United Kingdom - 1984
Director - Roland Joffe
Warner Home Video, 1986, VHS
Run Time - 2 hours, 22 minutes
As a longtime student of the conflicts in Southeast Asia, this is among my favorite films on the subject. Although only peripherally related to Vietnam, it is an integral part in the overall history of the region. Not only is The Killing Fields really well acted, (regardless of anything else he has done or will do I have eminent respect for Sam Waterson because of this movie), but it is acted by an actual survivor of the brutal purges, the Killing Fields of Cambodia; Dr. Haing S. Ngor, one of only two non-actors to win an Oscar. Ngor went on to act in a number of films, usually about Vietnam, only to be murdered on the streets of Los Angeles in 1996.
As a longtime student of the conflicts in Southeast Asia, this is among my favorite films on the subject. Although only peripherally related to Vietnam, it is an integral part in the overall history of the region. Not only is The Killing Fields really well acted, (regardless of anything else he has done or will do I have eminent respect for Sam Waterson because of this movie), but it is acted by an actual survivor of the brutal purges, the Killing Fields of Cambodia; Dr. Haing S. Ngor, one of only two non-actors to win an Oscar. Ngor went on to act in a number of films, usually about Vietnam, only to be murdered on the streets of Los Angeles in 1996.
2 comments:
This was the movie that made me think about film as more than just entertainment. When I saw this at 15, I was BLOWN AWAY. I had to buy the movie, the soundtrack and even read Dr. Haing Ngor's autobiography.
Thanks for posting about an important film!
You are absolutely welcome! It is important and better yet good!
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