Trivia: Haing S. Ngor and Dith Pran actually met up in real life and even visited the old country - Vietnam - together before Haing's death.
Trivia: Haing S. Ngor became the first Cambodian and the second non-actor (he is a doctor by trade) to win an Oscar for an acting role. Unfortunately, Ngor was murdered in a gang-related robbery at his home on February 25, 1996.
Trivia: When Dith Pran is caught listening to the radio by his peasant owners, what actually happened [and not shown in the film] was quite funny. The home owner jovially asked Dith a question in FRENCH and Dith was too shocked to answer so he ran away, much to the amusement of the host and his friends.
Trivia: The music in this movie was composed by Mike Oldfield, whose initial success was in composing "Tubular Bells," sections of which were used in The Exorcist 11 years earlier. This was his first proper soundtrack.