Plot: What’s it about?
The following “plot” was taken from our original review of the DVD by Eric “Zork” Alan. Zork is a poet and a fan of film. I felt it did justice to the film to leave his rather unique approach to this film intact. Enjoy!
Do you sing and dance?
That is the question.
If you can make it through the movie without being put off my its low production values and very odd story then the answer is predetermined.
If you watch it once, watch it twice. That will make certain you watch it three times.
Between the 2nd and 3rd viewings makes sure you have $30 of available funds. You will shortly be surfing off to Amazon.com or driving off to the local CD superstore to buy a few Cat Steven’s albums.
And, of course, you will have to rent “Rosemary’s Baby” to do a double take at the differences of Ruth Gordon’s characters.
Yes, “Harold in Maude”, is more than a movie. This review is 100% biased. I am a lemming sucked in to its cult philosophy.
I now sing & dance.
But let’s backtrack to the actual movie.
Genre: Love Story
Plot: not much at all
Music: Cat Stevens and more and more Cat Stevens.
Harold and Maude is the VERY quirky love story between a rich 21 year old who takes GREAT fun in faking suicides for his mother’s “benefit” and an 79 year old lower class Maude.
Let’s establish Harold’s life before he meets Maude from an opening scene:
Harold swings…apparently dead…from a rope in a huge luxurious living room. Mother comes in and takes a casual look…picks up the phone and talks for a few seconds to a friend about diner plans. She hangs up the phone…turns to the swinging [and still apparently dead Harold] and say VERY drolly, “Diner at eight Harold. And this time do try to be just a little bit more vivacious.”
Later his mother says to Harold: “Harold, you have led a very carefree idle HAPPY life till now…but it’s time to put away childish things and take on more ADULT responsibilities…in short, Harold, I have decied it is time that you got married!”
If you are as smart as I know you are I am sure you noticed the clever contrast of HAPPY & Marriage in this sentence.
Harold does eventually want to get married…but trust me his mother, priest and militant uncle will NOT like the idea of him marrying an 80 year old crazy women.
Maude: She lives in a trailer and frequently snorts from bottles of canned odors like “snowfall in NY”. She steals cars whenever she needs a ride [“I just try to remind people that they should never get too atatched to material things”] and she models in the nude for ice sculptures.
Harold: “Do you always model in the nude”
Maude: “Glaucus [the artist] occasionally needs to be reminded to the contours of the female form”
Maude is 80 years old, economically poor, emotionally rich and obsessed with life. Harold is 18, economically rich, emotionally barren and obsessed with death.
This is a perfect match.
It is not much of a mystery that this film is all a metaphor and a philosophical preaching sermon. While Travolta & Kirstie Ally may need L. Ron Hubbard to inspire their lives…I just need this movie.
Video: How does it look?
t’s been a while since I’ve seen this film and if memory serves, it’s only been available on standard DVD from Paramount that came out in the late 90’s. If ever there was a movie due for the royal treatment, it’s this one. Criterion has issued Harold & Maude with a brand new 1.85:1 AVC HD transfer. The image looks shockingly good despite the film being nearly forty years old. As was the case with some of these early 70’s films, the color palette used is very muted, with warm and earthy tones prevailing. The level of detail has been improved considerably in that the image looks sharp, but nothing “too” sharp that gives it an unnatural look and feel. Contrast is a tad bit off, but I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt as Criterion has set the bar so high in the past. On the whole, it’s a very nice-looking transfer to one of our more avant garde classics.
Audio: How does it sound?
In the days of DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD soundtracks, it’s a refreshing change of pace to have a movie where your only options are LPCM mono and LPCM stereo. I went with the stereo track at first, but found the 1.0 mix a bit more suitable. As anyone whose seen this film can attest, Cat Stevens’ songs dominate the film and while not emanating from all channels, they sounded rich and crisp. Vocals are very clear and clean, nothing too much to mess up when you’re only working with one channel. Overall, this is a pretty clear mix that doesn’t try to be something it’s not. Just like the film itself.
Supplements: What are the extras?
If memory serves, Paramount’s DVD featured a trailer only. The wait was worth it as Criterion has given this film a bevy of features starting off with “Hal Ashby.” This is a collection of audio excerpts from the American Film Institute master seminar. Director Ashby discusses his lifelong career, what brought him to the film and the relations between the actors. “Colin Higgins” is another collection of audio excerpts from 1979 (Ashby’s were from 1972) as writer/producer Higgins how the film came to be and discusses a few scenes from the movie. “Yusuf/Cat Stevens” is a video interview with the infamous musician and his contribution to the film. This is a new interview recorded especially for this film in 2011. There is an audio commentary for the film by Nick Dawson, the author of “Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel” as well as producer Charles B. Mulvehill. It’s an interesting track and the duo have more than enough information and insight on the film to make it worth a listen. There’s also an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Matt Zoller Seitz, a profile of Ruth Gordon by the New York Times and two interviews: one with Bud Cort and one with producer Mildred Lewis.
