The Killing Fields (1984)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Roland Joffé

Writer:

Bruce Robinson (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 November 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Tagline:

He was a reporter for the New York Times whose coverage of the Cambodian War would win him a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. But the friend who made it possible was half the world away with his life in great danger... This is the story of war and friendship, the anguish of a country and of one man's will to live.

Plot:

A photographer is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody "Year Zero" cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million "undesirable" civilians.

Plot Keywords:

Cambodia | New York Times | Khmer Rouge | New York | Airport

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Sam Waterston	...	Sydney Schanberg
Haing S. Ngor	...	Dith Pran (as Dr. Haing S Ngor)
John Malkovich	...	Alan 'Al' Rockoff
Julian Sands	...	John Swain
Craig T. Nelson	...	Major Reeves
Spalding Gray	...	U.S. Consul
Bill Paterson	...	Dr. MacEntire
Athol Fugard	...	Dr. Sundesval
Graham Kennedy	...	Dougal
Katherine Krapum Chey	...	Ser Moeum
Oliver Pierpaoli	...	Titony
Edward Entero Chey	...	Sarun
Tom Bird	...	U.S. Military Advisor
Monirak Sisowath	...	Phat - Khmer Rouge Leader
Lambool Dtangpaibool	...	Phat's Son

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | Khmer

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Enigma (First Casualty) Ltd.

Trivia:

Haing S. Ngor became the first Southeast Asian (and the first Buddhist) to win an Academy Award in an acting role.

Goofs:

Continuity: When listening to the news on the radio in the French consulate, a bottle of Champagne and a glass are standing on the piano. In the next cut, the bottle and the glass are gone. Another journalist then brings both items to the piano again.

Quotes:

Dith Pran: [during the fall of Phnom Penh] "Sidney! No more fighting! No more war!"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "House M.D.: Fetal Position (#3.17)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Band On The Run

It's not about Vietnam folks!

I've read only 20 comments so far, and it was surprising to learn that some viewers (namely 'gregory.messine' and 'RBarse', both of US of A ) think it's set in Vietnam. Come on lads, I've heard that education in America is not great but I didn't expect it to be so bad. Have you ever opened an atlas. Maybe the sound in your theater didn't work or sth. THIS FILM IS ABOUT A WAR IN CAMBODIA. Cambodia is a neighbour of Vietnam. It's set in 1973-79, just after the Vietnam War!!!!!

Anyway, back to movie. It's brilliant, not too sentimental, not too cold. The acting is simply marvellous (to be honest I didn't know any of the actors except for Malkovich), cinematography is a touch of genius. Some people complained about the score. Well I can agree, that the lyrics of "Imagine" in the context sound like a Khmer Rouge anthem, but the rest is beautiful (Oldfield did a good job).The scene when Schanberg watches some TV programme about the Cambodian War while listening to Puccini's opera is so moving, just like the sight of thousands of Cambodians being "evacuated" by the Khmer out of Phnom Pehn.

9/10