IMDb > The Killing Fields (1984)
The Killing Fields
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The Killing Fields (1984) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 3)
The Killing Fields (1984) -- An American citizen is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody "Year Zero" ethnic cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million "undesirable" civilians.
The Killing Fields (1984) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   20,653 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Bruce Robinson (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Killing Fields on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 November 1984 (USA) more
Genre:
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. more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 18 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(33 articles)
Film review: Ninja Assassin delivers action with every punch
 (From t5m.com. 23 November 2009, 4:05 AM, PST)

Birthday Suits: Giant Sized Edition
 (From FilmExperience. 17 November 2009, 11:05 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Joffe's best work to date more (134 total)

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
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Additional Details

Runtime:
141 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
At the Oscar's, when Haing S. Ngor won the Oscar for best supporting actor, he walked onto the stage with his 15-year-old niece. Upon walking up to the stage, John Malkovich jokingly shouted something in Cambodian to him which shocked his niece and made Haing Ngor laugh. He shouted, "The award's mine, asshole!" In Haing Ngor's autobiography, he describes John Malkovich's keen interest in learning Cambodian swear words. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the evacuation of the U.S. embassy, a soldier is taking down the U.S. flag and climbs back into the building of the embassy, but he forgets his assault rifle. more
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 it's 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...
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Nessun dorma more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
24 out of 25 people found the following comment useful.
Joffe's best work to date, 22 January 2003
10/10
Author: shanfloyd from India

Based on the Khmer Rouge revolution in Cambodia, this is an excellent tale of hardship and friendship. Basically director Roland Joffe` did an wonderful job in exposing the detailed facts so simply in the film that you believe that you are in that time in person. The two actors, Sam Waterson and Haing Ngor both displayed godlike pieces of acting. It's unfortunate Waterson couldn't join Ngor in Academy Awards. In addition, the director's credit is to highlight both the characters' points of view. That's why the movie became so interesting to watch. John Malkovich brought out a fine performance as a photographer.

In the course of the story of adventures of the two men, the film also has vivid descriptions of the public life during the war. Several detailed scenes of war violence are presented here so indifferently that you are bound to be convinced about its historical accuracy. Here we find the magical cinematography of Chris Menges. Again, during the time of Dith Pran's suffering, it never seemed that the director is showing too much.

One of the most important, and my favorite, aspects of the film is its ending. You cannot imagine of a better alternative of this happiest ending possible in a war drama. And with the fantastic use of Lennon's "imagine", it has got to an enormous height of perfection. 5/5.

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more (134 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Killing Fields (1984)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
dreadful soundtrack jebelesstoss
Worst movie ever jesalthakrar
disappointing cocacolabs
WEstern Support for Pol Pot nuwansube
Interesting Musical Choice buggebt7025
Why does Pran catch the lizard? harpo1680
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