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Kramer vs. Kramer [Region 2] | ![Kramer vs. Kramer [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51K11031JCL._SL500_.jpg) | Director: Robert Benton
Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry, Howard Duff
Category: DVD
Buy Used: $28.59
as of 3/19/2010 01:50 EDT details
Used (2) from $28.59
Seller: ZoverstocksUSA
Rating:  73 reviews
Sales Rank: 156489
Format: PAL
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 2
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 505058224205
EAN: 0505058224205
ASIN: B0001XLXTS
Theatrical Release Date: December 19, 1979
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com essential video
Winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Actor, and Screenplay, Kramer vs. Kramer remains as powerfully moving today as it was when released in 1979, simply because its drama will remain relevant for couples of any generation. Adapted by director Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, this is perhaps the finest, most evenly balanced film ever made about the failure of marriage and the tumultuous shift of parental roles. It begins when Joanna Kramer (Meryl Streep) bluntly informs her husband Ted (Dustin Hoffman) that she's leaving him, just as his advertising career is advancing and demanding most of his waking hours. Self-involvement is just one of the film's underlying themes, along with the search for identity that prompts Joanna to leave Ted with their first-grade son (Justin Henry), who now finds himself living with a workaholic parent he barely knows. Juggling his domestic challenge with professional deadlines, Ted is further pressured when his wife files for custody of their son. This legal battle forms the dramatic spine of the film, but its power is derived from Benton's flawlessly observant script and the superlative performances of his entire cast. Because Benton refuses to assign blame and deals fairly with both sides of a devastating dilemma, the film arrives at equal levels of pain, growth, and integrity under emotionally stressful circumstances. That gives virtually every scene the unmistakable ring of truth--a quality of dramatic honestly that makes Kramer vs. Kramer not merely a classic tearjerker, but one of the finest American dramas of its decade. --Jeff Shannon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 73
 Great movie, great acting, but the mom is an IDIOT! March 17, 2010
Baberufus (West Jordan, UT USA)
OK, this whole review is a big *SPOILER ALERT* for those few of you who haven't seen this late 70's classic. Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep give fine performances, along with the kid, one of the best child acting performances I've seen. As mentioned already by other reviewers, a great example of the trend that was growing fast back in that day an age (divorce), and a good view of the pains, heartaches, stress, etc. that usually results from that kind of ordeal. Not fun.
OK, here's the spoiler statement, because I just have to VENT. A fine time for the mom to suddenly decide she doesn't want the kid after all, after both parents spend thousands of dollars in court fighting over custody of their son!! Hoffman's character (the Dad) hugs Streep's character (the Mom) when she breaks the news to him. Man, I half-jokingly wish he would have STRANGLED her instead! "You mean after all this time, pain, heartache, and money down the drain on these lawyers, NOW you decide you don't want him?! ARRRRRGH! (Strangle)"
So a really annoying ending to the story, but nevertheless a classic movie!
1979 Period Piece February 15, 2010
K. Vestal (NC)
Definitely a period piece, it is worth a revisit 31 years later for several reasons. First, it gave Meryl Streep her first Oscar (as a "Supporting" Actress, so don't expect to see a lot of her). Second, it's an interesting look at what socially was probably ground-breaking gender-bending in 1979: the question of whether the best "mom" for a child caught in divorce could be the dad. And third, the young son caught between his parents is simply adorable!
What I like about this film is its realism. Neither parent is portrayed as the bad person, and the emotional development of each character is believable. The acting is superb, and the film is well written, directed, produced, and cast.
On the negative side, it is an emotionally heavy film, as, like in reality, the child is in such innocent pain. Also, by today's film standards, even though it lasts only 105 minutes, it is a little slow at times.
Adult themes, sexual situations, language.
Kramer vs. Kramer February 7, 2010
Patricia Tokonitz (East Lansdowne, PA USA)
What a great movie! Ted and Joanna Kramer are a married couple heading for divorce. He's a workaholic, oblivious to the needs of his wife and young son Billy, and she's a stay-at-home mom in desperate need of finding herself. She walks out and leaves Ted to deal with his son all alone, even though he doesn't know the first thing about parenting.
He becomes a good father and learns how to deal with work and parenting, only to have his wife return to take Billy with her. What happens next, I don't want to say because it will give it away, but it's definitely worth seeing....and owning!
Kramer vs. Kramer won 5 Oscars in 1979, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman). It's a timeless classic that you'll totally enjoy.
a landmark film October 7, 2009
VR (San Fran, CA)
* This movie captures its time. I am in my forties and I know several people in my generation whose family dynamic parallelled that of the Kramers-- a workaholic father, and an under-appreciated mother whose dysfunctional relationship scars their child (as poignantly symbolized by the prominently pictured scar on the character Billy's eye).
* The acting by each of the Kramers is believable. I rate the boy Billy as the most surprisingly well acted and touching, with Meryl Streep's character not far behind. Dustin Hoffman's performance was fine, though he has always struck me as being full of himself, and desperately in need of being the center of attention, as he seemed to be in this film.
* The court scenes: I would agree with several reviewers who thought they were caricatures, most glaringly so when Dustin Hoffman's character's lawyer yells at Meryl Streep like he was her father and she was a child who had broken an expensive vase. Nevertheless, I still felt the pain of each side, as well as the shame of needing to be in a trial before they could truly listen to one another. Again, I know several people whose parents were involved in divorce proceedings that must have had much in common with the Kramers'.
* I loved the father-son scenes where they are bonding. Bedtime reading, Dad listening to corny kid jokes, Dad letting his son cry and not giving in to the urge to make him stop, Dad holding his son and encouraging him to be brave while getting stitches. I think this is one of the films that made it culturally OK for fathers to do these things, and nowadays people forget how pervasive it was for fathers to be breadwinners and nothing more.
* (SPOILER) I would agree with other reviewers' assertion that motherhood was ultimately given the shaft in this film. Meryl Streep decides in the end to give up her son, in what I can only assume was a 'happy ending' meant to boost ticket sales. After all, the film encourages us to sympathise with the father and does a comparatively half-hearted job of invoking our emotions for the mother, so what else besides the father keeping his son could be considered a happy ending? This definitely felt like a sell-out moment by Meryl Streep. I would cite this as the single, though painfully glaring, blemish of the story.
* Despite this smearing of an unappreciated mother, I still think the film holds a lot of truth about its generation, and that its contribution to the cultural shift that saw fathers being encouraged to spend more time in more ways with their children and their wives is ultimately unappreciated by those who say the film has not aged well.
outstanding, taut and riveting drama that grabs you by the throat and never lets you go until the ending September 4, 2009
Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service)
Kramer vs. Kramer provides us with a timeless snapshot of what custody battles are like after a messy divorce. Although there are a few things in the movie that are a little dated (phone with dials, Checker type New York City taxicabs, the fashions, and salaries that were once considered quite good when in our times they would be way too low to afford a nice apartment in Manhattan), the fundamental story remains relevant and the issues have changed little. In addition, the acting is absolutely convincing in Kramer vs. Kramer; you couldn't ask for better--Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep deserved their Oscars. The musical score for the film enhances it, too; and I like the choreography as well as the fine cinematography.
When the action starts in New York City, we see the highly stressed out Joanna Kramer (Meryl Streep) walking out on her husband Ted (Dustin Hoffman) and their seven year old son Billy (Justin Henry). Ted calls Joanna's friend Margaret (Jane Alexander) as he thinks Joanna will be with her friend and then come right back home--after all, she didn't even take her suitcase! Unfortunately, Joanna simply disappears and Ted is left to care for his son while holding down a demanding job when he is finally beginning to climb the corporate ladder big time. Initially, Ted and his son Billy don't always have things easy, but as time goes by they form a touching bond and they love each other very much.
As time passes, Ted is tested many times and I came to sympathize with him a great deal. We see him panic and run with Billy in his arms to a hospital emergency room when Billy falls off the neighborhood park's jungle gym and requires a few stitches. Ted and Billy share very tender moments when Ted reads bedtime stories every night to Billy. Ted also slowly but surely forms a bond of friendship with Joanna's now former friend Margaret; they often chat with each other on the park bench as their children play close by.
However, all this is threatened when Joanna unexpectedly moves back to New York. Almost a year and one-half later, Joanne now wants custody of their son Billy. Ted is incensed and refuses; thus Joanna starts a custody battle in the court system. Ted gets lawyer John Shaunessy (Howard Duff) to represent him although Shaunessy tells Ted it's going to be tough to win the custody battle because judges always favor giving custody to the woman--even if the woman once walked out on her own child.
Questions remain, however. What happens when Ted's boss suddenly lets Ted go--how will Ted be able to find a good paying job in twenty-four hours so that he has at least a slim chance of keeping custody of his son? To what degree with Joanna and her lawyer go to defame Ted's character? How will Margaret be able to help or hinder Ted in the courtroom custody trial? No plot spoilers--watch and find out!
The DVD comes with a terrific documentary about the making of the film.
Kramer vs. Kramer will stay in your mind long after you see it; it's extremely poignant and moving with just a little bit of comedy that makes it as realistic as possible. I highly recommend this film for people interested in the themes presented and played out in this movie; and fans of the actors would do well to add this to their collections.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 73
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