Kramer vs. Kramer | |
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Original film poster
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Directed by | Robert Benton |
Produced by | Richard Fischoff Stanley R. Jaffe |
Screenplay by | Robert Benton |
Based on |
Kramer vs. Kramer by Avery Corman |
Starring |
Dustin Hoffman Meryl Streep Justin Henry Jane Alexander |
Music by |
Paul Gemignani Herb Harris John Kander Erma E. Levin Roy B. Yokelson Antonio Vivaldi |
Cinematography | Néstor Almendros |
Edited by | Gerald B. Greenberg |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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105 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $8 million |
Box office | $106,260,000 |
Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American drama film adapted by Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, and directed by Benton. The film tells the story of a couple's divorce and its impact on everyone involved, including the couple's young son. It received five Academy Awards at the 52nd Academy Awards in 1980, in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) is a workaholic advertising executive who has just been assigned a new and very important account. Ted arrives home and shares the good news with his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) only to find that she is leaving him. Saying that she needs to find herself, she leaves Ted to raise their son Billy (Justin Henry) by himself. Ted and Billy initially resent one another as Ted no longer has time to carry his increased workload and Billy misses his mother's love and attention. After months of unrest, Ted and Billy learn to cope and gradually bond as father and son.
Ted befriends his neighbor Margaret (Jane Alexander), who had initially counseled Joanna to leave Ted if she was that unhappy. Margaret is a fellow single parent, and she and Ted become kindred spirits. One day, as the two sit in the park watching their children play, Billy falls off the jungle gym, severely cutting his face. Ted sprints several blocks through oncoming traffic carrying Billy to the hospital, where he comforts his son during treatment.