The Killing Fields (1984)

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.

Director:

Roland Joffé

Writer:

Bruce Robinson (screenplay)

Stars:

Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich

Won 3 Oscars. Another 26 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

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.

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Plot Keywords:

cambodia | photographer | khmer rouge | new york times | awards dinner | 

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Taglines:

Every so often, there is a film that is destined to be talked about and remembered for years to come.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French Khmer Russian

Release Date:

1 February 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los gritos del silencio

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Box Office

Gross:

$34,600,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Enigma Productions, Goldcrest Films International, International Film Investors

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alain Resnais's seminal documentary Night and Fog was a touchpoint for both director Roland Joffé and producer David Puttnam when they were prepping The Killing Fields.

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Goofs

During the scenes depicting the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, the Vietnamese airplanes shown are American T-33s and the Vietnamese tanks are American M-47s, neither of which would have been in the Vietnamese inventory. They would, however, have been in the inventory of Thailand, where the exterior shots were filmed.

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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 ...

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Connections

Referenced in The Lost Boys (1987)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

All-time, no-holds-barred, 100% favourite

I can't put my finger on exactly what it is about this film that gets to me so much, but it is THE most haunting, emotional film experience... and I've only ever seen it on video.

Excellent performances from Waterston, Ngor and Malkovich. A brilliant score by Mike Oldfield. Scenes of high emotion, tension, drama, horror and even one or two pieces of light relief (well, it has got Australia's Graham Kennedy of comedy fame).

The stand-out scenes for mine are those in the French Embassy; I can never watch the final scene from this sequence with a dry eye.

An excellent film and the soundtrack is not a bad investment either.