Harold & Maude Movie Poll Discussion

Okay, gang of thieves! Time to discuss HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971).



"Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral."

I'm halfway through rewatching this right now (lots of family in town for Thanksgiving!), and I am very pleased at how well the quirky humor is holding up. BUD CORT as Harold underacts superbly, especially next to RUTH GORDON's Maude, a flamboyant, vibrant nearly-80 woman who comes into Harold's life at just the right time.

So much of the stuff played for laughs in this movie is in almost bad taste that I delighted in watching it again. Granted, some of it is just silly ("He was MacArthur's right-hand man," his mother says, and we see his uncle in the next scene--in uniform, with his entire right arm missing). But somehow, it works even on that obvious level.

I'll let someone else start the digging into the psyche of Harold or the outrageously impossible and yet somehow believable relationship between Harold and Maude....

So gang, how are you liking this movie?

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this was one of my husband's favorite films (that and the wonderful cat stevens' score)

i loved this film and the chemistry between ruth gordon as maude to bud cort's harold fit perfectly...the suicide scenes are all done with good taste and the two leads are a pleasure to watch...

my favorite scene involves a small tree

I saw this movie last summer and wondered what all the fuss was about. Bud Cort was the best thing about this movie, but for my money Brewster McCloud is a far better early seventies Bud Cort movie, that covers similar territory. Of course there's the fact that Ruth Gordon can't hold a candle to Shelley Duvall and Sally Kellerman (an admitedly unfair comparrison), but beyond that I found Maude to be a bit of a Churl.

shelley duvall is good in her own right...she was born to play olive oyl in popeye...

brewster mccloud took a little getting used to....

but we are getting off track here

I am still waiting for my copy to arrive

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

That's okay. I've had family in town all weekend and I've only had time to watch the first half of the movie. Maybe tonight or tomorrow I'll finish it up! But, I wanted to start the thread around when I said I would. If we're not quite ready, that's okay too. Busy weekend for all the Americans, I'm sure.

My favorite part is when the poontang-obsessed Doogie Howser steals Harold and Maude's car. I thought they'd never get to White Castle.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

I like this movie. The first fake suicide scene is disturbing, but once you realise they are all fake it is funny in a black comedy kind of way. I liked the ending, it was a bit of a shock - like Harold, you forget about Maude's idea that 80 is a good age to die.

Prototype Goth falls in love with Geri Halliwell....

Harold & Maude is the perfect film for a cold November evening with the wind whistling round your oxters. Glass of wine, big cigar, warm fire and a bigger, warmer smile on my face.

Incidentally, I can vaguely remember a company that specialised in chopping up Jaguar XJS's and turning them into hatchbacks. I wonder if they got the inspiration from Harlod's hearsified E-Type?

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Borrowed a copy of the DVD from a friend who adores the film. I had seen it before, and enjoyed it again. I love both players in the film, and think Ruth Gordon is wonderful as Maude. I love all the false suicides (especially the immolation), and the final scene is heart-warming.

I am not a Cat Stevens fan, so the music annoyed at times, but, then again, it goes well with the vibe of the film, so I can deal. Still, this is a great film to pull out and watch whenever you need a little dark humor. I think I will add it to my collection soon.

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The first time I saw this, it creeped me out completely. The age difference... I felt like the nauseated priest talking about "withered buttocks".

Then I gave it a rewatch and got the point.
This was at least the 5th time I've watched the film and I caught several silly/subtle things for the first time. There are a ton of scenes that I just love. The one where Ruth Gordon is dancing around and singing "If you want to sing out" made me cry this time - she's so freaking adorable.

Bud Cort is perfect. My favorite moment of his is when he scares off the first of the computer dating girls. He does this look to us and you can see in his face all the evil fun dawning as he realises the opportunities ahead. It makes me giggle just thinking about it.

Having got past the initial "ew" factor of the 62 year age gap, I really love their relationship. It's not about lust, except for life. They're at opposite ends of life and far ends of the spectrum of appreciating it. They're each the perfect compliment to the other, and they save each other from the misery of lonliness. It's deep stuff, but lightly presented, up til the end.

And I think Ruth Gordon was a brilliant Maude. To this role, she brought the bold creative energy of a successful writing career (Adam's Rib, Pat and Mike) in Hollywood - a man's game in those days, and a career that already spanned 56 years. I found a pic of her with Humphrey Bogart that looks like it's from right after the Earth cooled. She's fun and bright, and can still pull off amazingly somber notes when needed. You can see the fullness of Gordon's life in Maude.

The best thing about Harold and Maude, to me, is that I can't watch it without feeling really good after.

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Review: Cabin in the Woods 8/10

I LOVE THIS MOVIE! It is so funny, and offbeat, and the music is wonderful. That last scene, with Harold walking away with the banjo and "If You Wanna Sing Out, Sing Out" is one of the happiest moments in cinema, as far as I'm concerned.

Really funny movie. Haven't seen it in 2 or 3 years. First saw it maybe a decade ago.

Ugh! Ruth Gordon wrote 'Adam's Rib'? Ugh! The 62 year age difference in H&M I can handle, but most of those Hepburn/Tracy vehicles really make me nauseous, that one only marginally less so than 'Woman of the Year'.

Eh? They were only 7 years apart. (Were you talking about their age difference, or just the films?)

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

See my comment in "Films I Hate" or whatever the thread title is.

Ok, you hate Hepburn/Tracy earnestness and i want to see The Tulse Luper Suitcases series?

You should definitely see Tulse Luper Suitcases, it's one of the most insanely layered films I've seen, difficult to penetrate but easy to enjoy (like Prospero's -and Pillow- Books). Oh yeah, nothing like a nice friday night of dragging threads off topic.

Well, to get back on topic ... Tell me true: The first time you saw this movie, did you believe the two of them getting together? Did any of us see this in a theater setting? Sadly, I did not ... because I would bet a dollar that an audience reaction was something like a collective: "Ewww."

I'm not sure what my unmitigated response would have been. The shock is what much of the movie's reputation is based on, which certainly weakened the effect for me. I honestly think Maude's caustic indifference to authority (hey lets go be jerks to cops for fun!) was more controvercial than the sexual mores, but only marginally. I do give some points to H&M for giving a genuinely alternative relationship (the same type of points I might give to the rare porno that talks the talk of women's liberation etc., without then pulling the rug out from under itself by providing a bunch of lame excuses for fellatio). On a gut level, yeah, you won't see me banging any 80 year olds, so I guess that just makes me a plastic fantastic square-head crewcut honkey dude.