Harold and Maude [1971 film]
by Hal Ashby (Director), Colin Higgins (Screenwriter)
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Description
A black comedy about a rich, disturbed, young man, fascinated with death and funerals, who has an affair and a series of adventures with an eccentric and independent 80-year-old woman.Tags
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Member Reviews
A morbid, rich teenager falls in love with a crazy old lady.
Re-watching it for the first time in several years, I started off annoyed at how self-absorbed Maude is (not annoyed that the character's written that way, mind you, but annoyed with Maude personally - the character's too entertaining to want her to be different). But as little hints of her life are dropped here and there, I came around to understanding her a little, and seeing the events of the film in a different perspective - as the conclusion to a long, tragic story.
Concept: C
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: A
GPA: 3.3/4
(Dec. 2011)
Re-watching it for the first time in several years, I started off annoyed at how self-absorbed Maude is (not annoyed that the character's written that way, mind you, but annoyed with Maude personally - the character's too entertaining to want her to be different). But as little hints of her life are dropped here and there, I came around to understanding her a little, and seeing the events of the film in a different perspective - as the conclusion to a long, tragic story.
Concept: C
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: A
Enjoyment: A
GPA: 3.3/4
(Dec. 2011)
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
Director: Hal Ashby
Writer: Colin Higgins
Stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort and Vivian Pickles
Director: Hal Ashby
Writer: Colin Higgins
Stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort and Vivian Pickles
Harold è un ventenne eccentrico e ossessionato da idee di suicidio. Durante un funerale instaura una bizzarra amicizia con Maude un'anziana signora piena di vita e desiderio di libertà. (fonte: Wikipedia)
May 2, 2020Italian
91 minutos
Aug 12, 2012Portuguese (Brazil)
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Published Reviews
It was the original cult film. A movie you had to show your girlfriend or boyfriend so they understood you. And it was the comedy Variety called “as much fun as a burning orphanage.” ... 50 years on, the touching, droll and subversive story of a troubled teenager, played by Bud Cort, who falls in love with a nearly 80-year old free spirit, played by Ruth Gordon, still feels fresh and show more funny. ... Released with almost no marketing on the same date “The Godfather” was supposed to premiere, “Harold and Maude” flopped spectacularly in its initial release. Yet over time, it slowly caught on as a repertory theater staple, becoming a ‘70s touchstone and finally recouping its budget several years later. show less
added by Lemeritus
The anti-authoritarian, flower-power spirit that Harold and Maude espoused had generally fallen out of favour by the time of its release. The deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin the year before had signalled the end of an era. The Summer of Love slumped into dusk, and the hippie energy it carried curdled into cynicism. Audiences and critics mostly reacted to the film with revulsion. In one show more of the most famously scathing reviews Harold and Maude received, Variety wrote that the film was about "as funny as a burning orphanage". It wasn't long before Harold and Maude would enjoy its cult revival, however, thanks to college campuses across the US, which screened late-night viewings of the film. Perhaps it was the film's Nietzschean spirit and its call to live deliberately, thoroughly, exuberantly that appealed to the stoned and listless liberal arts students of the '70s, or perhaps it was its satire of the American bourgeoisie and all its institutions – religion, psychology, the family, the military. show less
added by Lemeritus
...what we get, finally, is a movie of attitudes. Harold is death, Maude life, and they manage to make the two seem so similar that life's hardly worth the extra bother. The visual style makes everyone look fresh from the Wax Museum, and all the movie lacks is a lot of day-old gardenias and lilies and roses in the lobby, filling the place with a cloying sweet smell. Nothing more to report show more today. Harold doesn't even make pallbearer. show less
added by Lemeritus
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Harold and Maude [1971 film]
- Original title
- Harold and Maude
- Original publication date
- 1971-12-20
- People/Characters
- Maude Chardin; Harold Chasen
- Important places
- San Francisco, California, USA; California, USA
- Related movies
- Harold and Maude (1971 | IMDb)
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 791.4372
- Canonical LCC
- PN1995.9.C55
- Disambiguation notice
- This version is the film directed by Hal Ashby.
Classifications
- DDC/MDS
- 791.4372 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Public performances Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Motion pictures Films; screenplays Single films
- LCC
- PN1995.9 .C55 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Drama Motion pictures
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 277
- Popularity
- 116,990
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.95)
- Languages
- English, German, Multiple languages, Turkish
- ISBNs
- 17
- UPCs
- 8
- ASINs
- 17
