The Killing Fields (1984)
91%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: Won 3 Oscars
28 wins & 22 nominations total
Artfully composed, powerfully acted, and fueled by a powerful blend of anger and empathy, The Killing Fields is a career-defining triumph for director Roland Joffé and a masterpiece of cinema.
If you’re looking for a movie that will make you feel all the feels, The Killing Fields is the one for you. It’s got everything: heartbreak, heroism, and even a little bit of humor (okay, maybe not humor, but you gotta find the silver lining somewhere). The performances are top-notch, especially from Haing S. Ngor, who will have you rooting for him from start to finish. And while it’s not exactly a feel-good movie, it’s definitely one that will stick with you long after the credits roll. So grab some tissues and settle in for a wild ride.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Phuket, Thailand
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1985
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English, French, Central, Khmer, Russian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 2, 1984 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 7, 2014
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Sam Waterston, Haing S Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Craig T Nelson, Spalding Gray, directed by Roland Joffé, written by Bruce Robinson, produced by David Puttnam, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Paul Attanasio, Peter Travers, Noel Murray, Richard Schickel, Dave Kehr, MPAA rating R, Cambodia, Khmer Rouge, New York Times, Sydney Schanberg, Dith Pran, Al Rockoff, Major Reeves, U.S Consul, cinematography, editing, original score, emotional resonance, brutality of war, journalists, victims, survivors, escape, tragedy, triumph, career-defining, masterpiece of cinema
Worldwide gross: $34,700,291
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $98,010,794
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,030
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,688,200
US/Canada gross: $34,700,291
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $98,010,794
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 765
US/Canada opening weekend: $32,181
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $90,895
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,969
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $14,400,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $40,672,726
Production budget ranking: 949
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $21,902,263
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $35,435,805
ROI to date (est.): 57%
ROI ranking: 1,116
Haing S. Ngor – Dith Pran
John Malkovich – Alan “Al” Rockoff
Julian Sands – John Swain
Craig T. Nelson – Major Reeves
Spalding Gray – U.S. Consul
Director(s)
Roland Joffé
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
David Puttnam
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 3 Oscars
28 wins & 22 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Cinematography Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Editing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (3)
… a visually arresting epic guaranteed to capture the hearts and minds of its audience.
January 4, 2018
Paul Attanasio
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
If you see no more than one film a year, make this the one for 1984.
September 16, 2015
Peter Travers
People Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Every scene of The Killing Fields (and every participant in its making) is in service of showing how abruptly a seemingly safe and vital individual can have everything essential stripped away.
January 13, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Noel Murray
The Dissolve
TOP CRITIC
It must be nerve-racking for the producers to offer a tale so lacking in standard melodramatic satisfactions. But the result is worth it, for this is the clearest film statement yet on how the nature of heroism has changed in this totalitarian century.
August 25, 2008
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The screen is swamped by a bathetic, self-preening sententiousness.
April 9, 2008
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The intent and outward trappings are all impressively in place, but at its heart there’s something missing.
April 9, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
This is one of the quietest “war” movies ever made; yet, it’s an indelible portrait of the excitement, horror, and confusion with which journalists experience war.
February 27, 2020
Molly Haskell
Vogue
Intense, violent movie about brutal Cambodian regime.
May 8, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Barbara Shulgasser
Common Sense Media
Few feature films have captured a nation’s agony more dramatically than Roland Joff’s The Killing Fields.
September 16, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
Adrian Turner
Radio Times
[A] gripping, intelligent, provocative drama.
September 16, 2015
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor
Ngor’s naturalistic and empathic portrayal of his character’s desperate fight for survival is the key to this film’s visceral power.
January 9, 2015 | Rating: 82/100
Dan Jardine
Cinemania
One of the great films from what proved to be a great year for cinema, The Killing Fields hasn’t lost any of its power over the ensuing 30 years.
January 15, 2014 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing…
Plot
Sydney Schanberg is a New York Times journalist covering the civil war in Cambodia. Together with the local journalist Dith Pran, they cover some of the tragedy and madness of the war. When the American forces leave, Dith Pran sends his family with them, but stays behind himself to help Schanberg cover the event. As an American, Schanberg won’t have any trouble leaving the country, but the situation is different for Pran; he’s a local, and the Khmer Rouge are moving in.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Haing S. Ngor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Killing Fields, despite having no prior acting experience.
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