The parade was welcoming the Khmer Rouge as the new government. They have no choice but to welcome them . Didn’t know they were ruthless. Google “fall of phnom Phenh 1975 “

To this day, people suspect that his murder was a Khmer Rouge ordered hit.

@@Monatio79Understandable, but the Khmer Rouge's view was to ignore the 'outside' world. Also, it no longer existed by 1996.

@@RideAcrossTheRiver Haing Ngor was an outspoken critic of the Khmer Rouge throughout the 80s～ 90s. He tirelessly advocated to bring the Khmer Rouge top brass before an international tribunal. The movement only ceased to exist in 1999, when Ta Mok surrendered to government forces. Until then, they had the tacit support of China, the USA, ASEAN and Thailand. They continued to be recognized as the legitimate government in exile in the 1980s and, until the very end, enjoyed lucrative trading in timber and gemstones with corrupt Thai border officials. I wouldn't exactly call this "ignoring" the outside world.

@@Monatio79I would not call corrupt trade with Thai criminals the "outside world." That's as insular as it gets. Do you believe the agrarian, Year Zero, anti-human Khmer Rouge had a sophisticated network of agents and spies worldwide?

@@RideAcrossTheRiver They were "agrarian" and "Year Zero" up until 1979. After the Vietnamese invasion, the Khmer Rouge retreated to the Thai border areas. Who funded them? China and the west did. This would suggest that they had links with the outside world on a diplomatic level. Khmer Rouge leaders Son Sen and Khieu Samphan regularly engaged in peace talks in the early 90s, and Pol Pot himself made regular visits to Bangkok and China during this time. Why am I saying this? Because they were not as "isolated" as you'd think. After the Vietnamese invasion, Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary openly admitted in interviews that they were "abandoning the socialist revolution". At their core, the Khmer Rouge had always been radicals and hypocrites. They flew the flag of communism when it suited them, but then later decided to relabel themselves as "just nationalists" in order to gain international support. All this suggests that they had links to the outside world, meaning that it isn't a stretch to assume that they had spies and agents abroad.

Yes - I always thought they toned down the reality. I remember reading about the Khmer Rouge in the 1978/1979. I then visited Cambodia in 2012. Every major city has a stupa - a tall building like a column with windows- filled with skulls. Visiting some of the sites commemorating what happened is harrowing, but I think necessary for anyone who visits Cambodia.

Yes, Haing Ngor went through hell. He portrayed fellow survivor Dith Pran in the movie. The two admitted that the former's experience was far worse than the latter's. Haing's experience was horrifically nightmarish; he was tortured on three occasions and lost his wife during childbirth. During filming, Haing suggested that they should portray the Khmer Rouge soldiers using whips but the director, Roland Joffe, refused. He thought that "excessive" violence would put off the main stream audience.

Tbc: It's the fella that explains the casualties...you included the clip in your reaction. *Warning* : He (Spalding Gray) is a whiney, privileged, NY liberal full of yoga and kale and peace-on-Earth from a White, "rich" perspective. *But* he _knows_ who he is, I argue. His monologue films (there are several, aside from Swimming) are pure, blue-flake, NPR aphrodisiac. But they're also illuminating, heartbroken, and beautiful.

z H, thank you for the kind comment, as well as for the great suggestions! I will add these to the small list of film requests for sure! I'm glad you enjoyed this reaction video! As I told someone else before, please don't build up your hopes about my level of introspection and intelligence, sometimes I like to dumb it down with a good ol' fashioned horror movie that requires no thought, lol. (Being a veteran, I also like war movies from any time in history)

The Khmer Rouge would eventually turn on each other. I saw it personally

It was the Nixon administration that committed the crimes.

America didn't spread communism across Asia so blame Russia, China and Vietnam! Democrats were the ones who pulled out and refused to defend South Vietnam after the peace treaty. Blame the Leftist Marxists who were working with the Soviets, protesting America in Vietnam because they wanted communism to take over.

I think it's just you taking issue based on all the comments here? But if that is your opinion, then I guess planet earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do.

How's that?

Killing Fields director decided to include the song "Imagine" because Pol Pot was, apparently, a Beatles enthusiast as well as a fan of French history and literature. So much for the Khmer Rouge's anti-bourgeois mantra.

"Imagine" has no politics to it. It just relates the fact that we all share this single planet. Why are you so frightened by a song?

@RideAcrossTheRiver Why are you gay? Nobody is scared of a song. (I take that back. You hippies are scared of a ton of music.) And Imagine is the western communist anthem. It preaches communism. Foool.

​@RideAcrossTheRiver IT pushes a Godless, Leftist Marxist anthem of "No God, No religion, no nations, no private property" while Lennon was living in a multi-million dollar mansion and playing the song on a $10,000 piano. It's typical Leftist hypocrisy.