65. Harold and Maude (1971)

Show Notes

Harold and Maude is a 1971 American coming-of-age black comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot revolves around the exploits of a young man named Harold Chasen (Bud Cort) who is intrigued with death. Harold drifts away from the life that his detached mother (Vivian Pickles) prescribes for him, and slowly develops a strong friendship, and eventually a romantic relationship, with a 79-year-old woman named Maude (Ruth Gordon) who teaches Harold about living life to its fullest and that life is the most precious gift of all.

The film was based on a screenplay written by Colin Higgins and published as a novel in 1971. Filming locations in the San Francisco Bay Area included both Holy Cross Cemetery and Golden Gate National Cemetery, and the ruins of the Sutro Baths.

Critically and commercially unsuccessful when originally released, the film developed a cult following and in 1983 began making a profit.[1][2] The film is ranked number 45 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Funniest Movies of all Time and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1997, for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".[3] The Criterion Collection special-edition Blu-ray and DVD were released June 12, 2012.[4]

EPISODE NOTES:

(1:00) My guest Becca Faulkner covers her British childhood in the 80's, and her work at an independent cinema in Leeds in the early 90's, where she first encountered 'Harold and Maude', (8:00) British youth fashions then and now, (9:00) seeing movies by yourself, (9:30) Cat Stevens 'Don't Be Shy' and intro credits to 'Harold and Maude', (10:30) Colin Higgins and the origins of the screenplay for 'Harold and Maude', (12:00) black comedy and 'Harold and Maude' and 'The Graduate' from 1967, (14:00) the scene where Harold meets Maude, (18:00) browsing in video stores in the 80's and 90's, (19:00) Jack Black in 'High Fidelity', 'Harold and Maude' and timelessness, (20:00) Roger Ebert's negative review of 'Harold and Maude', (21:00) 'Rushmore' as descendant of 'Harold and Maude',  but would it pass the "Teenager Litmus Test'?, (25:00) why did 'Harold and Maude' flop upon release and why has it become an iconic film since release?, (27:00) other 1971 film releases, including 'Klute', 'The French Connection', (31:00) revisiting the beloved films of our youth through the eyes of our children and note: don't do that or suffer what Becca has with showing her teens 'Ghostbusters' and 'Footloose', (33:00) insane and overwrought clip from 'Footloose' with incredible guitar riff, (34:00) clip of Liza Minelli singing 'Life Is A Cabaret' from 'Cabaret' with her usual subtlety and aplomb, (35:00) the love story between Harold and Maude compared to 'Amour', (36:00) Bud Cort in 'Harold and Maude', (37:00) Alternative Casting with Richard Dreyfuss, Bob Balaban,  John Savage, and Elton John, (40:00) Bud Cort's excellent, uncredited cameo in Michael Mann's 'Heat', (42:00) Bud Cort's suicide origins speech from 'Harold and Maude', (49:00)Vivian Pickles' questionnaire scene, (52:00) Becs drinks water, (55:00) Cat Stevens on the use of his music in 'Harold and Maude' and the 'Miles From Nowhere' scene,