Robert Benton’s Kramer vs Kramer makes its 4K debut as part of Sony’s Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4.
The Production: 4/5
Workaholic ad copy writer Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) arrives home late one evening to find that his wife of eight years, Joanna (Meryl Streep) is leaving him and their 7-year old son Billy (Justin Henry), with no reason other then she has been unhappy, handing Ted her keys to their apartment and her credit cards, then vanishes without a trace. Ted then struggles to find a balance between taking care of his son and his career, with some help from recently divorced single mother and neighbor Margaret (Jane Alexander). Although the title of the film and the trailers would have one believe this is a court room drama centering on a custody battle for Billy, the heart of the film is Ted’s struggles to becoming a single parent while trying to keep his job, while the actual custody battle doesn’t occur until the third act.
Kramer vs Kramer is a definite product of its time, the end of 1970s cinema. It paints how courts perceived women during that time, typically granting custody to the mother in the majority of the cases, and Hoffman’s Ted makes a point about that while on the stand. There is also lots of cigarette smoking in the workplace, which I had forgotten was once allowed, even while I was just entering the workplace in the mid 1980s. The film went on to win 5 Academy Awards (it was nominated for 9), including Best Actor to Dustin Hoffman, Best Actress to Meryl Streep, Best Director and Best Screenplay to Robert Benton, and Best Picture. Nearly nine years old at the time, Justin Henry was the youngest actor to receive an Oscar nomination, in this case a supporting role.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
Per the restoration notes by Grover Crisp included in the collectable book, the original picture negative was wet gate scanned in 4K with additional digital image restoration and color grading to create a new 4K DCP (Digital Cinema Print). Sony’s 2160p HEVC encode also includes both Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range. Colors are naturally strong, appearing bold and vivid but never oversaturated. Fine details are excellent, from skin pores to fabric textures. Contrast is exceptional, allowing for deep blacks with strong shadow details and bright highlights that don’t clip. Film grain is organic and never distracting. This is possibly the best Kramer vs Kramer will look. Unfortunately, Sony has not included a remastered Blu-ray, and instead has recycled the 2009 release.
Audio: 4.5/5
Kramer vs Kramer makes its 4K debut with a new Dolby Atmos mix that expands on the 5.1 mix created back in 2004 (and available on this disc with some additional cleanup and tweaks in DTS-HD MA). While for the most part the mix remains faithful to the original theatrical mono mix (also available on the disc in DTS-HD MA 2.0) by focusing more on the front speakers but giving them more room to breathe. Surrounds and heights are used tastefully, adding some discrete ambient and acoustical effects such as traffic, bird songs etc. The courtroom scenes, though, are a little overdone with trying to recreate the acoustics of the room, with the echoes sometimes drowning out the dialogue. Otherwise, dialogue is clear and understandable.
Special Features: 3/5
UHD Disc
Audio Commentary with Film Professor Jennine Lanouette: Lanouette teaches script analysis and screenwriting through her company, Screentakes Digital Publishing, and provides some nice analysis of the film.
Deleted Scenes (upscaled 1080p; 6:21): Five scenes have been included in black and white with subtitles to replace missing dialogue.
Featurettes (upscaled 1080p; 10:56): Four excerpts from what appears to have been recorded as part of a press screening for the original Blu-ray release – Robert Benton on Acting, Justin Henry on Acting, Mothers and Daughters and Points of Pride.
Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:39)
Blu-ray Disc (2009 Blu-ray release)
Making of “Kramer vs Kramer” (480i; 48:44)
Digital Copy: A Movies Anywhere code is included for all six films in the boxed set.
Overall: 4.5/5
Although currently only available on UHD disc in the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 4 boxed set, Kramer vs Kramer has never looked or sounded better.
Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4 …
33% Off $215.99 $139.95
Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
Post Disclaimer
Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.
Similar threads