A Very Great Film, Gets Better WIth Time

Rating: 10/10 (20 September 2009)

I first saw The Killing Fields when it came out. I recall watching it on the big screen and being totally enthralled and impressed. Everything about it has the ring of reality, with a gripping sense of the brutality and evil of war. I think the sequence in which the journalists are arrested by the Khmer Rouge is one of the greatest moments in film history. The brilliant soundtrack that sets the mood as are they held hostage, while Prahn pleads and bargains for their lives, is perfect. You feel as though you are right there with these men as they experience desperation amid the shocking violence of war. The palpable mood of gut-wrenching fear and tension that the actors project goes far beyond the standard Hollywood fare. This movie is a subtle collage of sound, sights, and emotion that is very rare. The cast is uniformly excellent, and in technical terms the direction,cinematography,editing, soundtrack, sets and screenplay are as good as it gets. It should have won Best Picture as far as I am concerned. Haing S. Ngor deserved his Oscar, and Sam Waterston should have won Best Actor too. This is an incredible story and an incredible movie. Too bad they don't make more like it. I've seen it many times over the years and it gets better with time. It's a masterpiece.