The Killing Fields (DVD)

The Killing Fields is a film directed by Roland Joffe based on the true story of a reporter from the New York Times and a local journalist in Cambodia who are reporting on what is becoming a murderous regime. I had heard positive comments about this film and decided to rent the DVD, despite the very heavy subject matter. It turned out to be in my mind one of the best war movies I have seen, thought-provoking, challenging and beautifully made. The New York Times correspondent is Sydney Schanberg, acted by Sam Waterston and the local correspondent in Cambodia is Dith Pran, acted by Haing S Ngor. They start reporting from the war-torn area before it ...  Read the complete review

After nearly 20 years The Killing Fields still remains one of the most powerful films ever made, a brilliant piece of moviemaking that leaves a searing imprint in the mind long after viewing it. This is not a film to be taken lightly, but a serious examination of the horrors of war and individual conflicts and struggles, and for that it is on par with Steven Spielberg's work on Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List, certainly a noteworthy comparison. The film opens in 1973, with the Vietnam War coming to an end. But the horror is far from over. The Khmer Rouge, a radical political group, are slowly taking over war-torn Cambodia. The film's first ...  Read the complete review

A real life relationship between a new york reporter and His Cambodian assistant,depicted in this tense and moving story. Reporter Sidney Schanberg played by Sam Waterston,gets hopelessly drawn into helping His assisant Dith Pran played by Haing s. ngor,into escaping the horrors of the Kymer Rouge Revolution in Cambodia. Fearing for the safety of Pran and His family,Sidney needs to help them escape, the only way to save them is to get them into the American Embassy,to do this Pran and Sidney need to go on a trail through Hell. Witnessing cold blooded murders and tortured victims as they make their way through "The Killing Fields" a swamp ...  Read the complete review

The Killing Fields (1984) is a film which follows the lives of two central characters during the Cambodian civil war and subsequent attrocities of the Khmer Rouge. Set mostly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (somewhere I would love to visit) this film brilliantly brings the horrors of war to the screen without ever glorifying them in any way. The films central characters live out the events is totally different surroundings due to the Nationality on their passports. Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) is an American journalist for the New York Times who is determined to film the real events inside Cambodia. His guide and companion is Pram (Haing S. Ngor - who ...  Read the complete review