Kramer Vs. Kramer

[jigsaw9919]

Michael Richards attacks himself in the mirror - Kramer Vs Kramer

[thewomaninthemoon]

This scene really shows off Meryl's talent,not only as an actress but also as a very smart writer because the director let her write her speech on the stand.Who knows,if she hadn't turned out to be the greatest actress ever,she might have become a brilliant writer cause that speech was perfect.She convinced me.Btw she looks so lovely.

[HabituallyObsessed]

Joanna is so damn right here. He left her no choice. Her leaving is the only reason Ted finally starts to learn to take the responsibility of a father. Can you imagine what would happen if she didn't leave? A jackass father and a depressed, potentially suicidal mother. What a wonderful and morally correct family. Yay for the kid.

[crownbeatsjack]

Love it when his lawyer screams at her.

[Mikaylee]

According to a Dustin Hoffman interview, Meryl wrote much of this scene.

[hadabenz]

No more this kind of movies nowadays... it's sad... we all love Hoffman and Streep.

[Zirenzinha5]

Meryl´s so gorgeous!!!! Just perfect :)

[indiff86]

Hoffman's Lawyer was a BOSS...

[Magnolia296]

I adore this movie. Dustin Hoffman is real Master of Acting. He did phenomenal job here and call me crazy but I think he is much more talented than a little bit overrated Robert De Niro and Al Pacino (I love them though). Justin Henry played Hoffman's screen son and he was impressive too - amazing acting! Meryl Streep was great

[kgiera2006]

She reminds me of Kate Winslet

[eugdog106]

meryl streep is very attractive in this movie

[boro240]

$31,000 is around $90,000 in todays money.

[JustinTinaFey]

@boro240 i was just thinking what it was worth in todays market

[lolitalemonlove]

she is goddess grade gorgeous

[plugginmuffin]

I don't think Ted's character was nearly as bad as implied. I largely side with the mother, but in this case, I felt for Ted's character. I think both parents could have at least tried to talk to each other and worked that out, and that's where they were both at fault. But she did leave and then expect that she could get her child back, and blamed her husband for her own discomforts. They both could have worked on their character flaws but I thought Ted was at least better suited.

[CoolBeagle]

Part 2 - to say that a mother is better just because of her sex is WRONG! Judge it case by case, not just because you say a child is better with the mother. Their NOT. They need both equally, but if it has to be one, it should not be said that a child needs their mother MORE. Case by Case, not by gender

[CoolBeagle]

Part 1 - I just found out about this movie, and i really like it. I just have one problem.

Meryl got custody of Billy through the 'Tender Years Doctrine' which says that at 13 and under children are better raised by the mother.

That, may I just say. ............... Is a load of Bull.

Now kids need both parents, but for a father to have to prove that a mother is unfit to get custody and that a mother is just automatically preferred, is sexist. If women want fair treatment everywhere, but

[PianoMan1191]

Meryl Streep is the perfect actress. She's beautiful, she has depth, she's believable, she can cry on cue,and you are convinced of her role by simply looking at her.

[eigyll]

but they're human. and humans make mistakes. however people acknowledge them, and they try to rectify the damage those mistakes have caused. it doesn't always work, but isn't that life? and to see it portrayed with even the slightest bit of realism is always refreshing. or so I find. (also sorry if I got anything misinterpreted or got any facts wrong, it's been a while since I watched the whole movie.)

[eigyll]

anyway. my point is that I don't think she was escaping her family or her responsibilities. I think that she loved her son, which was why she felt she had to leave and fix herself first in order to be a mother he deserved. and I mean... since she came back, did she REALLY run away from her responsibilities? personally I don't think so. but say she was. it'd definitely be an awful reason to leave. it'd be a huge mistake. like how Ted never listened. and how Margaret pushed Joanna to leave. cont

[eigyll]

trapped and helpless, I think she chose the better of those two options and left to get her shit together, and maybe come back and try again... like she did here. The key is that she still loved her child and still wanted to be with him... but just, in her unhappiness, couldn't. Maybe she felt that, rather than leaving Billy stuck with a father who was often physically absent and a mother who was emotionally distressed/unstable, leaving him with one loving parent would be better in the long run?

[eigyll]

so. Joanna's options were probably a) leave, try to clear her head, get herself together; or b) stay, be miserable, possibly commit suicide (she said something like "I'll jump out the window one day" before leaving) or some other destructive behaviour that would probably devastate her family even more. which would be better? Of course, neither were "good". I think that really the only "right" option (talking it out with Ted) was, as stated, not possible as he was so wrapped up in his work. cont

[eigyll]

some of what shadowkitty said is true... Joanna's desertion of her child could very well have had such an effect and part of being a wife and a mother is definitely holding and maintaining one's own responsibilities. but, to me, it seems she though that staying would cause more damage than leaving. I think when people get unhappy, they get irrational, especially without anyone to talk to. except Margaret. and of course, her advice was not the best to take. however, that was all she had. (Cont)

[shadowkitty56]

She probably didn't ever learn at Smith that marriage is hard & if you marry Moon Rainbow the hippie because he makes you laugh it's no guarantee for later. She never had to learn that women can have great ambitions, but like men they also must tend to their responsibilities for others & be held to account for their actions. Ted may have been a lousy husband, but he STAYED. He had the chance to leave & did not take it. Joanna left. And Billy will remember that for the rest of his life

[katiemc66]

@shadowkitty56 Rainbow the hippie...heeheehee. :-)

[shadowkitty56]

If I had to guess, Joanna Kramer was one of those early Boomers that got a near free pass to a fancy college on Mommy and Daddy 's dime, got caught up in the transcendental bullcrap that happened in the 60's with the other hippies, and then when faced with real responsibility , when told she had to sacrifice, she was totally caught off guard. To her horror, she found out you can't undo having a child or put him up on a shelf when you don't feel like caring for him.

[shadowkitty56]

but to this I say BULLSHIT.

What about the fact that in "finding herself" she broke Billy's heart and destroyed his ability to trust her, or the fact that Billy, at seven, is too young to have much of an idea of what women are supposed to be? What about the fact that a boy should never have to question if his mother loves him more than her personal ambitions and won't throw him under the bus to attain them? (CONTD)

[shadowkitty56]

I have had many older feminists look at me like I was from Mars when I tell them that what Joanna Kramer did in this movie was self-indulgent and cruel. They tell me that Ted and Billy only missed the role Joanna played in that house, not the person, & that she deserved to escape that role of domestic servant and get some for herself...CONTD

[LadyLagerfeld]

boring i swear. she's so diffrent today then to that time. just everyting. but she was beauiful very beautiful she looked like a porcelain doll <3

[ItBrandonSilver]

You're fucking STUPID.

This is when Meryl Streep COULD ACT. Today she does shit like Julie and Julia instead of doing emotional drama like this again.

Go watch MTV, DUMBASS.

[tianobrothers]

agree totally

[mrman3810]

i do agree that meryl performance was very believable and i understand what she is saying but its still not right. you left billy and father had to take over a role that cost him a lot . i respect the father because there are some good daddy like this who go thru this all the time. i know that mom job is very hard but how about the dad job. we have to paid bills, put a roof over their head and protect the family. ted was a better parent than his wife.

[Drasuten]

This is so 1979. We all grew up like this. When I was 9, me and two others were the only pupils in my class with intact parent marriages. Rest of my classmates lived in single mother households or mom and her new boyfriend (referred to as a "plastic daddy").

Generally, it was the mothers who broke up from their husbands, putting personal fulfillment ahead of the family. In fact, not doing so was considered proof you were old fashioned and repressed as a woman, thus exerting pressure to break up.

[meavus6]

Meryl Streep blows my mind. amazing.

[wassermeister]

this movie is like a documental of my father first marriage, he even was a publicist too.

[patriciadu13011]

parrait-il que c'est un chef-d'hoeuvre .j'aurais temment voullu voir le film en français......je ne comprends pas l'anglais!!!quels dommageq!!!...patricia de marseille

[nognilk]

$31,000 is about $75,000 today.

That's why Dustin gave her a look at 1:20

[Gunnarsas]

@nognilk its more like $ 100,000. I would think so. In 1962 40 dollars were about 220 so I doubt inflation was that hight in just 17 years. 

[moviemaster02]

Apparently, she wrote her dialogue in this scene.

[adv7342]

"They didn't have an argument for her when she goes on the stand, they didn't know what her point of view should be. I said 'Are you kidding?' I knew I had the chance to come back at the end and explain who this terribly imploded person was."

-Meryl Streep The Making Of Kramer vs. Kramer

[bassmanUSSR]

The only woman I'd ever call cool.

[back2themusic]

I like Streep in The Deer Hunter

[Budaphly]

Dustin Hoffman was such a hottie in those days. Sucks that I was born after his young days.

[cindygaonaparis]

did you see rain man it includes dustin hoffman

and tom cruise they cutieeeeee

[ItBrandonSilver]

Yeah, I would have sucked his dick.

[caiodbs]

Damn she's hot here

[rosario508]

Three cheers for Ted Kramer's lawyer!!!!!

[alexahaller]

So sad, she was actually crying because of her husband who passed away and thats what the whole head noding gestures were about.

[mensahcarrelle]

John Cazale was her boyfriend,not her husband.

[alexahaller]

They were engaged....

[mensahcarrelle]

OK.

[Edhallick]

I`d strangle this freaking bitch. First she makes him go through all that hell, spending $15,000 to hire a lawyer which back then was about $42,000, then she forces him to take a job with 1/3rd less pay, then at the end she`s like "Oh forget it, I don`t want him" ARRRRGH!!! There is NOTHING sentimental at ALL about this stupid flick. It`s a about a freaking wacko bitch who needs a good kick in the ass!

[mrman3810]

ed i have to agree with you that she is a unstable mother who should never get her kid because i dont think she really wanted him and you are right fathers like this go thru hell all the time with wacko mothers like this who think they want their child but really they feel guilty and they are in denial about the fact that they are not really good mothers. A++ for your comment

[BestPicturesrock]

I like Dustin's speech better.

[Empyrean1986]

This performance by Streep is outstanding. With this script she really could have overblown her emotions very easily.

[ANewEarth07]

WOW!!!!!!!! What a performance!

[Onelegheathermills]

Aye....

[hazie28]

OMG!.. i got tears!!!!!!!... i cried on the last part...goodness!

SO EMOTIONAL!!!! no verbalize word needed, just her eyes, gestures and emotion!!!!!

GREAT ACTRESS!!!!!!!!!!

no wonder why she got an academy award in this movie!!!!!

*sniff*

[tianobrothers]

I think this scene simply illustrates why she is the greatest actress in the world and in my opinion, will ever be. I mean what actress could ever top this never-before-seen performance?

[hollyzone]

awesome!

[musley93]

Meryl the most beautiful and the best actress

[tianobrothers]

You are so right. She is the MOST beautiful and the BEST actress. I havent seen anyone act like she did here same thing with Holocoust. When I first saw her in Holocoust, I said to myself that this woman will be famous one day.

[ansoka3]

This is just so brilliant. I'm crying. Meryl is amazing. <3

[congaden]

she's amazing! all of her movies must have been awarded an oscar!lol!

MERYL IS THE BESTest!

[Jasmin0402]

she is a really good actress.I like her play.and she still looks very good for her age,you see that she doesn't use botox or somthing like that.

[molly94mj13]

she is sooo beautiful!!!!!!!!!

[hullabaloo0107]

SHE IS SO GREAT!

[MichaelMCurtis]

Divorce is hell on the children !!!

[anstcha]

bad marriage is much worse for kids than a divorce!

[Juliaflo]

@MichaelMCurtis I believe that life, itself, can be hell on children.

[angelgurl009]

if they remade this i think robert downey jr. would be a perfect ted kramer

[Mario54World]

I really hope they don't remake this.

[Juliaflo]

Same here, but it might make a pretty good stage play.

[ronnykmarshall]

Oh you mean Hilary Duff can't make a remake or Miley Syrius? God knows they might sign some dumb fucking bitch that those whores to play in a remake.

[pinkdog1992]

hanna montana should make a remake

[ericasundberg]

ew, and ruin a good movie?

[eddcort]

Why she? Roles should be played by actors

[Lv365]

"$31,000" a year! "It wasn't until I got to California, and into therapy, that I realized how much I missed my child" ! This movie was so made in the 70's.

But Lord, Meryl Streep is brilliant. Brilliant!

[ianclivewright]

That's when $31,000's a year was a lot of money.

[ohhllaallaa]

im using her for my drama exam. last assignment of a four year drama program and we have to become a prominent person in the arts.

im surprised no one else in my class wanted to use her. oh well. their loss :)

so, thank you for posting this, im using this as part of my exam.

[bakerandbaker]

How do I import this video into a powerpoint presentation?

[pinoyidol2006]

how about just save the link as a movie file and play it in the middle?

[christentze]

god, meryl's amazing. simply amazing.

[deshanax3]

ya know it is true who says that the mom gets the kid just cause she's a female? i mean, jeesh. i'm a woman too, but i never thought about that before and ya know it doesn't seems reasonable...

[TheInternet22]

It may not seem reasonable but it is true nonetheless.

[Tigerlily21]

if you guys watch the new documentary on this film there are a lot of interesting behind the scenes antidotes. The reason why Meryl is so raw here in this scene is because Dustin had whispered something in her ear before this scene about her boyfriend John Cazale who had just died before the film and he told Meryl to look over at him so that moment from 8:45 to 8:53 is a result of Dustin telling Meryl something about her late boyfriend.

[mattact86]

What is the documentary called?

[Mike6E]

She's such a great actress. And so pretty.

[strangeparallel]

is the whole movie posted somewhere?

[iolini7]

i love both this movie and meryl streep!!this video actually helped me with a project i did on divorce!thanks!

[kisshester]

gosh, wat an amazing actors. Meryl will always be my fav actress ever!

[flavorboy]

she left the baby/ faithful hubby and now fkn someone else and wants the baby back, what the fuk.

[flavorboy]

you want the kid or not..lol

[soccerheadJD]

She is so beautiful and talented! I love this movie.

[aaronhedberg]

She is fighting for custody by using an argument depicting basically how horrible divorce is for the kid, "He needs me!"

Holly crap that was intense!

[irkedd]

intense.

[ilcritico1983]

thanks from Italy..I adore this movie.Masterwork.

[hollywearsprada]

There's a reason this woman is thought of as the greatest actress of all time. This scene shows it. Phenomenal.

[empa1280]

Meryl Streep deeply and profoundly raised the bar of acting in this court scene. She is completely out of this world. Unbelievable acting and actress---not to mention her great great breathtaking beauty.

[babsjootsgene]

She also wrote this scene. Her entire dialouge, was written by her, in this particular part.

[empa1280]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I know, she wrote it herself. What an artist and performer. She is due for an Oscar for her latest "Doubt." I also hope you have seen her as a rabbi in Angels in America. Astounding.

[babsjootsgene]

I hope she gets nomintated for Doubt! That movie looks amazing! And yes, I have seen that. lol. I didn't even know it was her!

[WhichWitchisWhich44]

Doubt is AMAZING. I saw it last night and it blew me away! Meryl Streep is incredible in it.

[babsjootsgene]

Isn't it amazing?? I LOVE the ending! I don't like Amy Adams though, but everything else is sooo fantastic. ♥

[WhichWitchisWhich44]

Me too!! I went to see it again yesterday hahaha. I was actually suprised how well Amy Adams did next to all those great actors though! If I was in a movie with Meryl Streep I'd pee my pants! hahaha

[babsjootsgene]

Yea, she did hold up a good part against Meyl and Philip, even Viola Davis. I WANT to go see it again! LOL

[tianobrothers]

agree 100%

[charliedepp]

One of my favorites movies. Thanks for posting.

[kubrickbuff]

Both Dustin and Meryl are still the greatest american actors.

[nognilk]

hey, dustin hoffman is great too!

[jazzmanEE]

dustin hoffman..genius

[tianobrothers]

ok then

[matty8421]

I looooove her so much. She is the absolute best!!!!!

[oliviafm88]

is the whole movie on youtube?

[Keorode]

Thank much for the video!

[streepfan06]

my GOD!! She's incredible

[AbsurdRandomness2]

I agree! She's simply amazing!

[empa1280]

She is out of this world in this scene. Your reaction as shown in your comment is absolutely accurate.