Sony Pictures Classics Unveils Trailer for The Choral, A Stirring WWI-Era Drama Starring Ralph Fiennes

Sony Pictures Classics has released the official trailer for The Choral, a historical drama set during the tumultuous backdrop of World War I. With a powerful ensemble cast led by Ralph Fiennes, the film is directed by acclaimed British theatre and film director Nicholas Hytner and features a script by the legendary playwright Alan Bennett.

 

Set in the year 1916, The Choral unfolds in the small Yorkshire village of Ramsden, where the devastating effects of the Great War have hollowed out the once-proud ranks of the local Choral Society. With most of its male members enlisted and fighting on the Western Front, the society’s committee makes a bold choice: to keep singing, keep gathering, and keep living — even as the world falls apart around them.

 

Enter Dr. Henry Guthrie, portrayed by Fiennes, a newly returned musician who spent much of his career in Germany and now carries the weight of suspicion and trauma. Tasked with leading a fractured choir in a fractured time, Guthrie becomes the unlikely figure at the center of a community’s attempt to hold on to dignity, art, and meaning. The cast also includes Roger Allam, Mark Addy, Alun Armstrong, Robert Emms, Simon Russell Beale, and rising star Ignatius Burrows.

 

The trailer teases a deeply emotional and visually grounded narrative, echoing the cinematic restraint of The King’s Speech or 1917, with the unique twist of music serving as the story’s heartbeat. Choral harmonies intertwine with scenes of personal loss, social change, and quiet rebellion against despair.

 

With Alan Bennett’s poignant and often darkly humorous writing, and Hytner’s precise direction (the two previously collaborated on The History Boys), The Choral is poised to become an awards season contender. It’s a meditation on the healing power of art, the endurance of community, and the personal reckonings that war demands of those far from the front lines.

 

Sony Pictures Classics has slated The Choral for a theatrical release on December 25th, 2025, making it a potential critical and commercial centerpiece for the holiday season.

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