Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Ted Kramer's wife leaves him, allowing for a lost bond to be rediscovered between Ted and his son, Billy. But a heated custody battle ensues over the divorced couple's son, deepening the wounds left by the separation.

Director:

Robert Benton

Writers:

Avery Corman (from the novel by), Robert Benton (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander

Won 5 Oscars. Another 34 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Ted Kramer
Meryl Streep	...	Joanna Kramer
Jane Alexander	...	Margaret Phelps
Justin Henry	...	Billy Kramer
Howard Duff	...	John Shaunessy
George Coe	...	Jim O'Connor
JoBeth Williams	...	Phyllis Bernard (as Jobeth Williams)
Bill Moor	...	Gressen
Howland Chamberlain	...	Judge Atkins
Jack Ramage	...	Spencer
Jess Osuna	...	Ackerman
Nicholas Hormann	...	Interviewer
Ellen Parker	...	Teacher
Shelby Brammer	...	Ted's Secretary
Carol Nadell	...	Mrs. Kline

Storyline

Ted Kramer is a career man for whom his work comes before his family. His wife Joanna cannot take this anymore, so she decides to leave him. Ted is now faced with the tasks of housekeeping and taking care of himself and their young son Billy. When he has learned to adjust his life to these new responsibilities, Joanna resurfaces and wants Billy back. Ted, however, refuses to give him up, so they go to court to fight for the custody of their son.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | voyeurism | no panties | topless female nudity | scantily clad female | 

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Taglines:

There are three sides to this love story!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Billy's crying is real. Robert Benton asked Justin Henry to think of a saddening memory before the take. Reportedly, at The 37th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1980), when Ricky Schroder won the Best New Male Star of the Year award, according to the book "The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History", Henry "threw a raging tantrum".

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Goofs

When Billy is waiting for Ted to fetch him after the birthday party, he sits on the chair with his left leg tucked under the right leg. In the next shot, his right leg is tucked under his left leg.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Joanna Kramer: I love you, Billy.
Billy Kramer: I love you too, Mommy.

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Alternate Versions

When aired on commercial TV, the shots of Phyllis naked, and her unexpected interaction with Billy, are darkened completely. Most commercial prints also omit the sound of Billy urinating.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Couples Who Hated Each Other in Real Life (2015)

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Soundtracks

Jingle Bells
(1857) (uncredited)
Written by James Pierpont
Sung a cappella by Justin Henry

User Reviews

An Intelligent and Solid Film About Divorce

After a decade of turbulent unrest, American movies began to switch gears and turn their cameras away from war-torn battlefields, political corruption, and general social unease to the more intimate world of family dysfunction. The toll the selfish Baby Boomers began to take on the American family as they grew up and had kids of their own was making itself felt.

"Kramer vs. Kramer" is one of the first of these dysfunctional family dramas that would continue to be so popular throughout the 1980s, and it's one of the best. It gets a rather bum rap now, because it's known as the film that beat "Apocalypse Now" for the 1979 Best Picture Academy Award, but comparing these two films is like comparing a banana to a marinated chicken breast: they're not remotely the same, but can't we enjoy them both? Director/writer Robert Benton doesn't try to do anything fancy with his movie; its strength lies in its performances, those of Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep particularly, playing a divorced couple fighting childishly and selfishly over their son. The courtroom scene in which they duke it out for custody, and in which each is forced to hurt the other in terrible ways, is devastating, and feels authentic. The movie doesn't present Hoffman's solid dad as a hero, or Streep's straying mom as a villain. They're neither good or bad as people -- they're simply bad at being married.

The film is tear-jerky at the finale, but not in a manipulative way. It earns its right to elicit sobs.

Grade: A

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kramer Versus Kramer

Filming Locations:

The Mall, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$106,260,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$106,260,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Stanley Jaffe Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1