The Killing Fields

Director: Roland Joffé Roland Joffé

Overview

Covering the U.S. pull-out from Vietnam in 1975, New York Times reporter Sidney Schanberg relies upon his Cambodian friend Dith Pran for inside information. Schanberg has an opportunity to rescue Dith Pran; instead, the reporter coerces his friend to remain behind to continue sending him news flashes.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/22/2016
UPC:	0888574446215
Original Release:	1984
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:22:00
Sales rank:	5,578

Special Features

Feature-length audio commentary by director Roland Joffé; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sam Waterston	Sydney Schanberg
Haing S. Ngor	Dith Pran
John Malkovich	Al Rockoff
Julian Sands	Jon Swain
Craig T. Nelson	Military Attache
Spalding Gray	U.S. Consul
Bill Paterson	Dr. Macentire
Athol Fugard	Dr. Sundesval
Graham Kennedy	Dougal
Katherine Krapum Chey	Ser Moeun,Sarun
Oliver Pierpaoli	Titonel
Tom Bird	US Military Advisor
Monirak Sisowath	Phat
Ira Wheeler	Ambassador Wade
David Henry	France
Patrick Malahide	Morgan
Nell Campbell	Beth
Joan Harris	TV Interviewer
Joanna Merlin	Schanberg's Sister
Jay Barney	Schanberg's Father
Mark Long	Noaks
Sayo Inaba	Mrs. Noaks
Mow Leng	Sirik Matak
Chinsaure Sar	Arresting Officer
Hout Ming Tran	KR Cadre
Thach Suon	Sahn
Neevy Pal	Rosa
Mike Oldfield	Composer

Technical Credits

Bruce Robinson

Fred Cramer	Special Effects
Terry Forrestal	Stunts
David Puttnam	Producer
Clive Winter	Sound Mixer
Bruce Robinson	Screenwriter
Roland Joffé	Director
Ian Fuller	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

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.