Other Titles • Harold and Maude • Harold und Maude (1974)
Synopses for Harold and Maude (1971)
1.
Black comedies don't come much blacker than this cult favorite from 1972, and they don't come much funnier, either. It seemed that director Hal Ashby was the perfect choice to mine a mother lode of eccentricity from the original script by Colin Higgins, about the unlikely romance between a death-obsessed 19-year-old named Harold (Bud Cort) and a life-loving 79-year-old widow named Maude (Ruth Gordon). They meet at a funeral, and Maude finds something oddly appealing about Harold, urging him to "reach out" and grab life by the lapels as opposed to dwelling morbidly on mortality. Harold grows fond of the old gal--she's a lot more fun than the girls his mother desperately matches him up with--and together they make Harold & Maude one of the sweetest and most unconventional love stories ever made. Much of the earlier humor arises from Harold's outrageous suicide fantasies, played out as a kind of twisted parlor game to mortify his mother, who's grown immune to her strange son's antics. Gradually, however, the film's clever humor shifts to a brighter outlook and finally arrives at a point where Harold is truly happy to be alive. Featuring soundtrack songs by Cat Stevens, this comedy certainly won't appeal to all tastes (it was a box-office flop when first released), but if you're on its quirky wavelength, it might just strike you as one of the funniest movies you've ever seen. --Jeff Shannon
2.
In the long ago days before video, when access to anything but first-run Hollywood movies was limited to repertory houses and college film societies, Hal Ashby’s HAROLD AND MAUDE, while not what one would call an underground film, achieved cult status and became one of the most popular American films of its time. It is, interestingly, a very simple story. He’s shy and morose; she’s spunky and full of life. The film is a clichéd love story about how opposites attract, except that he’s 19 and she’s 79. Harold, played with deadpan humor by Bud Cort, is under extreme pressure from his overbearing mother, Mrs. Chasen (Vivian Pickles, in a performance that is a sheer delight) to enter the dating world in hopes of marriage, but he would rather spend his time going to funerals, which is where he meets Maude (Ruth Gordon). She feels he needs to come out of his shell and enjoy life, so she includes him in hers, which is one long, unending series of lunatic adventures ranging from saving trees, to grand theft auto. Their love affair celebrated the spirit of an experimental generation guided by the mantra "If it feels good, do it." The soundtrack, with songs and lyrics by Cat Stevens, provides an effective thematic bridge as Harold crosses from extended adolescence to manhood.
3.
A classic cult film that features one of the screen's most unlikely pairs. It will defy everything you've ever seen or known about screen lovers. Bud Cort is Harold, a young man bored with wealth but interested in death. And Ruth Gordon is Maude, a wonderful old rascal who can see nothing but good intentions in the world. Hal Ashby (Coming Home, Being There) directed from Colin Higgin's (Foul Play) first script. An outrageously funny and affecting film that proves love has no boundaries. Cat Stevens provides an uplifting musical score.
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
<>
Movie Database
In Theaters
