The Killing Fields is a powerful, heartbreaking and harrowing biographical war drama that is brilliantly crafted and terrifically acted.

An emotional retelling of one of the darkest periods of Cambodian and global history. This film expertly portrayed the experience under the khmer rouge and did not shy away from the emotional and physical atrocities of war.

What a chaos. The first 40min of the film are fillers, with a sequence of events and a narrative that adds zero to the arch of the story for the latter 1h20 min. Then, the movie oscillates between some story and random depictions of war in Cambodia that again add nothing to the story arch. John Malkovich's character is seen most of the time just randomly taking photos in a hassle, there is not even a clear reason why. Despite the fact that they had to use film at the time, the photographer is never carrying film rolls or multiple cameras. The movie is mostly very unrealistic and doesn't really offer any glimpse into the war, the state of Cambodia at the time, the invasion the movie was supposed to depict or the journalists. There is very little dialogue, most of the time the characters are running on screen.

This news/war movie was really good. Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Craig T. Nelson, and the rest of the cast did a great job in this movie. This true story about the relationship between a New York Times reporter and his interpreter reporting on the Cambodian Civil War was dramatic and intense. It's about reporting on a war and making friends along the way, as well as helping them to get to safety no matter how long it takes. If you haven't seen this movie yet, check it out sometime. It's a must see.

A powerful war movie that looks at the damage and pain caused by the Khmer Rogue and also the story of friendship and loyalty. Ngor in his first role is sensational as the interpretor, Dith Pran. One of the the best movies of 1984.

Sam Waterston and Haing S. Ngor act their hearts out in this heartbreaking and unforgiving masterpiece chronicling the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. Dith Pran (Ngor) witnesses and experiences unspeakable horror throughout the movie, losing his family and nearly his life to the oppressive Khmer Rouge regime. Even so, he refuses to give up, even when he's on his last breath. His story of resilience is among the best filmed in cinema. And it doesn't hurt that Ngor actually experienced the regime firsthand. As for Schaumburg (Waterston), he faces his own adversities throughout the movie, rising up and blowing his role out of the water. If this film was a foreshadowing to his run on Law and Order, it was a good one. Absolutely phenomenal movie detailing the resilience of man in horrible situations.

A very early and fired-up Sam Waterston performance infuses what this film needs to really work. The length and mildly unfocused direction are the main detractors for this harrowing and earnest 80's flick but by the time the end credits roll you will have any regret in witnessing Roland Joffe's career high.

It's hard to imagine that what should have been a great film could be reduced to merely passable based on a bad music score, but such might be the case with The Killing Fields. The movie, about friendship, loyalty and the horror of war, centers around the relationship between New York Times journalist Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and his aide Dith Pran (Haing Ngor) as they try to bring international attention to Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia and the covert American intrusion into the country at the tail end of the war in Vietnam. Filled with countless powerful images and an enduring message, much of the impact is sabotaged by Mike Oldfield's horribly distracting score, consisting primarily of a shrill and wince-inducing synthesizer that sucks the emotion out of countless powerful scenes. While it's still worth watching, it might be more impactful with the sound turned down and the subtitles turned on. Just a suggestion.

An absolutely sensational movie. I rarely cry over films and 온라인카지노추천 but this was an exception. Beautiful ending, enough to make any human being shed a tear. The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because there are a lot of scenes in which Cambodian is spoken without English subtitles which is confusing.

Interesting but fails to keep you absorbed

It sends an important message about communism, but it's definitely overpraised. The first half was too confusing without knowledge of the history, there was no explanation of the events at all, and the second half lacked dialogue - almost none of it was in English and there were no subtitles. The press characters were all unlikeable, the story telling was very muddled, the pacing could have been better, and the ending was predictable. However, the cinematography, visual effects, and soundtrack were decent. Furthermore, the depictions of chaos, the disregard for human life, and the lifestyle of a slave were well done. Not really worth watching without context though.

Confronting, raw and un-putt-down-able.

Fantastic and highly Morbid.

The Killing Fields is tremendously capable in short bursts - creating moments of violence and suspense that catch the viewer off guard - but doesn't really weave them together as effecively as it could have; the Khmer Rouge never quite feel as dangerously spontaneous and ever-present as the narrative wants them to. The relationship between Waterston's Schanberg and Ngor's Pran feels too undeveloped to carry the emotional weight necessary to carry the film throughout their separation. The protagonists don't really exhibit much in the way of tangible flaws, leading the film to feel almost too sanitized of a depiction. Regardless, the Killing Fields remains a powerful condemnation of the Cambodian genocide at many points, often as a result of Pran's quiet tenacity in the face of exceptional cruelty. he embassy scene, in which the assembled photojournalists scramble to forge a passport for their ally, is exceptionally well done and features the tension that would have served the film well if it were allowed to be more pervasive. (3.5/5)

Movie was great but I'm not so impressed with this site's summary. I wasn't aware this film is "American cinema?".

Between 3 and 3.5 stars. Touching testimony of the effects of Nixon politics in South Asia, the brutality of Pol Pot system, and the story of a friendship.

Really powerful and it has a lot of great performances.

Gripping and powerfully acted

Story/Screenplay: (2.5/5) A historical drama that is mixed with facts and opinions. In retrospect, after 45 years since the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia, these opinions appear ill-informed. The story should have stuck to facts. Duration/Tempo: (4.5/5) At 2 hours and 21 minutes, it's a long movie that felt 30 minutes shorter. Was well directed and edited. Cast & Crew: (3.5/5) Nothing great, but Sam Waterston is memorable. Summary: (3.5/5) The story is very good and flawed at the same time, but the acting is solid and the film is reasonably long. A thumbs up.

Great performances, story and music