The powerful drama The Killing Fields was released in 1984 and it was both a success at the box office and with critics. The movie was based on the real-life experiences of journalists Cambodian Dith Pran and American Sydney Schanberg during the communist Khmer Rouge era.
Both men remained in Cambodia in 1975 to cover the fall of the country’s capital of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge. When things went from bad to worse Schanberg and other foreign reporters were allowed to exit the country but Dith Pran was not.
Dith Pran and many other Cambodians endured four years of cruelty under the Khmer Rouge, which you can watch a bit of in the scene above set in a rural work camp. To watch the clip just click the play button at the left of the feature image above.
Some 50 members of Dith Pran’s family were among the 2 million Cambodians killed by the regime. The film ends with Dith Pran escaping to Thailand in 1979 where he eventually reunites with Schanberg.
As per the credits of the film, Dith Pran moved to the US where he was employed as a photojournalist with the New York Times where Schanberg worked as a columnist. Dith Pran died of cancer on March 30, 2008.
Dith Pran was played by fellow Cambodian Haing S. Ngor (pictured above in a scene from the movie), who had no prior acting experience, but he nevertheless won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor at the 57th Academy Awards. The Killing Fields also won Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.
Haing S. Ngor also survived the Khmer Rouge and similarly experienced traumatic things as portrayed in the film.
Before the Khmer Rouge took power, Haing S. Ngor was a trained surgeon and gynaecologist. It was only in 1980 that he had managed to arrive in the US after being in a Thai refugee camp.
Haing S. Ngor tragically was shot dead outside his home in Los Angeles, California in February 1996 in what is believed to have been a bungled robbery.
The Killing Fields was directed by Roland Joffé who several years later directed The Mission.
For another scene from The Killing Fields watch the clip below.