Sophie's Choice (1982)

After spending time with his new neighbors, an aspiring writer realizes they are harboring deep secrets that will forever change him.

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

William Styron (based on the novel: "Sophie's Choice" by), Alan J. Pakula (screenplay)

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol

Won 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	Sophie
Kevin Kline	...	Nathan
Peter MacNicol	...	Stingo
Rita Karin	...	Yetta
Stephen D. Newman	...	Larry
Greta Turken	...	Leslie Lapidus
Josh Mostel	...	Morris Fink
Marcell Rosenblatt	...	Astrid Weinstein
Moishe Rosenfeld	...	Moishe Rosenblum
Robin Bartlett	...	Lillian Grossman
Eugene Lipinski	...	Polish Professor
John Rothman	...	Librarian
Joseph Leon	...	Dr. Blackstock
David Wohl	...	English Teacher
Nina Polan	...	Woman in English Class

Storyline

Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live in Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust. They befriend Stingo, the movie's narrator, a young American writer new to New York City. But the happiness of Sophie and Nathan is endangered by her ghosts and his obsessions.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | new york city | aspiring writer | concentration camp | holocaust | 

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Taglines:

Between the innocent, the romantic, the sensual, and the unthinkable. There are still some things we have yet to imagine.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Polish German French Russian

Release Date:

4 March 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sophies Entscheidung

Filming Locations:

Reiserovo castle, Samobor, Croatia

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC), Keith Barish Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min 157 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a disclaimer paragraph at the end, the only character who was not fictitious was Rudolf Hoess, which was the name of the actual commandant at Auschwitz.

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Goofs

When Stingo is packing to go back home and Sophie comes back home and is talking to him, you can see a pair of Nike speakers on the bed. Nike was established in 1964, much after the time when the movie is set.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: It was 1947, two years after the war, when I began my journey to what my father called the Sodom of the north, New York. They called me Stingo, which was the nick name I was known by in those days, if I was called anything at all.

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Connections

Referenced in Daria: One J at a Time (2001)

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Soundtracks

About Foreign Lands and People, Op.15, No.1
(1838)
Written by Robert Schumann
Recorded for the film

User Reviews

The definitive Meryl Streep

Without a doubt, Meryl Streep delivers the Greatest Performance By An Actress EVER - period.

The performance is totally naked, where you can almost feel her sorrow come right out of the screen. For all of the heart wrenching scenes in this movie, you never once feel as though Streep is going over-the-top. That says alot for someone who spends just about half of the time in her scenes with a tear in her eye. Everything about her performance just seems so effortless and natural. This especially shows when she is speaking German flawlessly, or English with a very convincing Polish accent.

The fact that Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol are not completely lost in this movie says alot for their performances. Kline himself delivers a great performance of a man suffering from delusions and bi-polar syndrome. It is one of his greatest performances as well. Peter MacNicol plays the role of a character who pales in comparison to the other characters. MacNicol has the somewhat undesirable task of having to play the character who carries the least amount of baggage. He therefore might be overlooked, when viewing at the movie as a whole. However, MacNicol does a great job with the character, not trying to make more out of it than it is supposed to be. His role is very important to this movie.

But the real story here is Streep. Her performance would be a stand out against any other performance in history. I honestly believe that. Streep just digs down deep here - delivering lines that just put a chill down your spine.