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Title: Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
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| 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 |
|
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Howland Chamberlain | ... | Judge Atkins |
|
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Jack Ramage | ... | Spencer |
|
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Jess Osuna | ... | Ackerman |
| Nicholas Hormann | ... | Interviewer | |
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Ellen Parker | ... | Teacher |
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Shelby Brammer | ... | Ted's Secretary |
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Carol Nadell | ... | Mrs. Kline |
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. Written by Leon Wolters <wolters@strw.LeidenUniv.nl>
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This family drama results to a highly acclaimed film that deal with Ted (Dustin Hoffman, James Caan was offered the role of Ted Kramer, but turned it down) , a just-divorced man who must learn to care for his son (Justin Henry) on his own when their wife (Meryl Streep shot her scenes for Manhattan during breaks in filming and Meryl was originally cast in the role of Ted's one-night-stand, eventually played by JoBeth Williams) and mother leaves . There subsequently takes place the ordinary battle for custody when she returns . And then must fight in court to keep custody of him .
Moving and dramatic picture based on the novel by Avery Corman with an excellent plethora of players who give exacting interpretations . It successfully moves you from laughter to tears and back again . Very good acting by Dustin Hoffman as an adverting executive husband , he deservedly won Academy Award and Meryl Streep as his wife and mother who leaves on quest to find herself and also won Oscar to best support actress . Justin Henry was Oscar nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, Henry at age 8 became the youngest ever person to be nominated for this award as well as the youngest ever Oscar nominee in any category, a record which still stands today . Magnificent support cast , such as Jane Alexander as Margaret Phelps , Howard Duff as John Shaunessy , George Coe as Jim O'Connor and JoBeth Williams , whose funny nude scene was optically darkened for the film's theatrical run, to avoid an R rating. Classic soundtrack , as the music played during the opening credits is Antonio Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto . Colorful cinematography by Nestor Almendros ; director Robert Benton advised cinematographer to base the look and color of the film on the paintings of Piero Della Francesca , Almendros also used the work of David Hockney as an inspiration, and designed a realistic look, using source lighting in rooms with ceilings and available light in exteriors . First of two back-to-back consecutive movies to win the Academy Award for Best Picture that was a contemporary film drama about interpersonal relationships and family bonds , the next year's winner was Ordinary People directed by Robert Redford . Ranked #3 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Courtroom Drama" and was the highest-grossing movie of 1979.
The motion picture was compellingly directed by Robert Benton . Texas director has a varied career as he was an editor of magazine , production designer , set decorator and has written a number of imaginative stories for children . He realized few movies even accounting for those in whose screenplays he wrote as ¨Bonnie and Clyde¨ , ¨There was a crooked man¨ , ¨What's up doc ?¨ , ¨Superman¨ and even ¨Still of the night¨ . His big hit as director was this Weepie ¨Kramer vs Kramer¨ and won him the Oscar for writing and direction , the next was warm-hearted ¨Places in the heart¨ with basic human values and revealed his softer side . Following filmmaking the underrated ¨Nadine¨ , a comic-strip comedy with Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger and ¨Still of the night¨ was a failure and turned out to be a flop at the box office . After that , he directed a gangster movie ¨Billy Bathgate¨ with Nicole Kidman and Dustin Hoffman , ¨Nobody's fool¨ which won Paul Newman an Academy Award nomination and he worked again with Benton four years later on ¨Twilight¨ . Rating : Notable ,above average . The picture will appeal to Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep fans .