The Killing Fields (1984)

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

Director:

Roland Joffé

Writer:

Bruce Robinson (screenplay)

Stars:

Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich

Won 3 Oscars. Another 24 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Waterston	...	Sydney Schanberg
Haing S. Ngor	...	Dith Pran (as Dr. Haing S Ngor)
John Malkovich	...	Al Rockoff
Julian Sands	...	Jon Swain
Craig T. Nelson	...	Military Attaché
Spalding Gray	...	U.S. Consul
Bill Paterson	...	Dr. MacEntire
Athol Fugard	...	Dr. Sundesval
Graham Kennedy	...	Dougal
Katherine Krapum Chey	...	Ser Moeum (Pran's Wife)
Oliver Pierpaoli	...	Titony (Pran's Son)
Edward Entero Chey	...	Sarun
Tom Bird	...	U.S. Military Advisor
Monirak Sisowath	...	Phat (K.R. Leader 2nd Village)
Lambool Dtangpaibool	...	Phat's Son

Storyline

Sydney Schanberg is a New York Times journalist covering the civil war in Cambodia. Together with local representative Dith Pran, they cover some of the tragedy and madness of the war. When the American forces leave, Dith Pran sends his family with them, but stays behind himself to help Schanberg cover the event. As an American, Schanberg won't have any trouble leaving the country, but the situation is different for Pran; he's a local, and the Khmer Rouge are moving in.

---

Plot Keywords:

cambodia | khmer rouge | photographer | new york times | communist utopia | 

---

Taglines:

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.

---

Genres:

Drama | History | War

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French Khmer Russian

Release Date:

1 February 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Killing Fields - Schreiendes Land

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Gross:

$34,600,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goldcrest Films International, International Film Investors, Enigma Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Haing S. Ngor became only the second non-professional actor to win an Oscar, following Harold Russell in William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).

---

Goofs

When Sydney is talking to Dith Pran in his room, Sydney's hairstyle changes between shots. It goes from neatly combed to hanging down over his forehead to neatly combed again.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Sydney Schanberg: Cambodia. To many westerners it seemed a paradise. Another world, a secret world. But the war in neighboring Vietnam burst its borders, and the fighting soon spread to neutral Cambodia. In 1973 I went to cover this side-show struggle as a foreign correspondent of the New York Times. It was there, in the war-torn country side amidst the fighting between government troops and the Khmer Rouge guerrillas, that I met my guide and interpreter, Dith Pran, a man who was to change my life ...

---

Connections

Referenced in The Carrie Diaries: Date Expectations (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Imagine
Written by John Lennon (uncredited)
Performed by John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band (uncredited)
Courtesy of EMI Records Limited

User Reviews

One of the most beautiful and moving films ever made.

First of all I love this genre of movie; I'm not a huge fan of action or fantasy or romance movies, I have so-called "comedies" but I love genuine FILM, as in FILM not MOVIE; art as opposed to enterprise.

This film, The Killing Fields, is one of the defining films in it's class; based on the true story of an American journalist (one Sydney Schanberg) working in Cambodia and his guide/interpreter; a Cambodian named Dith Pran. When the Khmer Rouge (probably one of the most vicious and barbaric regimes in history) takes power the Westerners flee. The enterprising American, however, remains behind with his faithful guide (who sends his family off to America). This turns out to be a bad decision; through a series of misadventures Dith Pran cannot escape Cambodia and must remain behind while his friend flees. The movie weaves a wonderful tale of adventure, misadventure, loss, suffering, death, and reunion (in no particular order).

This movie is so beautiful and touching (and so very graphic) that one cannot help but be affected by it; a must-see, one of the defining movies on the subject of war as well as loss and certainly the most evocative film about the Khmer Rouge and the Viet Nam War in Cambodia. A beautiful film about war and tragedy but filled with hope throughout...