Sophie's Choice (1982): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1982, Sophie's Choice is a drama, war and romance film directed by Alan J. Pakula, running about 151 minutes. “Between the innocent, the romantic, the sensual, and the unthinkable. There are still some things we have yet to imagine.” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Stingo, a young writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. As he becomes friendly with Sophie and her lover Nathan, he learns that she is a Holocaust survivor. Flashbacks reveal her harrowing story, from pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz. In the present, Sophie and Nathan's relationship increasingly unravels as Stingo grows closer to Sophie and Nathan's fragile mental state becomes ever more apparent.

Who’s in it. Sophie's Choice stars Meryl Streep as Zofia "Sophie" Zawistowski, Kevin Kline as Nathan Landau, Peter MacNicol as Stingo and Rita Karin as Yetta, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.3/10, Sophie's Choice has been warmly received by audiences. It went on to earn $30M at the box office.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus and Shout! Factory Amazon Channel and rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Sophie's Choice page.

If you liked it. Fans of Sophie's Choice tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.