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.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.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.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 15 wins & 14 nominations total
- Dr. Blackstock
- (voice)
- Bellboy
- (as Cortez Nance)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMeryl Streep not only learned a Polish accent but also learned how to speak German and Polish in order to have the proper accent of a Polish refugee. She reportedly learned the Polish from one of the assistants working on the film who happened to speak it.
- GoofsThere was no Jewish ghetto in Cracow in 1938. Ghetto was established under German occupation in March 1941.
- Quotes
Sophie: My mother, she's very sick, you know. And I can't do anything. But I think - if only I could have got - that meat for my mother it would make her strong. So I go to the country and er... the peasants were selling ham and I buy it with the black market money and I bring it back. But it's forbidden, you know, because all the meat goes to the Germans. So I sat on the train and I hid it under my skirt, I am pretending that I am pregnant, you know? Oh I was so afraid. I was shaking. And then the German, was in front of the train and he saw me. So he come over and take under my skirt that ham and...
[pause]
Sophie: So they sent me Auschwitz.
Stingo: You were sent to Auschwitz because you stole a ham?
Sophie: No, I was sent to Auschwitz because they saw that I was afraid.
- Alternate versionsCBS edited 12 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Tootsie/The Verdict/Sophies Choice/Airplane II (1982)
Excellent drama. Initially an engaging story of three friends and their relationship. This largely innocent initial period sets up the film for the later plot developments and revelations. The revelations are incredibly moving, revealing the extent of Nazi brutality and the lengths people had to go to and the decisions they had to make in order to survive it.
In addition this some other powerful subjects and themes are explored: the depths of man's inhumanity towards man, abusive relationships and why people stay in them, innocence lost.
While the plot and direction set this up to be a great movie, ensuring its classic status is an absolutely mesmerising performance from Meryl Streep as Sophie. Everything about her performance is perfect, down to the last word of dialogue and facial expression. There can't be too many better performances, if any, in the history of cinema and she truly deserved her Best Actress Oscar.
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- Aug 1, 2021
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Sophies Entscheidung
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $30,036,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $202,131
- Dec 12, 1982
- Gross worldwide
- $30,036,166