Sophie's Choice (1982)

Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust.

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 & 12 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 with 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 | aspiring writer | concentration camp | phone ringing | kiss | 

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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:

La decisión de Sophie

Filming Locations:

Reiserovo castle, Samobor, Croatia

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$202,131, 12 December 1982, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$30,036,000

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

When director Alan J. Pakula was initially signed on to the film, he envisioned only Liv Ullmann in the title role.

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Goofs

When Nathan and Sophie drink what Nathan calls a Chateau Margaux, the color of the wine in the glasses looks nothing like a Bordeaux, let alone a Margaux. It looks like a cheap rosé wine or a very badly made red.

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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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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 12 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.

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Connections

Referenced in Schitt's Creek: Estate Sale (2016)

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Soundtracks

Voices of Spring, Op.410
(1882)
Written by Johann Strauss (as Johann Strauss)
Recorded for the film

User Reviews

A career defining role!!!

Arguably Meryl Streep's most compelling performance...and lord knows the woman has turned in a few during her career! I found myself delighted, beguiled, enchanted, crushed and ultimately reduced to a drained and empty shell by the film's end; it took several days thereafter to fully recover. Her vulnerability and honesty are as inescapable as her demons. And you cannot help but be drawn into such a real sense of both conflict & compassion, duty and despair...this film completely melted my face off while cementing an admiration and awe I rarely experience from an actor's performance. All due respect to both Kline & MacNichol for their fine portrayals, but really the movie begins and ends with Streep's haunting, brilliant and enormously human turn as Sophie! This is a "must see" film albeit a gut wrenching experience!!! Totally amazing!!!