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From Amazon.co.uk
This harrowing but rewarding 1984 drama concerns the real-life relationship between New York Times reporter Sidney Schanberg and his Cambodian assistant Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), the latter left at the mercy of the Khmer Rouge after Schanberg--who chose to stay after American evacuation but was booted out--failed to get him safe passage. Filmmaker Roland Joffé, previously a documentarist, made his feature debut with this account of Dith's rocky survival in the ensuing madness of the Khmer Rouge's genocidal campaign. The script of The Killing Fields spends some time with Schanberg's feelings of guilt after the fact, but most of the movie is a shattering re-creation of hell on Earth. The late Haing S. Ngor--a real-life doctor who had never acted before and who lived through the events depicted by Joffé--is outstanding, and he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Oscars also went to cinematographer Chris Menges and editor Jim Clark. --Tom Keogh
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Used like new, The Killing Fields (DVD)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
David Puttnam, Roland Joffé, Chris Menges..... what a wonderful team whose individual creativity and collective synergy brought us two out-of-the-world pictures: "The Mission" & "The Killing Fields". Nothing to say about the former. Regarding the latter, the rich combination of such themes as ravages of war, power of friendship and unrequited loyalty makes it one of the powerful films in its genre and greatest films ever to have come out of the British cinema.
"The Killing Fields" takes us back to 1975s Phnom Penh, Cambodian capital, during which the communist guerrilla group Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot seized the city, formed a new government and forced the dwellers to move to the countryside to work in collective farms and labor camps with the goal of restarting of civilization in "Year Zero". During the next 4 years of their rule, these "policies" caused the death of ~ 3 million people (one third of the population) either from execution, torture, starvation, overwork, and disease. Under this apocalyptic environment, "The Killing Fields" tells the true ordeal and survival story of Cambodian photojournalist, Dith Pran, who endured the atrocities of Khmer Rouge regime: captured, tortured, punished for befriending American journalists and forced to work in labor camps in barbaric conditions.
To me, the most impressive thing about "The Killing Fields" is the ravishing cinematography by Academy Award winner Chris Menges. From start to end, The photography is nothing but gorgeous. All shots are meticulously planned, properly balanced and perfectly contrasted, harmonizing the beauty of countryside with ravages of war. The colors are well saturated and look wonderful. Subtle details are well presented, sharp and clearly visible with an emphasis on naturalism.... Read more ›
"The Killing Fields" takes us back to 1975s Phnom Penh, Cambodian capital, during which the communist guerrilla group Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot seized the city, formed a new government and forced the dwellers to move to the countryside to work in collective farms and labor camps with the goal of restarting of civilization in "Year Zero". During the next 4 years of their rule, these "policies" caused the death of ~ 3 million people (one third of the population) either from execution, torture, starvation, overwork, and disease. Under this apocalyptic environment, "The Killing Fields" tells the true ordeal and survival story of Cambodian photojournalist, Dith Pran, who endured the atrocities of Khmer Rouge regime: captured, tortured, punished for befriending American journalists and forced to work in labor camps in barbaric conditions.
To me, the most impressive thing about "The Killing Fields" is the ravishing cinematography by Academy Award winner Chris Menges. From start to end, The photography is nothing but gorgeous. All shots are meticulously planned, properly balanced and perfectly contrasted, harmonizing the beauty of countryside with ravages of war. The colors are well saturated and look wonderful. Subtle details are well presented, sharp and clearly visible with an emphasis on naturalism.... Read more ›
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film tells the true story of two journalists in Cambodia during the turmoil of 1970s Cambodia. One is the American Sydney Schanberg (played by Sam Waterston) and the other is the Cambodian Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor). As the Khmer Rouge approach the fall of capital Phnom Penh becomes imminent, the foreign embassies pack up and move out and the journalists are forced to take refuge in the French embassy. The Khmer Rouge have however demanded that all Cambodians in the embassy be turned over, and fearing attack, the occupants agree. Dith Pran is therefore in trouble. The foreign journalists come up with a plan...
The film is very well cast, with excellent acting and character depth as shown by Haing Ngor winning a well deserved oscar for best supporting actor. It is at times brutal, at others touching.
Highly Recommended
The film is very well cast, with excellent acting and character depth as shown by Haing Ngor winning a well deserved oscar for best supporting actor. It is at times brutal, at others touching.
Highly Recommended
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By ikinmoore
Format:DVD
I saw Killing fields when it came out in 1984. Not only is it one hell of a remarkable film, it was, for me, one of the best films I have ever seen in my life. I won't go into the plot as other reviewers have done just this, however when I do go to the Cinema I don't like anything which insults my own intelligence. The Killing fields makes you question the state of the human race. Why does history keep on repeating the same old mistakes.? One of the best scenes of the film was at the French Embassy where Dith Pran departed to the Killing fields of Cambodia. It was heart breaking when his colleagues failed to get him out of Cambodia. I remember crying so much yet I am not the type of person to break down in tears of a plight of a man with problems.
The special DVD edition is worth while. The director explains how he made Killing fields. I had to laugh when he mentioned that he had told all the Cambodian actors to be as agressive as possible towards the Journalists in one particual scene as it was an important part of the plot.
If you are interest in the Killing fiels then I recomend this special addition DVD.
A truely remarkable film for anyone who is interested in good quality drama based on a true story.
The special DVD edition is worth while. The director explains how he made Killing fields. I had to laugh when he mentioned that he had told all the Cambodian actors to be as agressive as possible towards the Journalists in one particual scene as it was an important part of the plot.
If you are interest in the Killing fiels then I recomend this special addition DVD.
A truely remarkable film for anyone who is interested in good quality drama based on a true story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
In the wake of a string of turkeys like Vatel, Fat Man and Little Boy, Super Mario Brothers and the infamous Demi Moore version of The Scarlet Letter, these days The Killing Fields increasingly looks like proof of the theory that anybody can make at least one good movie. Certainly Roland Joffe never made an entirely successful film afterwards, no matter how much money and talent were at his disposal. It's from that curious period when British cinema was taking on large-scale serious 'American foreign policy' stories that American cinema wouldn't touch (like The Deer Hunter, this was co-funded by EMI), in this case the Khmer Rouge atrocities in the wake of America's disastrous involvement in creating a 'sideshow war' in Cambodia. Unlike other white liberal angst fests like Cry Freedom it doesn't choose to concentrate on the white man's story at the expense of the pitiful foreign types - despite the oft-levelled criticism, it spends surprisingly little screen time with Sam Waterston's increasingly ineffectual journalist Sidney Schanberg after his return to New York, and even when it does, he doesn't get a free ride for putting his own ambitions ahead of his Cambodian translator's safety.
It's at its best depicting a country on the verge of collapse, and that curious stillness when life pretends to go on as normal in denial of the inevitable. Little in the film catches the atmosphere and still confusion, as well as the curious moral malaise of the war journalists, as the opening sequences, with sleepily disinterested inertia suddenly giving way to an energetic feeding frenzy to photograph the aftermath of a bombing attack.... Read more ›
It's at its best depicting a country on the verge of collapse, and that curious stillness when life pretends to go on as normal in denial of the inevitable. Little in the film catches the atmosphere and still confusion, as well as the curious moral malaise of the war journalists, as the opening sequences, with sleepily disinterested inertia suddenly giving way to an energetic feeding frenzy to photograph the aftermath of a bombing attack.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
great movie
if you want the real picture of what went on in those years in this beautiful country, you should see this, but be ready this movie will stay in your head for few days
Published 1 month ago by jana
5.0 out of 5 stars
Personal
Having served in the Military and having been to Cambodia .... I feel the movie from beginning to end.
A well portrayed story
A well portrayed story
Published 2 months ago by Roland B. Dodd
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must watch, story of human courage and triumph over adversity
Wonderful film, a story of human courage and determination and the fact that even in hell, some people just keep on walking, until they are out the other end
Published 2 months ago by Sean E. Nash
5.0 out of 5 stars
'HERE --'ONLY THE SILENT SURVIVE' ( ALL-TIME-CLASSIC )_
the 'cambodian' conflict' is often overshadowed by the war in
neighbouring 'vietnam'
the film tells the true story of 'new York times' correspondent
'Sydney... Read more
neighbouring 'vietnam'
the film tells the true story of 'new York times' correspondent
'Sydney... Read more
Published 2 months ago by rbmusicman
5.0 out of 5 stars
feedback
excellent film which I hadn't seen in a long time - I had visited Cambodia and wanted to see it again
Published 3 months ago by Christine Foster
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still as strong as ever
I first saw this movie when it came out, and am now revising it. Emotional and hard-hitting. Stays with you, but certainly one to watch.
Published 3 months ago by Halifax
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent film
Very good film a must watch for anyone. Brilliantly acted and a true testament of the evils of war and dictators
Published 4 months ago by S. Whittaker
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the original
Special edition good, but goes on far longer than the original so the impact is lost some-what. Reliving an old film, bit disappointing really.
Published 13 months ago by Leveret
5.0 out of 5 stars
A war film with a conscience
The Killing Fields is a powerful, fact based account of the conquest of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s and the nature of their rule in the years the followed. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Aidan J. McQuade
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most beautiful and moving films ever made
(THE FILM):..Every so often, there isia film that isidestinedito be talked about andirememberedifor yearsito come. Read more
Published 15 months ago by S. F. husseiny
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