1979 | Directed by Robert Benton |
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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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| ADDITIONAL CAST & CHARACTERS |
Dustin Hoffman
Meryl Streep
Justin Henry
Jane Alexander
Howard Duff |
... Ted Kramer
... Joanna Kramer
... Billy Kramer
... Margaret Phelps
... John Shaunessy |
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Meryl Streep, Entertainment Weekly, March 2000
"I worked a week at the beginning and a week at the end. But (laughingly) they talk about
me disparagingly for two hours! In 1979, nobody was talking about depression, but this woman
probably thought about killing herself once or twice every day. I could understand the compulsion
to leave and not want to take your little boy wherever you were going in order to get better.
I didn't think she was horrible - I read it and I was on her side. The ending never felt like
and ending to me. Everyone said, 'There! She gave the boy back!' And I thought, 'Yeah...
that
week'. You don't know where the process of ger getting herself back together would lead.
And you just know when the boy became preadolescent, he'd say 'F--- you, Dad! I'm gonna live
with my Mom, a--hole!"
Meryl Streep, More Magazine, December 2002
"That character was kind of a psycho in the book. The director was not happy with this - she
has to come back in the movie and say something for herself. So we all went off and wrote
versions of what I should say. Robert Benton let me say what I wrote."
Kate Jackson was the original choice for the part of Joanna Kramer, her commitment to "Charlie's Angels" prevented her from taking the role.
Meryl Streep wrote her own courtroom speech upon writer-director Robert Benton's suggestion after she told him she wasn't satisfied with the way it was originally written.
The famous ice-cream scene, where Billy challenges his father by skipping dinner and going straight for dessert, was completely improvised by both Dustin Hoffman and Justin Henry. Director Robert Benton liked the scene so much that he decided to keep it in the film.
The music played during the opening credits is Antonio Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto.
The first cut ran 43 minutes longer than the eventual film, and included additional scenes with Jane Alexander, JoBeth Williams, and an eliminated character of a housekeeper.
Additional Information at the Internet Movie Database
Full cast & credits, trivia and business information
| AWARDS / NOMINATIONS FOR MERYL STREEP |
1980 (
Winner) Academy Award - Best Supporting Actress
1980 (
Winner) Golden Globe Award - Best Supporting Actress
1981 (
Winner) British Academy Award - Best Supporting Actress
1979 (
Winner) Los Angeles Film Critics Circle Award - Best Supporting Actress
1979 (
Winner) National Board of Review - Best Supporting Actress
1979 (
Winner) National Society of Film Critics Award - Best Supporting Actress
1979 (
Winner) New York Film Critics Circle Award - Best Supporting Actress
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Features: Making Of
Video: Widescreen, Color
Languages: English (Dolby)
BUY DVD AT AMAZON.COM |
DVD Release: August 28, 2001
Region Code: 1
Distributor: Sony Pictures
ASIN: B00005MEOU
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