the Original Negative". It looks quite good if occasionally waxy. There isn't much grain but colors are vibrant. The lion sequences always felt manufactured with quick edits but I my last rendition of the film was a non-anamorphic DVD from 1998 (I can't find it or I would compare.) Even if there is some digitization it still provides a pleasing HD presentation thanks to the stunning shots of Tsavo National Park, Kenya and Songimvelo Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa.  

NOTE: We have added 80 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Shout! Factory give the option of DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround or 2.0 channel stereo tracks (24-bit) in the original English language. The Ghost and the Darkness has aggressive lion attacks and growling snarls, screaming, a train as well as the mysterious rustling grasses. There were some less-deft separations to the rear speakers that add to the film's suspense, fear and intensity. It won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for supervising sound editor Bruce Stambler. The score is another good one by Jerry Goldsmith (Papillon, The Salamander, The Mephisto Waltz, Seconds, Hoosiers, The Blue Max, Breakheart Pass, The Omen) handling the versatile requirements of the film sounding consistent in the lossless transfer. There are a number of traditional African songs performed by The Worldbeaters with The Johannesburg Choir. Shout! Factory offer optional, bold, English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Shout! Factory Blu-ray offers only a trailer. The film deserves more, I think. 

Stephen Hopkins' The Ghost and the Darkness was written by William Goldman - who was not pleased with the final product. I have always liked it - a fictionalized account of the 1898 Tsavo man-eaters that killed 135 people. They were two male lions that attacked and often devoured workers in and around Tsavo, Kenya during the building of a bridge over the river Tsavo for the Uganda-Mombasa Railway in East Africa. The film's deaths are gruesome with the lions 'playing' with their prey at times taking them back to a lair discovered by hunter Charles Remington (Michael Douglas) and Col. John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmer.) I hadn't seen The Ghost and the Darkness for over a decade but still enjoyed the tense, creature-feature-esque story. The bare-bones Shout! Factory Blu-ray is good for a late Friday night viewing. It's very re-watchable so a keeper for me.

Gary Tooze

 


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Distribution Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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