The Killing Fields: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Craig T. Nelson, Spalding Gray, Bill Paterson, Athol Fugard, Graham Kennedy, Katherine Krapum Chey, Oliver Pierpaoli, Edward Entero Chey, Chris Menges, Roland Joff�, Jim Clark, David Puttnam, Iain Smith, Bruce Robinson: Amazon.ca: Video

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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 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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Customer Reviews

67 Reviews

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (67 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars This movie is worth 5 stars., Jun 4 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Killing Fields (VHS Tape)

In my opion i think that this movie was great for our Government class to watch.

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4.0 out of 5 stars The Truth at a Glance, Jun 3 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Killing Fields (VHS Tape)

The Killing Fields was a very moving video. I am a high school student, therefore I have been desensatised for so long that I am not moved very often(if at all). The flick is a great teaching tool to anyone looking to educate themselves about Cambodia. I gave it a four because its got enough explosions, blood, gore, death, excitement,and knowledge to keep even the sleepiest of viewers attention. It didn't get a five due to the fairytale ending. Prang is reunited w/ Sydney, I didn't feel like that was reality. However it did not cheapen the movie at all. Its another good video that you will walk past a hundred times inthe video store and never watch. Watch it. Make yourself look at the death, and remember it. Some of the scenes makes your skin crawl, not because of blood,gore,or death...because it really happened.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Tragic and touching, but long-winded, Jun 20 2004

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K. Gittins (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Killing Fields (Widescreen) (DVD)

Although there are mostly 5-star reviews here, this is not the type of movie to have posters with less than stunning reviews (except the political posts). This movie is obviously well-made and well-received (7 oscar nominations and 3 wins), but I found it to be too long at 141 minutes and it did not really hold my interest.

Director Roland Joffe said he interpreted the story as a love story and not a war movie, and indeed that seems to be the way he presents it. Playing John Lennon's "Imagine" at the end was a bit on the sentimental side, though.

I've watched it 2 or 3 times and just had a hard time sticking with it. There is almost enough material to expand into 2 movies.

DVD has a nice commentary, a short text-based blurb about actor Haing Ngor, a list of awards, cast/crew blurb, setup options and a trailer.

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Published on July 11 2009 by Neil Olsen