Maps of Movies
The Killing Fields (1984)
Where The Killing Fields says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Set in Cambodia, shot in Thailand: only one filming location is documented, a seaside railway hotel in Hua Hin.
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Scenes and places
The journalists' hotel in Phnom Penh
Sydney Schanberg arrives to cover the civil war and teams up with Cambodian interpreter Dith Pran. Pran is the guide who makes the reporting possible.
Set in Phnom Penh — Cambodia's capital in 1973, where the war reporters are based. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Capital of Cambodia, under pressure from the Khmer Rouge in 1973.
Filmed at Railway Hotel, Hua Hin (now Centara Grand Beach Resort), Thailand — Stood in for the Hotel Le Phnom, the journalists' hotel in Phnom Penh. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Neak Leung and the B-52 bombing
Pran and Schanberg travel to investigate an alleged B-52 bombing. They are detained while trying to photograph an execution.
Set in Neak Leung — Mekong river town hit by a mistaken American B-52 bombing. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A river town south-east of Phnom Penh.
The alley of the arrest
Schanberg and Rockoff are arrested and taken to an alley for execution. Pran, a civilian, negotiates their release.
Set in Phnom Penh, alley — A Phnom Penh alley on the day the Khmer Rouge parade through the city. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Only the city is documented; the exact alley is not.
The French embassy
The friends flee to the French embassy, where Rockoff and Jon Swain try to forge a British passport for Pran.
Set in French embassy, Phnom Penh — The embassy where Cambodians shelter and the Khmer Rouge demand they be handed over.
No coordinates in the cited sources.
New York, the campaign for Pran
Schanberg writes to charities and stays in touch with Pran's family. At a 1976 award he says half the recognition belongs to Pran, and Rockoff challenges him.
Set in New York City — Schanberg's home city, where he searches for Pran and receives a prize in 1976. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Where the film's second storyline plays out.
Filmed at New York City (filming; scene not identified) — French Wikipedia lists New York among the filming locations; which scene was shot where is not stated. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Khmer Rouge village
Pran does chores and minds Phat's son while hiding his education, claiming to have been a taxi driver.
Set in Khmer Rouge village, Cambodia — A Khmer Rouge-held village led by a man named Phat.
No place named in the cited sources.
The killing field by the river
Pran escapes his forced labour and stumbles upon a killing field before being found unconscious on the riverside.
Set in Killing field, Cambodia — One of the Pol Pot regime's killing fields; the coordinate is Choeung Ek, used as a stand-in for the real place name. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Choeung Ek is the best-known memorial site, not confirmed as the film's setting.
The Red Cross camp on the Thai border
Pran flees through the jungle following a map and reaches a refugee camp near the Thai border.
Set in Red Cross refugee camp, Thai border — A Red Cross refugee camp near the Cambodia-Thailand border.
No place named in the cited sources.
Characters
- Sydney Schanberg — New York Times reporter covering the Cambodian civil war.
- Dith Pran — Cambodian journalist and interpreter who stays behind in Cambodia.