The Killing Fields (1984)

Director:

Roland Joffé

Guionista:

Bruce Robinson (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 noviembre 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Frase comercial:

He was a reporter for the New York Times whose coverage of the Cambodian War would win him a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. But the friend who made it possible was half the world away with his life in great danger... This is the story of war and friendship, the anguish of a country and of one man's will to live.

Plot:

An American citizen is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody "Year Zero" ethnic cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million "undesirable" civilians.

Plot Keywords:

Brutality | Torture | Airport | Communism | Disturbing

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 18 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Powerful Drama But Hard To Watch

Cast

Sam Waterston	...	Sydney Schanberg
Haing S. Ngor	...	Dith Pran (as Dr. Haing S Ngor)
John Malkovich	...	Alan 'Al' Rockoff, Photographer
Julian Sands	...	Jon Swain
Craig T. Nelson	...	Major Reeves, Military Attache
Spalding Gray	...	United States consul
Bill Paterson	...	Dr. MacEntire
Athol Fugard	...	Dr. Sundesval
Graham Kennedy	...	Dougal
Katherine Krapum Chey	...	Ser Moeum: Dith Pran's wife
Oliver Pierpaoli	...	Titony: Dith Pran's son
Edward Entero Chey	...	Sarun, Sydney's Driver
Tom Bird	...	US Military Advisor
Monirak Sisowath	...	Phat: Khmer Rouge leader: 2nd village
Lambool Dtangpaibool	...	Phat's son

También conocida como:

Gritos del silencio, Los (Spain) [es]

Duración:

141 min

País:

UK

Idioma:

English | French | Khmer

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby

Clasificación:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M (revised version) | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Enigma (First Casualty) Ltd.

Trivialidades:

Haing S. Ngor became the first Southeast Asian (and the first Buddhist) to win an Academy Award in an acting role.

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.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "House M.D.: Fetal Position (#3.17)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Imagine

Powerful Drama But Hard To Watch

It's been over 20 years since I saw this film and parts of it still haunt me.....brutal, emotional scenes which I do NOT want to see ever again. It's just too gut-wrenching and uncomfortable to sit through a second time. Generally, it's two hours of suffering and torture. Who wants to watch that?

It IS a powerful story, though, based on the true life adventures of Dith Pran (played by Haing S. Ngor) who somehow survived the unbelievably-brutal regime of Cambodia dictator Pol Pot. Other reviewers here have detailed the storyline, so there is no sense me rehashing that.

Suffice to say this is a movie that - be warned - is very tough to view in many spots - but will leave you emotionally drained. Ngor's harrowing performance is one to remember, as is the horrible story of what happened in the mid '70s in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. This movie was filmed with Thailand and the scenery there, along with the excellent cinematography, makes this a visual treat.

Some have complained that the film is too slow for them. Others didn't like this because it was overtly anti-American in some regards (the bombing of Cambodia). I can understand those complaints. What bothered me most was that I just found the whole based-on-a-true happening story too sad.