The Killing Fields
Drama, War
Warner Bros.  (1984) 141 mins R

8.0 (18,452 votes)
Every so often, there is a film that is destined to be talked about and remembered for years to come.

When the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh in 1975, many thought the killing would end. Instead it started a long nightmare in which three million Cambodians would die in the "killing fields."

The Killing Fields is an epic story of friendship and survival produced by David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire) and directed by Roland Joffe (The Mission). Sam Waterston plays Sydney Schanberg, whose war coverage entraps him and other journalists. Dr. Haing S. Ngor is Dith Pran, Schanberg's aide and friend who saves them from execution. But Pran is sentenced to labor camps, enduring starvation and torture before escaping to Thailand. Ngor also endured Khmer Rouge atrocities and saw his moving, Academy Award®-winning portrayal of Pran (one of the film'...

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Cast and Crew
Craig T. Nelson  ......  Major Reeves, Military Attache
John Malkovich  ......  Alan 'Al' Rockoff, Photographer
Sam Waterston  ......  Sydney Schanberg
Haing S. Ngor  ......  Dith Pran
Athol Fugard  ......  Dr. Sundesval
Julian Sands  ......  Jon Swain
Director  .....  Roland Joffe; Roland Joffé
Producer  .....  David Puttnam; Iain Smith
Writer  .....  Bruce Robinson
Notes
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. (more)

Trivia:
Nigel Havers was originally offered the role of the British journalist Jon Swain but had to decline owing to his filming A Passage to India (1984). (more)

Filming Locations:
Bangkok, Thailand (more)

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. (more)

Awards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 18 nominations (more)