Plot
The Killing Fields is a romanticized adaptation of an eyewitness magazine story by New York Times correspondent Sidney Schanberg. Covering the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1975, Schanberg (Sam Waterston) relies on his Cambodian friend and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) for inside information. Schanberg has an opportunity to rescue Dith Pran when the U.S. army evacuates all Cambodian citizens; instead, the reporter coerces his friend to remain behind to continue sending him news flashes. Although his family is helicoptered out of Saigon (a recreation of the famous TV news clip), Dith Pran stays with Schanberg on the ground. Racked with guilt, Schanberg does his best to arrange for Dith Pran's escape, but the Cambodian is captured by the dreaded Khmer Rouge. Accepting his Pulitzer Prize on behalf of Dith Pran, Schanberg vows to do right by his friend and extricate him from Cambodia. The rest of the film details Dith Pran's harrowing experiences at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and his attempt to escape on his own. The Killing Fields won Academy Awards for Hang S. Ngor (a Cambodian doctor who lived through many of the horrific events depicted herein), cinematographer Chris Menges, and editor Jim Clark; an Oscar nomination went to Roland Joffe, who made his directorial debut with this film. Spalding Gray, who played a small role in the film, later elaborated on this experiences in his one-man stage presentation Swimming to Cambodia. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
The Killing Fields is a brutally honest exploration of loyalty and fidelity during the Khmer Rouge's horrific Cambodian holocaust in the mid-1970s. Based on the true story of Dith Pran (played by non-actor Haing S. Ngor in an Oscar-winning performance), the harrowing depiction of the atrocities committed during dictator Pol Pot's bloodbath stays with the viewer long after the film has ended. Pran's desperate struggle to survive in the barbarous conditions of the "re-education camps" (the apocalyptic images in the Valley of Death are particularly potent) is ironically counterpointed with the middle-class comfort of the friend who left him behind, New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston), whose Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from Cambodia proves pyrrhic when compared to Pran's fate. Ngor's naturalistic and empathic portrayal of his character's desperate fight for survival is the key to this film's visceral power. His remarkably expressive face combines with an almost naive faith in the power of one man to survive in such a hellhole. The film aims the finger of responsibility directly at the American government of Richard Nixon, arguing that his "secret" war in Cambodia led to Pol Pot's genocidal policies. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, The Killing Fields won three, for Ngor, Chris Menges's cinematography, and Jim Clark's editing. ~ Dan Jardine, RoviCast
- Sam Waterston - Sydney Schanberg
- Dr. Haing S. Ngor - Dith Pran
- John Malkovich - Al Rockoff
- Julian Sands - Jon Swain
- Craig T. Nelson - Military Attache
- Athol Fugard - Dr. Sundesval
- Spalding Gray - United States consul
- Bill Paterson - Dr. Macantire
Credit
Steve Spence - Art Director, Iain Smith - Associate Producer, Judy Moorcraft - Costume Designer, Bill Westley - First Assistant Director, Roland Joffé - Director, Jim Clark - Editor, Mike Oldfield - Composer (Music Score), Tommie Manderson - Makeup, Michael Roberts - Camera Operator, Roger Murray-Leach - Production Designer, Roy Walker - Production Designer, Chris Menges - Cinematographer, David Puttnam - Producer, Tessa Davies - Set Designer, Fred Cramer - Special Effects, Clive Winter - Sound/Sound Designer, Terry Forrestal - Stunts, Terry Forrestal - Stunts Coordinator, Fred Cramer - Special Effects Supervisor, Bruce Robinson - Screenwriter, Andrew Deskin - Properties Master, Sydney Schanberg - Book Author| The Killing Edge (1986 Film), The Killing Device (1992 Film) | |
| The Killing Floor (1985 Film), The Killing Floor (2006 Film) |
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