The Killing Fields (1984)

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:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Airport | Communist | Brutality | Leftist | Forced Labor

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, Photographer
Julian Sands	...	Jon Swain
Craig T. Nelson	...	Major Reeves, Military Attache
Spalding Gray	...	United States consul
Bill Paterson	...	Dr. MacEntire
Athol Fugard	...	Dr. Sundesval
Graham Kennedy	...	Dougal
Katherine Krapum Chey	...	Ser Moeum: Dith Pran's wife
Oliver Pierpaoli	...	Titony: Dith Pran's son
Edward Entero Chey	...	Sarun, Sydney's Driver
Tom Bird	...	US Military Advisor
Monirak Sisowath	...	Phat: Khmer Rouge leader: 2nd village
Lambool Dtangpaibool	...	Phat's son

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | Khmer

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M (revised version) | 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:

David Puttnam sees this as the best piece of work he was ever involved in.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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:

Dith Pran: [in his journal while imprisoned] The wind whispers of fear and hate. The war has killed love. And those that confess to the Angka are punished, and no one dare ask where they go. Here, only the silent survive.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#4.5)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Nessun dorma

Joffe's best work to date

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.