Product Details

• Actors: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol, Rita Karin, Stephen D. Newman
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English, German, Polish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Live / Artisan
• DVD Release Date: October 23, 2001
• Run Time: 255 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005NX16
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #231,755 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "On Golden Pond/Sophie's Choice" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

On Golden Pond
Writer Ernest Thompson, who came up with the original stage play of On Golden Pond and adapted it for film, is lucky to have two giants of the screen give dignity and breadth to his sometimes trite dialogue. Henry Fonda, in his last role, plays a prickly English professor at the disagreeable age of 80. Visiting his summer house by a Maine lake with his wife (Katharine Hepburn), the old man forges an unlikely bond with a lonely boy, comes to terms with his daughter (Jane Fonda), and suffers disorienting effects of mild dementia. Even playing a tired old man, Fonda is an absolute lion of a movie star, and Hepburn brings her special spirit to the part of his worried bride. The onscreen relationship between Henry and Jane Fonda naturally makes one think about their much-discussed difficulties offscreen, but that's a side benefit in a movie that is really just a celebration of simple human decency. --Tom Keogh

Sophie's Choice
The sunny streets of Brooklyn, just after World War II. A young would-be writer named Stingo (Peter MacNicol) shares a boarding house with beautiful Polish immigrant Sophie (Meryl Streep) and her tempestuous lover, Nathan (Kevin Kline); their friendship changes his life. This adaptation of the bestselling novel by William Styron is faithful to the point of being reverential, which is not always the right way to make a film come to life. But director Alan J. Pakula (All the President's Men) provides a steady, intelligent path into the harrowing story of Sophie, whose flashback memories of the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp form the backbone of the movie. Streep's exceptional performance--flawless Polish accent and all--won her an Oscar, and effectively raised the standard for American actresses of her generation. No less impressive is Kevin Kline, in his movie debut, capturing the mercurial moods of the dangerously attractive Nathan. The two worlds of Sophie's Choice, nostalgic Brooklyn and monstrous Europe, are beautifully captured by the gifted cinematographer Néstor Almendros, whose work was Oscar-nominated but didn't win. It should have. --Robert Horton

Product Description

ON GOLDED POND: For Norman and Ethel Thayer, this summer ON GOLDEN POND is filled with conflict and resolution. When their daughter Chelsea (JANE FONDA) arrives, the family is forced to renew the bonds of love and overcome the generational friction that has existed for years. Norman (HENRY FONDA) must find his way through his anger and fear of growing old, while Chelsea struggles to rebuild their relationship. Ethel's (KATHERINE HEPBURN) consistent support of her "knight in shining armor" is inspirational in its simplicity. This is a movie to ponder and always keep in your heart. SOPHIE'S CHOICE: Screen-favorite Meryl Streep received an Academy Award ® for her portrayal of Sophie Zawistowska in this penetrating drama set in 1947 post-World War II Brooklyn. Kevin Kline plays her all-consuming lover, Nathan. The story revolves around Sophie's struggle as a Polish-Catholic immigrant in the United States who had survived a Nazi concentration camp. The lovers' drama unfolds through the observations of a friend and would-be writer, Stingo (Peter MacNicol). As the trio grows closer, Stingo discovers the hidden truths that they each harbor, resulting in a narrative that is both captivating and moving.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HAUNTING, December 24, 1999

By 

R. Penola (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sophie's Choice (DVD)

Alan Pakula brings the Styron novel to the screen with period-perfection, and he has in his court a trio of superb performances, lead, of course, by Meryl Streep, who finally won me over with her transformation into Sophie. The character is layered and rich with emotional baggage, and Meryl's performances is nothing short of transcendental. When I saw this movie in the theatre upon its release, there was an older woman in the audience, towards the front, who ran screaming from the theatre, her hands on her ears, during the gut-twisting "choice" sequence. Kevin Kline and Peter MacNicol, who do battle over Sophie, and within their own hearts, are exceptional foils for Sophie, and each brings a resonance to the evocative Brooklyn locations. The European sequences, swathed in a sepia tone, are mesmerizing and horrific. Sophie's journey is also a mystery, and it unravels with devastating results. Marvin Hamlish designed the lush musical score, which continues to rip my heart open every time I play it. While Schindler's List is a more gigantic vision of the experience of the Holocaust, this movie is intensely personal, but does perhaps more to drive a stake through your heart. You will continue to wonder, long after the haunting images of Sophie's face fade from view, what might you have done in her shoes?

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is Evil?, March 22, 2002

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sophie's Choice (DVD)

Caught forever in an existential moment, Meryl Streep's portrayal of the aftereffects of Auschwitz is transfixing. Sophie is the guilt-ridden survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, and Streep's remarkable work brings her leaping off the screen into the hearts and minds of the watcher. This is a complex film which plays the outer tragedy of Sophie's present life against the inner tragedy of the evil she faced during the war.

As the story of Sophie's devastating past unfolds in flashbacks Streep faces choice after choice in her present life. Each seems to eat away at her life. Peter MacNicol and Kevin Kline unite to give performances that that carefully balance Streep's, creating an intense overall effect that cannot be described easily,

The film's emotional and intellectual content make is a bit too lengthy and stagy, but the lulls set the stage for the emotional crises. This is a heart rending story that will not be everyone's cup of tea, but Streep well deserves the Academy Award she got for this film, which was also nominated for best screenplay and best cinematography.

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very powerful film, impossible to forget!, November 3, 2001

By 

Edward Mross (West Allis, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sophie's Choice (DVD)

I watched "Sophie's Choice" not knowing at all what to expect. I assumed that the "choice" would be something commonplace in a film, like a choice between two lovers. When I found out what the choice really was, it made a very deep impression on me. It was the most gut-wrenching thing I have ever seen, in the movies or in real life. The scene is unforgettable. The emotionless evil of the SS officer offering Sophie the choice is highly disturbing. The man is extremely cold, almost Satanic in the evil he radiates. The strange thing is that he is not physically ugly-at first I thought the part was played by Alec Baldwin. This is easily the best portrayal of the Holocaust I've seen on film, much better than "Schindler's List." The evil of Auschwitz is so all-encompassing, so icy and devoid of emotion, that I can't help but think that it is the closest thing to Hell ever recreated on Earth.

Also, Meryl Streep's performance is by far the best I have ever seen in any film. Her virtuosity and technical brilliance are unmatched. One reviewer compared it to DeNiro in "Raging Bull," and I have to agree. The supporting performances are excellent, especially Peter McNicol who is indispensable as the narrator. The one flaw I found with the film (and probably with the novel as well, although I have not read it) is Stingo's (the author's) highly self-conscious fixation on sex. I thought that it was irrelevant to the story. To anyone who feels that the film is too slow-paced, I say keep watching action movies until you grow up and leave superb films like these to people emotionaly mature enough to appreciate them.

On the whole, I would rate this among the best films I've ever seen. Definitely don't miss it!