Harold and Maude (1971) – The young Harold lives in his own world of suicide-attempts and funeral visits to avoid the misery of his current family and home environment. Harold meets an 80-year-old woman named Maude who also lives in her own world yet one in which she is having the time of her life. When the two opposites meet they realize that their differences don’t matter and they become best friends and love each other.
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American black comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby and written by Colin Higgins. The film stars Bud Cort as Harold Chasen, a 20-year-old bored, suicidal young man obsessed with death, and Ruth Gordon as Maude Lebowski, a 79-year-old free-spirited woman who loves life. The film explores themes of life, death, and love through the unlikely relationship between Harold and Maude.
Director:Â Hal Ashby (The Last Detail, Shampoo, Being There)
Writer:Â Colin Higgins (The Big Chill, Silver Streak)
Release Date:Â July 10, 1971
Domestic Box Office:Â $2.2 million
Top 5 Cast:
- Bud Cort (The Last Detail, Fat City, The Muppet Movie)
- Ruth Gordon (Rosemary’s Baby, Harold and Maude, Everybody Loves Raymond)
- Vivian Pickles (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls, Desperate Housewives)
- Charles Grodin (Heaven Can Wait, The Heartbreak Kid, Midnight Run)
- Eric Christmas (The Sting, The Muppet Movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol)
Critical Reviews:
- Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four, calling it “a funny, beautiful and moving film.”
- Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film “a delightful and original comedy.”
- Pauline Kael of The New Yorker called the film “a witty and touching film.”
- Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader called the film “a masterpiece.”
- David Thomson of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film called the film “one of the most important films of the 20th century.”
Cinematic Importance:Â Harold and Maude (1971) is considered a cult classic. It was a box office disappointment upon its release, but it has since gained a large following and is now considered one of the most important films of the 1970s. The film has been praised for its humor, its originality, and its message of hope. It has also been cited as an influence by many other filmmakers, including Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, and Noah Baumbach. Harold and Maude is a unique and unforgettable film that will stay with you long after you have seen it. It is a film that is both funny and moving, and it is a film that will make you think about life, death, and love in a new way.
This is part of the Top 25 Movies 1970 to Today Series.
Read How Movies Changed in the 1970s to understand why we made this list.
To see a full list of the movies, click here.
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