#608: ASHBY, Hal: Harold And Maude (1971)

ASHBY, Hal (United States)
Harold And Maude [1971]
Spine #608
Blu-ray


With the idiosyncratic American fable Harold and Maude, countercultural director Hal Ashby fashioned what would become one of cinema's most beloved comedies. Working from a script by Colin Higgins, Ashby tells the story of the emotional and romantic bond between a death-obsessed young man from a wealthy family (Bud Cort) and a devil-may-care bohemian sixty years his senior (Ruth Gordon). Equal parts gallows humor and beguiling sincerity, Harold and Maude dissolves the line between darkness and light — along with those that separate people by class, gender, and age — and features indelible performances and a remarkable soundtrack by Cat Stevens.

91 minutes
Color
Monaural
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2012
Director/Writers

Written by Colin Higgins.
Hal Ashby was 42 when he directed Harold and Maude.

Other Ashby films in the Collection:

#947: Shampoo (1975)
#864: Being There (1979)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Forty-page booklet featuring an essay by film critic Matt Zoller Seitz; a 1971 New York Times profile of star Gordon; and two excerpted interviews, one from 1997 with star Cort and cinematographer John Alonzo and one from 2001 with executive producer Mildred Lewis.

Commentary

By Ashby biographer Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill.

Illustrated audio excerpts

From seminars by Ashby and writer-producer Higgins.

Interview

With songwriter Yusuf/Cat Stevens.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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