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Long before there were literate emo boys scuffling around gazing at their shoes preoccupied with death, there was Harold Parker Chasen (Bud Cort). The well-heeled boarding school type, Harold is obsessed with death (or is it just a lack of attention from which he suffers?) and constantly fakes his own death in front of his mother who seems more concerned with marrying off her son than his unstable emotional state. Enter Maude (Ruth Gordon). Harold discovers the spunky septuagenarian at an anonymous funeral and becomes enamored with her joie de vivre. What ensues is a squeamish but life-affirming dark romantic comedy that enlivens Harold just as Maude approaches her death.
In 1971, auteur Hal Ashby (The Last Detail, Coming Home, Shampoo, Being There) made a pretty bold cinematic move when he directed the film Harold and Maude. It may seem tame or silly now, but 35 years ago, writing a love story between a 79 year-old woman and twenty year-old boy was relatively unheard of. And we can only imagine what Ashby's Mormon family must have thought of the story. His hilarious dark comedy sent shockwaves across the country and has remained a divisive piece in American cinematic history, with many critics believing the film should be placed in the top 50 comedies of all time with others feeling that the sophomoric humor surrounding death and the feasibility of the romance lacks.
Have you seen it? What do you think?
Harold and Maude screens at the Alamo downtown Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Harold and Maude
Alamo Drafthouse
Tuesday and Wednesday @ 9:45pm
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I first saw this in an existential philosophy class a few years ago, and I have to say this is somewhere on my list of favorite movies.
BTW, that AFI link is a list of "the top 100 most inspiring films", not comedies.
Here's the IMDB page.
oops, had my links switched up. i have re-linked. thanks. it places 88 on most inspiraitonal list and 42 on funniest
Interesting factoid and Texas link is the fact that the late great John Alonzo was the cinematographer on "Harold & Maude." You can see this wonderful gentleman's full credits here: http://imdb.com/name/nm0002166/.
He was an immensely charming man who started out sweeping the floors at a San Antonio news station and was a natural with a camera. I had the immense pleasure of working with him on a commercial set for a local cable company's spot in Denver, Colorado, a few years ago.
one of my first-graders looks a lot like bud cort. although i'm only 19 years older than the kid, this movie still inspired me to be a little freaked out when he gave me a big, crotch-hiegth hug a couple weeks ago.