Rating: 
Summary: The Liberal Version
Review: Sam Waterston, one of my favorite actors, does a fine job. And the depiction of the hellish conditions of Kampuchea is excellent. But the movie is mistaken for blaming the U.S. for the destruction of that unlucky nation. The Khmer Rouge did that on their own, with the savagery of Mao's Cultural Revolution as their primary example. Saying that the U.S. was responsible for the actions of Pol Pot is like blaming the policeman for trying to stop the murderer.
Rating: 
Summary: Killing Fields
Review: In the movie "Killing Fields," is on a true story about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The movie was directed by Ronald Joff'e. The main characters in this movie are New York Times Reporter Sidney Schanberg, played by Sam Waterston. Sidney's Cambodian assistant/translator Dith Pran was played by Haing S. Ngor. The movie is about Sidney Schanberg, who is trying to captivate horrific footage an information about the Cambodian War. Dith Pran, was given to Sidney to help him with his misssion of retrieving information. In the process they became very close with each other Dith and Sidney consider each other as brothers. Sidney Knowing he hasn't gotten that particular story he wants decides to stay a liile longer. Sidney gives Dith the option of leaving Cambodia with his family, but Dith makes his family leave for America, and Dith decides to stay with sidney in Cambodia. Sidney, Dith, and photographers immediately set out for the horric story. During their mission they were captured by the Khmer Rouge. Dith was able to rescue sidney and the photographers. The Khmer Rouge ended up stealing Dith's passport, and when they wanted to leave the French Embassy to go back to America he couldn't because he had no I.D. of who he really was. Sidney was forced to leave Dith behind. So Sidney and the American photographers went back to America.The rest of the movie is how Dith has to struggle to stay alive without the Khmer Rouge killing him. Meanwhile, Sidney is back in America excepting awards for his outstanding work. Sidney trys to help find, but it doesn't work. Finally at the end of Dith's horrific journey, he finally reaches safe boundries. Sidney come to get him and bring him home to his family.
Rating:
Summary: A Movie With More Depth Than It's Face Value
Review: Let's see it another way. This movie is not merely a simple story about a man to man relationship (Schanberg and Pran). This whole movie tells a lot more if we watch through all details, events and backgrounds. This film also depicts excellently dialogues between cultures and ideologies. First, the hardest perspective to be swallowed by Americans, is that Asians had viewed the cold war differently than most westerners could imagine. The whole post-colonial history of Asia was about nationalism, the horror of being colonized, and the rejection of western imperialism. Most Americans had misread the events. Lon Nol and the US were never viewed as the holy crusaders against communism. For Cambodian peasants, the whole US 'fight for liberty' slogan was irrelevant since their real enemies lay within their paddy fields being bombed, harvests being corrupted by governments,etc.This was the only real war storytelling movie in the 80s which was intelligent to bring up these enormous wide ranging perspectives with wit. And as we switch between Nixon's Doctrine, Khmer Rouge's genocidal atrocities, Pulitzer parties and a Mercedes Benz logo, I must surely agree with David Putnam's/Roland Joffe's view that this film had an absolutely anti-ideological stance. Still the first and only one in its genre.Buy the film.
Rating: 
Summary: Over rated
Review: I saw this movie when it first went to video around 1986 and wasn't very impressed. However, after reading Loung ung's chilling memoir "First they killed my father" I thought I would give this video another try. If Dith pran's experience was one tenth as bad as ung's (and I am sure it was ) This movie failed terribly in portraying that. In fact if your not wacthing the dates on the bottom of the screen you might be forgiving for thinking Dith Pran was only in the fields for four months as opposed to the nearly four years he actualy spent there. The documantery style also was a problem in that it has little room for emotionaly connecting with the main charecters, Dith Pran and Sidney Schanberg. Schanberg's blame America first attitude also wore thin Quickly, yes America's bombing of Cambodia was wrong headed and yes we should have done more sooner to prevent the atrocities from happening but blaming America for Pol Pot wipping out nearly half of Cambodia's population in four years is a bit like blaming Britian for the holocaust becase of it's policy of appeasement in the late 1930's. As for the ending with Dith Pran and Schanberg being reunited to the tune of John lenon's Imagine I found this more insulting then tearfully happy. The very philosopy of "Imagine" is what allows the hooror of a Pol Pot to happen in the first place. Image the there's no heaven .. no religion too.. If there is no God, no heaven or hell than killing societies weakest (The old the slow the lazy ect) can almost be justified by those in power as means of riddin society of those who consume more then they produce, there for making society as a whole poorer. My advice buy the book "First They Killed My Fatrher" and skip this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Sobering view of a to-be-forgotten-conflict.
Review: The Killing Fields reminds us what atrocities human biengs are capable of but also the resilience and strength of the human spirit. The casting for the film was perfect and the soundtrack complimented the film perfectly. Mike Oldfield created a soundtrack that reflected the mood of the movie and the orchesteral arrangements brought the scenes alive while not detracting from the performances of the actors. I feel the scene where Dith Prahn finally sights the Thai refugee hospital is a very powerful one and I feel will stay with me for the rest of my life. The Killing Fields is a great film and moved me so much as to conduct a school project on both Schanberg and Prahn. A must see.
Rating:
Summary: Dramatic and Powerful Stuff!
Review: This movie is an emotional powerhouse, it's climax with John Lennon's Imagine can drive anyone to tears. The film has a documentary feel, (because the director was a documentary-filmaker), and that adds to the realism. It has many harrowing scenes of violence and senseless massacre, but is it ultimately rewarding and emotionaly satisfying. I recommend this movie to drama fans. Great movie, see it. It packs an emotional wallop!
Rating:
Summary: Filmmaking at its best
Review: Superb attention to detail. Very believable acting. A stark contrast to the big budget, mindless, action flicks we see today. If you're every feeling down and out, just watch this movie and then you know you don't have it so bad. In my opinion this should be remembered as one of the best movies of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Not Even Close
Review: The movie was good but not even close to what I experienced. I had my father killed, my 2 sisters killed, my home burned and I was put to work in a slave camp when I was 8. The movie was tame compaired to what we went through.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most important films ever made
Review: The Killing Fields is one of those all too rare movies, a movie that challenges you to think about what you have just witnessed on screen, a movie that has the power to make you very aware that human tragedy and persecution are very much with us today. That said, the film concerns one man's triumph over unbelievable tragedy and adversity. The cinematography is first class, and the acting is all too believable. To appreciate the full enormity of this film I would strongly recommend reading up on the events with which the film is concerned. This film is hard to fault, and the ending with John Lennon's "Imagine" in the background is perfect and may well reduce you to tears.
Rating:
Summary: This movie was graphic, yet well produced.
Review: This movie was about the friendship between Sidney Schanberg (A New York Times Reporter) and his Cambodian friend/translator Dith Pran who were actually real people. Schanberg and Pran were both exposed to the harsh and cruel ways of the Khmer Rouge, after the previous leader of Cambodia was overthrown . Both of them were treated very brutally, but it was Pran who got the worst of it when Schanberg was kicked out of Cambodia after wanting to stay after an American evacuation took place and Pran had to end up staying. This film provided very vivid images that portrayed Pran's struggle to survive as he made an attempt to get away from all the havoc and flee to safety. Although some of the content in the movie was very graphic and disturbing, it went along very well with the storyline and painted a clear picture of what was going on in Cambodia at that time. This movie was very realistic and it is worth watching because it made you feel as if you were actually there in Cambodia, and it also showed you exactly why this movie was titled "The Killing Fields".
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