Customer Reviews

Kramer Vs. Kramer

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A wonderful, beautifully acted film about the meanings of love,
friendship, and above all parenthood. This is the film where Robert
Benton's complex humanism really comes to full flower.

In a situation that almost demands taking sides ' a sudden divorce
leading to an unprepared father taking over childcare only to be
challenged for custody when the mother returns 18 months later ' Benton
manages to make everyone a complex human being, with strengths and
weaknesses, trying their best to do the right thing in a painful, messy
situation.

Hoffman, who has been brilliant so many times playing characters far
from himself is perhaps the most moving he's ever been playing a
character that director Benton described as really, honestly playing
himself ' perhaps the hardest character of all. Streep takes a woman
who could have easily come off as the villain of the piece, and makes
you understand her actions - - even abandoning her little boy. Jane
Alexander is wonderful and subtle as the slowly developing friend
Hoffman makes as a single father, and young Justin Henry is utterly
real in a way few child actors are as the 7 year old stuck in the
middle. It's also beautifully, if understatedly shot by Nestor
Almendros.

It's flaws are minor. Some of the supporting roles, while played by
terrific character actors, are a bit more one note and characturish
than they need be. And some of the courtroom theatrics feel just a tiny
bit' well, theatrical. Also, there's a logic point that's always bugged
me ' why doesn't Hoffman ' doing quite well on Madison Avenue, hire a
part-time housekeeper or nanny to help him from becoming terminally
overloaded by the combination of career and single parenthood? Last
family politics have changed enough in 31 years that no longer would
the climactic court fight stack up quite the same way ' it's no longer
a rarity for a man to want custody of his children - but that's not a
flaw in the film, just a welcome reminder that some things do get
better.

And none of the above are enough to detract from the fact that this is
storytelling and acting of the highest order.

BTW if you're considering it, the blu-ray is a worthwhile upgrade.
While the DVDs are fine, the increased depth and texture to both
the sound and image add a nice immediacy to the film.

Is there any chance the movie studio will get a clue and reduce their list price?! DVDs are cheaper now...wake up already. This DVD has been out going on 3 years now. It's time to slash and burn the prices.

I had only seen snippets of this movie over the years. I bought it on DVD the other day and the latest version of it includes a 50 min documentary (worth having for that alone). So, I watched the movie, enjoyed the acting, but wondered how it even won a single oscar, let alone five! Ok, this is where it is important to remember that it was made in 1979 where divorce battles were very much highlighted, and women's careers were just starting to take off. The film is also quite short, and I imagine that if it was made today, it would be much longer - particularly the courtroom scenes which are very short in the movie. The title to me indicates a battle between husband and wife, but I found Meryl Streep to be tame and accommodating. I love Dustin Hoffman in any movie, so pleased to own it for that reason - I might add that in parts he reminded me of his role in Tootsie. To finish off, I would have to say that there are some classic scenes in the movie, but I still believe it is a highly over-rated film. People must have been easy to please back in 1979, because this is more of a 'Made-for-TV' movie in my opinion. Only buy it if you see it on sale.

Excellent movie, very touching and well-acted. This movie deserved all the awards and accolades it received, in my opinion. Still works today.

MAD MAGAZINE named the movie "Cry More Vs.Cry More" for the parody of the film. KRAMER VS. KRAMER is an effective tearjerker with somewhat of an unrealistic ending. The movie is manipulative but somehow manages to be a riveting divorce drama with clearly defined characters to care about. The standout character being young Justin Henry as Billy Kramer. The other issue here is the telling of a single father's trials and tribulations of suddenly taking on the responsibilities of single handedly rearing a child. The film shows the evolution Ted Kramer (Hoffman) with the relationship of his son and the definition of being a father. The film seems to be in two parts. The first being the set up of establishing the relationship of father and son, the second part is when the mother Joanna Kramer(Streep) "finds herself" (remember that catch phrase from the 70's?), has established a career, and decides that she wants her son back. She suddenly appears out of nowhere to get her son back. This is when the movie becomes a cut-throat custody courtroom battle between the Kramer's. Actor Howard Duff is excellent as Ted Kramer's/Hoffman lawyer John Shaunessy. The other standout performance is Jane Alexander as best friend (Margaret Phelps) to both the Kramer's who suddenly finds herself torn between the two sides of the custody battle. Overall, a movie that has captured a moment of time, showing some conventional if not sugarcoated problems of a bitter divorce. The film is notched up a bit because of the casting and oustanding performances of the leads.

Those's who are familiar with the Ingmar Bergman film "Scenes From A Marriage" might get a kick out of my heading for the movie and my think of it as nothing more than a silly pun, but think about it. "Kramer vs Kramer" does for divorce what Bergman's film did for marriage. Okay, I'll stop the jokes.

Robert Benton's "Kramer vs Kramer" is really a well made, powerful, semi-heart tugging movie. Based on a novel written by Avery Corman, Benton (who wrote the film also) takes a clos look at what happens when a couple gets a divorce when children are involved. "Kramer ect" offers us a twist. Here it is the woman (Meryl Streep) who leaves her husband (Hoffman) and now Hoffman has to raise their 6 year old son by himself. Yes, the film goes for some quirky, funny shots in the beginning, and it's done with some realism, we might expect the characters to behave this way, but then the film goes for more heart.

As much as I enjoyed this film, I do think it's odd that this won the Oscar for best picture. 1979 had some strong movies, "Apocalypse Now", "All That Jazz", and although it wasn't nominated for best picture that year, one of my favorites Woody Allen's "Manhattan". But still "Kramer vs Kramer" was nominated for 9 Oscars, and walked away with 5. Also, something I want to point it is the nominated camerawork by Nestor Almendros, who many know for his work with Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer.

Bottom-line: Heartfelt, powerful and sometimes realistic look at what happens during a divorce. Very good performances by Hoffman and Streep (both won Oscars) and strong directing by Benton.

Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep don't make a single mistake in this movie, and neither does Justin Henry, the kid actor who plays the child torn between two parents. Hoffman plays a workaholic dad who is stunned (when his wife abruptly leaves him) to find himself the single parent of a child he barely knows. The film is beautifully book-ended between two telling events: getting breakfast for himself and his son at the beginning, we watch Hoffman hilariously, angrily, and ineptly screw it up, while by the end father and son have a quiet dance of cooperation and guy-ness all worked out. There are so many similar pivotal moments, such as a playground accident that sends Hoffman, child in arms, racing the streets of NY to the emergency room. Hoffman finds he cannot balance the demands of parenting with the high-pressure demands of his job in the advertising industry - and he chooses parenting. Then, like multitudes of single MOMS before him, he discovers how difficult it is to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, his wife, freed of parenting responsibilities, is on her own trajectory, is 'finding herself,' and becomes financially successful. Also, she watches how husband and son are doing, spying on them from a distance, and we sense her loss and her pain - yet also her pride that Ted (husband/father) is actually coming thru for the kid.
Then comes the custody battle at the end, the wrenching scene in the elevator - and Streep's final comments to the judge. Wow. Kramer vs. Kramer won 5 Academy Awards. Filmed in 1979, it is just as relevant today as it was 25 yrs ago.
People who declare this film is one of the finest movies ever made aren't lying.

A harried husband (Dustin Hoffman) finds out what it's like to raise a child as a single parent after his wife (Meryl Streep) just packs up and walks out on their lives. Today, divorce stories are a dime a dozen but when "Kramer Vs. Kramer" first hit the scene on the cusp of the 1980's it was a genuine revelation. And although we've seen the story told and retold countless times since, nothing quite captures the immediacy and sheer energy of this ground-breaking American classic.
Columbia TriStar has given us the film in a pretty good looking transfer. Yes, colors are dated but they are incredibly well balanced and, at times, even vibrant. Some minor aliasing in fine details but nothing to distract. The audio has been nicely restored. There's a documentary that's pretty informative, albeit short. BOTTOM LINE: YES - A KEEPER!

I have this on VHS, so I was really looking forward to getting this title on DVD. It was a let-down! The Video was fair, the audio could have been remastered for 5.1! It is still a must for collection

Sure, Meryl Streep can read a phone book and score, but this movie is so dated, I thought I was gonna die! Not to mention that Mr. and Mrs. Kramer both make about $30,000/year in this film from 1979. What a bummer reminder!

Otherwise, it is a well acted, high quality scripted film. Hoffman should have won an Oscar, as well. Although this topic seemed more relevant in the '70's, one can still appreciate the agony all characters went through. Great, great acting!