Editing Harold and Maude

{{Short description|1971 film by Hal Ashby}}
{{Distinguish|Maude (TV series)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Harold and Maude
| image          = Harold and Maude (1971 film) poster.jpg
| alt            = Drawing of Harold holding various deadly items (left) and Maude on the right
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Hal Ashby]]
| writer         = [[Colin Higgins]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* Colin Higgins
* Charles B. Mulvehill
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Ruth Gordon]]
* [[Bud Cort]]
* [[Vivian Pickles]]
* [[Cyril Cusack]]
* [[Charles Tyner]]
* [[Ellen Geer]]
}}
| cinematography = [[John A. Alonzo|John Alonzo]]
| editing        = {{Plainlist|
* William A. Sawyer
* Edward Warschilka
}}
| music          = [[Cat Stevens]]
| studio         = Mildred Lewis and Colin Higgins Productions
| distributor    = [[Paramount Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1971|12|20|United States}}
| runtime        = 91 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $1.2 million ({{estimation}})<ref name="times">{{cite news|title=After 12 Years, a Profit For 'Harold and Maude'|first=Aljean |last=Harmetz |author-link=Aljean Harmetz |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=8 August 1983 |page=C14 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/08/movies/after-12-years-a-profit-for-harold-and-maude.html |access-date=14 December 2023}}</ref>
| gross          = 
}}
'''''Harold and Maude''''' is a 1971 American [[Romance film|romantic]] [[Black comedy|black]] [[comedy-drama]] film directed by [[Hal Ashby]] and released by [[Paramount Pictures]]. It incorporates elements of dark humor and [[existentialist]] drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chasen ([[Bud Cort]]), a young man who is intrigued with death, and who rejects the life his detached mother ([[Vivian Pickles]]) prescribes for him. Harold develops a friendship, and eventual romantic relationship, with 79-year-old Maude ([[Ruth Gordon]]) who teaches Harold about the importance of living life to its fullest.

The screenplay by [[Colin Higgins]] began as his master's thesis for film school. Filming took place in and around San Francisco and [[San Mateo, California]], with locations including both [[Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California)|Holy Cross Cemetery]] and [[Golden Gate National Cemetery]], the ruins of the [[Sutro Baths]], [[Mori Point]], and Rosecourt Mansion in [[Hillsborough, California]].

Critically and commercially unsuccessful when first released, the film eventually developed a [[cult following]], and first made a profit in 1983.<ref name="times"/>{{sfn|Peary|1981|p=136}} The film was selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]] in 1997, and was ranked number 45 on the [[American Film Institute]] list of [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs|100 funniest films of all time]] in 2000. [[The Criterion Collection]] released a special-edition Blu-ray and DVD in 2012.<ref name="Criterion"/>

==Plot==
Harold Chasen is a young man [[Fascination with death|obsessed with death]]. He stages elaborate [[Faked death|fake suicides]], attends funerals (usually for people that he does not know), and drives a [[hearse]], all to the chagrin of his self-obsessed, wealthy socialite mother. His mother sends Harold to a [[psychoanalyst]], sets him up with blind dates, and buys him a [[luxury car]], all schemes he subverts in his own way.

Harold meets 79-year-old Maude one day while at a random stranger's [[Requiem|funeral Mass]], and discovers that they share a hobby. Harold is entranced by Maude's quirky outlook on life, which is bright and delightfully carefree in contrast to his morbid demeanor. Maude lives in a decommissioned [[railroad car]] and thinks nothing of breaking the law; she is quite skilled at [[Motor vehicle theft|stealing cars]] and will swiftly uproot an ailing tree in a city sidewalk to replant it in the forest. She and Harold form a bond and Maude shows Harold the pleasures of art and music (including how to play the [[banjo]]), and teaches him how to make "the most of his time on earth."

Meanwhile, Harold's mother is determined, against Harold's wishes, to [[Arranged marriage|find him a wife]]. One by one, Harold frightens and horrifies each of his appointed [[Computer dating|computer dates]], by appearing to commit gruesome acts, including [[self-immolation]], [[self-mutilation]], and ''[[seppuku]]''. His mother attempts to enlist him in the military by sending Harold to his uncle, who lost an arm serving under [[General MacArthur]] in [[World War II]], but Harold deters the recruitment by staging a scene where Maude poses as a [[Pacifism|pacifist protester]] and Harold seemingly murders her out of militarist [[fanaticism]].

As Harold and Maude grow closer, their friendship blossoms into a romance. Holding her hand, Harold discovers a number tattooed on her forearm, indicating Maude survived the [[Nazi death camp]]s. Harold announces that he will marry Maude, resulting in disgusted outbursts from his family, analyst, and priest. Unbeknownst to Harold, Maude has been planning to end her own life on her 80th birthday. Maude's birthday arrives, and Harold throws a surprise party for her. As the pair dance, Maude tells Harold that she "couldn't imagine a lovelier farewell." When Maude reveals that she has taken an [[overdose]] of [[Hypnotic|sleeping pills]] and will be dead by midnight, Harold rushes Maude to the hospital. However, she succumbs to the pill overdose. Devastated after learning of Maude's death, Harold speeds down a country road and sends his car off a seaside cliff, appearing to have died by suicide. Following the crash, Harold is revealed to be standing calmly atop the cliff, holding his banjo. After gazing down at the wreckage, he plucks the banjo strings and dances away to "[[If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out]]".

==Cast==
* [[Ruth Gordon]] as Dame Marjorie "Maude" Chardin, a 79-year-old free spirit. Maude believes in living each day to the fullest, and "trying something new every day". Her view of life is so joyful that, true to the film's motif, it crosses a blurred, shifting line into a carefree attitude toward death as well. Little is known of her past, though it is revealed that in her youth, she was a radical [[suffragette]] who fought off police constables with her umbrella, was once married, lived in pre-war Vienna, and has a [[Identification of inmates in Nazi concentration camps|Nazi concentration camp tattoo]] on her arm.
* [[Bud Cort]] as Harold Parker Chasen, a young man who is obsessed with death. He drives a hearse, attends funerals of strangers and stages elaborate fake suicides. Through meeting and falling in love with Maude, he discovers joy in living for the first time.
* [[Vivian Pickles]] as Mrs. Chasen, Harold's opulently wealthy mother, is controlling, snooty and seemingly incapable of affection. Hoping to force him into respectability, Mrs. Chasen replaces Harold's beloved hearse with a [[Jaguar E-Type|Jaguar]] (which he then converts to a miniature hearse), and sets up several blind dates (more accurately, "bride interviews") for her son.
* [[Cyril Cusack]] as Glaucus, the sculptor who makes an ice statue of Maude and lends them his tools to transport a tree
* [[Charles Tyner]] as General Victor Ball, Harold's uncle who lost an arm in the war and now pulls a hidden cord to make his wire prosthetic "salute". At Mrs. Chasen's request, he attempts to prepare Harold to join the armed forces. The effort is thwarted by a planned stunt in which Harold appears to "kill" Maude.
* [[Ellen Geer]] as Sunshine Doré, Harold's third blind date who performs an impromptu rendition of [[Juliet]]'s death scene after his mock suicide
* [[Eric Christmas]] as the priest
* [[G. Wood]] as Harold's psychiatrist
* Judy Engles as Candy Gulf, Harold's first blind date, alarmed when he apparently sets himself on fire
* Shari Summers as Edith Phern, Harold's second blind date, astonished when he apparently cuts off his own hand
* [[Tom Skerritt]] (credited as "M. Borman") as the motorcycle officer who twice stops Maude and Harold, ultimately losing his ride to the pair.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/tom-skerritt-tells-us-the-funniest-thing-he-ever-witnes-1835097540|title=Tom Skerritt tells us the funniest thing he ever witnessed on the ''Alien'' set|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|first=Gwen|last=Ihnat|date=11 June 2019}}</ref>

Director [[Hal Ashby]] appears in an uncredited cameo, seen at a [[penny arcade]] watching a model train at the [[Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk]].

==Production==
[[UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television#Department of Film, Television and Digital Media|UCLA film school]] student Colin Higgins wrote ''Harold and Maude'' as his master's thesis. While working as producer Edward Lewis's pool boy, Higgins showed the script to Lewis's wife, Mildred. Mildred was so impressed that she got Edward to give it to [[Stanley R. Jaffe|Stanley Jaffe]] at Paramount. Higgins sold the script with the understanding that he would direct the film, but he was told he was not ready after tests he shot proved unsatisfactory to the studio heads. Ashby said that he would only commit to directing the film after getting Higgins' blessing, and took Higgins on as a co-producer so he could watch and learn from him on the set.{{sfn|Dawson|2009|pp=120–121}} Higgins says he originally thought of the story as a play. It then became a 20-minute thesis while at film school. The film script was turned into a novel and then a play, which ran for several years in Paris.<ref>{{cite news|title=Up From the Underground Harold; Maude|last=Wilson |first=John M.|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 14, 1978|page=g14}}</ref>

Ashby felt that the actress portraying Maude should ideally be European and his list of possible actresses included [[Peggy Ashcroft]], [[Edith Evans]], [[Gladys Cooper]], and [[Celia Johnson]], as well as [[Lotte Lenya]], [[Luise Rainer]], [[Pola Negri]], [[Minta Durfee]], and [[Agatha Christie]].{{sfn|Dawson|2009|pp=122–123}} Ruth Gordon indicated that in addition, she heard that [[Edwige Feuillère]], [[Elisabeth Bergner]], [[Mildred Natwick]], [[Mildred Dunnock]], and [[Dorothy Stickney]] had been considered.{{sfn|Gordon|1976|p=392}}

For Harold, in addition to Bud Cort, Ashby considered all promising unknowns, [[Richard Dreyfuss]], [[Bob Balaban]], and [[John Savage (actor)|John Savage]]. Also on his list were [[John Rubinstein]], for whom Higgins had written the part, and then-up-and-coming British singer [[Elton John]], whom Ashby had seen live and hoped would also do the music.{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=122}} Anne Brebner, the casting director, was almost cast as Harold's mother, when Vivian Pickles was briefly unable to do the role.<ref name=AR>{{cite episode |title=Anne Brebner |last=Morrison |first=John (host) |date=May 6, 2011 |url=http://blip.tv/aspect-ratio-cfi/aspect-ratio-april-2011-5131957 |series=Aspect Ratio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518020355/http://blip.tv/aspect-ratio-cfi/aspect-ratio-april-2011-5131957 |archive-date=2011-05-18 |via=[[blip.tv]] |access-date=2011-09-08}}</ref>

[[Principal photography]] began in late December 1970 and concluded in mid-March 1971.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54046#3 |title=Harold and Maude (1971) – Details |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |access-date=June 5, 2024}}</ref> Filming took place in and around San Francisco and [[San Mateo, California]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54046 |title=Harold and Maude (1971) – History |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |access-date=June 5, 2024}}</ref> including locations such as [[Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California)|Holy Cross Cemetery]] in [[Colma, California|Colma]] (Harold catches his first glimpse of Maude at a funeral),{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=96}} [[St. Thomas Aquinas Church (Palo Alto, California)|St. Thomas Aquinas Church]] in [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] (the church funeral where Harold first meets Maude),{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=98}} [[Oyster Point Marina/Park|Oyster Point Boulevard]] in [[South San Francisco, California|South San Francisco]] (Maude's railroad car),{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=119}} an abandoned warehouse at the [[Bayshore Cutoff#Bayshore Yard|Southern Pacific Railroad Bayshore Yard]] in [[Brisbane, California|Brisbane]] (Glaucus' studio),{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=124}} [[Half Moon Bay, California|Half Moon Bay]],{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=96}} [[Golden Gate National Cemetery]] in [[San Bruno, California|San Bruno]],{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=97}} [[Redwood City, California|Redwood City]] (Maude rescues a street tree to be transplanted to the forest),{{sfn|Davidson|2016|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fASQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 92]–93}} the [[Dumbarton Bridge (California)|Dumbarton Bridge]] (a motorcycle officer pulls over Harold and Maude on their way to replant the tree),{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=118}} [[Sutro Heights Park]] (Harold rides in a limousine and walks with Uncle Victor) and the ruins of the [[Sutro Baths]] (Maude poses as a protester and later falls through a hole to her apparent death) in San Francisco,{{sfn|Davidson|2016|pp=102–[https://books.google.com/books?id=fASQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 103]}} the [[Emeryville mudflat sculptures|Emeryville mudflats]] (Harold discovers Maude's concentration camp tattoo),{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fASQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 94]}} [[Oakland, California|Oakland]],{{sfn|Gordon|1976|p=388}} the [[Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk]] (amusement park),{{sfn|Davidson|2016|pp=126–127}} [[Mills-Peninsula Medical Center|Peninsula Hospital]] in [[Burlingame, California|Burlingame]] (Maude is hospitalized),{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=P3itCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA125 125]}} and [[Mori Point]] in [[Pacifica, California|Pacifica]] (Harold drives his car off a cliff).{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=130}} For the Chasen mansion, scenes were shot at Rosecourt Mansion in [[Hillsborough, California]].{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=125}}{{sfn|Davidson|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fASQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA105 105]}} According to Ashby, there were some issues securing the location because [[Otto Preminger]] had previously filmed in the Hillsborough area and had antagonized the local residents.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beck |first=Marilyn |author-link=Marilyn Beck |chapter=Director Charges Studio Was Afraid of ''Maude'' |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/halashbyintervie0000ashb/page/14/mode/2up |editor-last=Dawson |editor-first=Nick |title=Hal Ashby: Interviews |location=Jackson |publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |year=2010 |pages=14–15 |isbn=978-1-60473-564-2}}</ref>

==Novelization==
A novelization by Higgins was released alongside the film; they differ in several respects, including the film's omission of certain scenes and characters. Other different details include the novel's version of Maude having white hair (unlike Gordon in the film) and introducing herself as "the Countess Mathilde Chardin", a different name and title than used in the film. In the novel, Maude's home is characterized as a "cottage" (unlike the retired railroad car Maude inhabits in the film), and she and Harold briefly interact with Maude's neighbor, Madame Arouet, who is not present in the film. The novel includes an additional scene during the tree-planting expedition where Maude leads Harold in climbing to the top of a very tall pine tree to show him the view over the forest from near its summit.

==Release==
''Harold and Maude'' was released with a vague, text-only poster and very little marketing. The initial release [[Box-office bomb|underperformed at the box office]], but it gradually found success in [[repertory theatre]]s and recouped its costs after several years.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Saperstein |first=Pat |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/harold-and-maude-oral-history-flop-cult-classic-1235130303/ |title='Harold and Maude' at 50: An Oral History of How a 'Harrowing' Flop Became a Beloved Cult Classic |date=2021-12-10 |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=2022-07-15}}</ref> [[Danny Peary]], author of the ''[[Cult Movies (book)|Cult Movies]]'' series, referred to the film as "[o]ne of the runaway [[cult favorite]]s of the seventies" and commented that it "[broke] longevity records in cities like Detroit, Montreal, and most memorably, Minneapolis, where residents actually picketed the Westgate Theater trying to get management to replace the picture after a consecutive three-year run."{{sfn|Peary|1981|page=135}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Lileks|first=James|date=2018-02-09|title=When a Twin Cities movie theater vanishes, it takes neighborhood history with it|url=https://www.startribune.com/when-a-small-twin-cities-movie-theater-vanishes-it-takes-neighborhood-history-with-it/473590023/|newspaper=[[Star Tribune]]|access-date=2021-10-19|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715003851/https://www.startribune.com/when-a-small-twin-cities-movie-theater-vanishes-it-takes-neighborhood-history-with-it/473590023/|archive-date=2018-07-15}}</ref>

===Home media===
[[The Criterion Collection]] released ''Harold and Maude'' for Region 1 on [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]] on June 12, 2012, including a collection of audio excerpts of Ashby from January 11, 1972, and of screenwriter Colin Higgins from January 10, 1979, a new video interview with [[Cat Stevens|Yusuf/Cat Stevens]], a new audio commentary by Ashby biographer Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill, and a booklet which includes a new film essay by [[Matt Zoller Seitz]]. Exclusive to the Blu-ray edition are a new digital restoration of the film with an [[Uncompressed video|uncompressed]] [[monaural]] soundtrack and an optional remastered uncompressed stereo soundtrack. Other exclusives are a ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' profile of Gordon from 1971, an interview from 1997 with Cort and cinematographer John Alonzo, and an interview from 2001 with executive producer Mildred Lewis.<ref name=Criterion>{{cite web|title=Harold and Maude (1971)|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/27896-harold-and-maude|publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]|access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Atanasov|first=Svet|title=Harold and Maude Blu-ray Review|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Harold-and-Maude-Blu-ray/36768/#Review|website=Blu-ray.com|access-date=17 August 2015|date=26 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Katz|first=Josh|title=Criterion Blu-ray in June: Chaplin, Ashby, Boyle, Soderbergh, Hitchcock, Inagaki|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=8388|website=Blu-ray.com|date=16 March 2012|access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Critical response===
At the time of its release, ''Harold and Maude'' received mixed reviews, with several critics being offended by the film's [[black comedy|dark humor]]. [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars. He wrote, "And so what we get, finally, is a movie of attitudes. Harold is death, Maude life, and they manage to make the two seem so similar that life's hardly worth the extra bother. The visual style makes everyone look fresh from the Wax Museum, and all the movie lacks is a lot of day-old gardenias and lilies and roses in the lobby, filling the place with a cloying sweet smell. Nothing more to report today. Harold doesn't even make pallbearer."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/harold-and-maude-1972 |title=Harold and Maude |first=Roger |last=Ebert |author-link=Roger Ebert |year=1972 |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |access-date=2011-09-08 |via=[[RogerEbert.com]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014034852/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19720101%2FREVIEWS%2F201010313 |archive-date=2012-10-14 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' also panned the film, stating that the actors "are so aggressive, so creepy and off-putting, that Harold and Maude are obviously made for each other, a point the movie itself refuses to recognize with a twist ending that betrays, I think, its life-affirming pretensions."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/21/archives/screen-harold-and-maude-and-lifehal-ashbys-comedy-opens-at-coronet.html |title=Screen: 'Harold and Maude' and Life: Hal Ashby's Comedy Opens at Coronet; Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort Star as Odd Couple |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |first=Vincent |last=Canby |author-link=Vincent Canby |date=December 21, 1971}}</ref>

===Retrospective appraisal===
The reputation of the film has since increased greatly. On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Hal Ashby's comedy is too dark and twisted for some, and occasionally oversteps its bounds, but there's no denying the film's warm humor and big heart."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harold_and_maude |title=Harold and Maude |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=June 4, 2024}}</ref>

In 2013, the [[Writers Guild of America]] ranked the screenplay number 86 on its list of the "101 Greatest Screenplays" ever written.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1807 |title=101 Greatest Screenplays |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America West]] |access-date=February 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820064446/http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1807 |archive-date=August 20, 2013}}</ref>

In ''[[Sight & Sound]]''{{'s}} [[The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012|2012 "Greatest Films of All Time" poll]], [[Niki Caro]], [[Wanuri Kahiu]], and [[Cyrus Frisch]] voted for ''Harold and Maude''. Frisch commented: "An encouragement to think beyond the obvious!"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people//sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/920|title=Cyrus Frisch|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818094846/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/920|archive-date=August 18, 2016}}</ref>

In 2017, ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' critic Mark Caro wrote a belated appreciation, "I'm sorry, ''Harold and Maude'', for denying you for so long. You're my favorite movie once again."<ref>{{cite news |last=Caro |first=Mark |title=A Movie Date With My Younger Self |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/movies/a-movie-date-with-my-younger-self.html |date=March 24, 2017 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{{anchor|Honors|Awards}}
At the [[29th Golden Globe Awards]], Cort and Gordon were nominated as [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actor]] and [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]], respectively.<ref>{{cite web |title=Harold and Maude |url=https://goldenglobes.com/film/harold-and-maude/ |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=14 December 2023}}</ref>

The film was selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]] in 1997, along with others deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/film/titles.html |title=National Film Registry list of films 1989–2006 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=2011-09-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New to the National Film Registry |work=Library of Congress Information Bulletin |date=December 1997 |volume=56 |number=17 |url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9712/nfr.html |access-date=2020-10-13}}</ref>

In September 2008, ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' ranked ''Harold and Maude'' number 65 on their list of the "500 Greatest Movies of All Time".<ref>{{cite magazine| title = Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time (numbers 73–64)|magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |url= http://www.empireonline.com/500/85.asp |date=November 2008 |access-date= 2011-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308194419/http://www.empireonline.com/500/85.asp |archive-date=2012-03-08}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' ranked the film number four on their 2003 list of "The Top 50 Cult Films".<ref name="EWCult">{{cite magazine | title = The Top 50 Cult Films | magazine = [[Entertainment Weekly]] | date = May 23, 2003}}</ref>

====American Film Institute lists====
''Harold and Maude'' has repeatedly been ranked among the various lists compiled by the [[American Film Institute]] (AFI). In 2000. the film ranked number 45 on [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]], a list of the top 100 comedies.<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-laughs/ |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624052741/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |archive-date=2016-06-24 |url-status=live}}</ref> Two years later, ''Harold and Maude'' ranked number 69 on [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions]], honoring the greatest love stories of the past century.<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-passions/ |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313150603/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/passions100.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, the film ranked number 89 on [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers]], recognizing the most inspiring films.<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-cheers/ |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313150511/https://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/cheers100.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2008, AFI revealed its [[AFI's 10 Top 10|10 Top 10]], the 10 best films in 10 "classic" American film genres, placing ''Harold and Maude'' at number nine in the romantic comedy genre.<ref>{{cite web | title = AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres |website=[[ComingSoon.net]] |date=2008-06-18 |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/46072-afi-crowns-top-10-films-in-10-classic-genres |access-date=2008-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080818100312/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46072 |archive-date=2008-08-18 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 10 Top 10 |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-10-top-10/ |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=June 4, 2024}}</ref>

==Music==
The music in ''Harold and Maude'' was composed and performed by [[Cat Stevens]].<ref name="allmusic"/> He had been suggested by [[Elton John]] to do the music after John had dropped out of the project.{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=124}} Stevens composed two original songs for the film, "Don't Be Shy" and "[[If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out]]" and performed instrumental and alternative versions of the previously released songs "On the Road to Find Out", "I Wish, I Wish", "Miles from Nowhere", "Tea for the Tillerman", "[[I Think I See the Light]]", "[[Where Do the Children Play?]]" and "[[Trouble (Cat Stevens song)|Trouble]]" (all from his albums ''[[Mona Bone Jakon]]'' and ''[[Tea for the Tillerman]]''). "Don't Be Shy" and "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" remained unreleased on any album until the 1984 compilation ''[[Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2]]''.

Additional music in the film is sourced from well known compositions. "[[Greensleeves]]" is played on the harp during dinner. The opening bars of [[Tchaikovsky]]'s [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky)|Piano Concerto No. 1]] are heard during the scene of Harold floating face-down in the swimming pool. The Sunnyvale HS Marching Band plays "[[The Klaxon (song)|The Klaxon]]" by [[Henry Fillmore]] outside the church following a funeral.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Forrester|first=Cathy|date=June 1971|title=1971 SHS Yearbook page 132|url=https://secure.classmates.com/auth/login?successUrl=/siteui/yearbooks/30387%3fpage=137|website=[[classmates.com]]|access-date=2020-07-24|url-access=registration}}</ref> A calliope version of the waltz "[[Sobre las Olas|Over the Waves]]" by [[Juventino Rosas]] is played at the amusement park.  Harold and Maude waltz together in her home to "[[The Blue Danube]]" by [[Johann Strauss II]].

The soundtrack album charted at number 173 on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] in July 2021.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=billboardcharts|number=1419658192011812868|title=Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (4/4)...|date=July 25, 2021|access-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726135753/https://twitter.com/billboardcharts/status/1419658192011812868|archive-date=2021-07-26|url-status=live}}</ref>

===1972 soundtrack===
The first soundtrack was released in Japan in 1972 on vinyl and cassette (A&M Records GP-216). It omitted the two original songs and all instrumental and alternative versions of songs and was generally composed of re-released material that was in the film, along with five songs that were not in the film.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://catstevens.com/faq/index.html |title=F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions) |website=CatStevens.com |access-date=2013-07-09 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050405203221/http://catstevens.com/faq/index.html |archive-date=April 5, 2005}}</ref>

;Track listing
*Side one
*# "[[Morning Has Broken]]" (not in the film)
*# "[[Wild World (song)|Wild World]]" (not in the film)
*# "I Think I See the Light"
*# "I Wish, I Wish"
*# "[[Trouble (Cat Stevens song)|Trouble]]"
*# "[[Father and Son (song)|Father and Son]]" (not in the film)
*Side two
*# "Miles from Nowhere"
*# "Lilywhite" (not in the film)
*# "[[Where Do the Children Play?]]"
*# "On the Road to Find Out"
*# "[[Lady D'Arbanville]]" (not in the film)
*# "[[Tea for the Tillerman]]"

===2007 soundtrack===
The second soundtrack was released on December 28, 2007, by [[Vinyl Films Records]] as a vinyl-only limited-edition release of 2,500 copies. It contained a 30-page oral history of the making of the film, comprising the most extensive series of interviews yet conducted on ''Harold and Maude''.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/harold-and-maude-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mw0001435301 |title=Harold and Maude [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] – Cat Stevens |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=June 4, 2024}}</ref>
;Track listing
<!-- see [[Template:Tracklist]] if you want to improve this section -->
*Side one
*# "Don't Be Shy"
*# "On the Road to Find Out"
*# "I Wish, I Wish"
*# "Miles from Nowhere"
*# "Tea for the Tillerman"
*# "I Think I See the Light"
*Side two
*# "Where Do the Children Play?"
*# "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out"
*# "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" (banjo version) – previously unreleased
*# "Trouble"
*# "Don't Be Shy" (alternate version) – previously unreleased
*# "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" (instrumental version) – previously unreleased
*Bonus 7″ single
*# "Don't Be Shy" (demo version) – previously unreleased
*# "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" (alternative version) – previously unreleased

===2021 soundtrack===
A [[Record Store Day]] limited edition, available in yellow or orange vinyl, was released July 2021. It contained all the main songs from the 2007 album, but omitted the bonus material.

*Side one
*# "Don't Be Shy"
*# "On the Road to Find Out"
*# "I Wish, I Wish"
*# "Miles from Nowhere"
*Side two
*# "Tea for the Tillerman'
*# "I Think I See the Light"
*# "Where Do the Children Play?"
*# "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out"
*# "Trouble"

===2022 soundtrack===
The full soundtrack album received its first regular wide commercial release on February 11, 2022, to commemorate the film's 50th anniversary. The entire album was remastered at [[Abbey Road Studios]]. The disc includes previously unheard audio masters discovered in the [[Island Records|Island]]/[[A&M Records]] archive for the two original songs Stevens wrote for the film, "Don't Be Shy" and "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out". While there was an LP, this was also the album's first-ever release on CD.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harold-and-maude-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-50th-anniversary-edition-to-be-released-february-11th-2022-301439331.html |title=Harold and Maude (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 50th Anniversary Edition to be Released February 11th, 2022 |publisher=[[A&M Records|A&M]]/[[Universal Music Enterprises|UMe]] |agency=[[PR Newswire]] |date=December 7, 2021}}</ref> The digital release contains eight additional tracks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yusef / Cat Stevens - Harold and Maude 50th Anniversary Edition |url=https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n8g0S84_qLyQW59Ofrtm-7r6Yd6RypHd8 |access-date=27 July 2024 |website=YouTube Music}}</ref>

*Side one
*# "Don't Be Shy"
*# Dialogue 1 (I Go to Funerals)
*# "On the Road to Find Out"
*# "I Wish, I Wish"
*# Tchaikovsky's Concerto No.1 in B
*# Dialogue 2 (How Many Suicides)
*# Marching Band / Dialogue 3 (Harold Meets Maude)
*# "Miles from Nowhere"
*# "Tea for the Tillerman"
*Side two
*# "I Think I See the Light"
*# Dialogue 4 (Sunflower)
*# "Where Do the Children Play?"
*# "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out" (Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort vocal)
*# Strauss' Blue Danube
*# Dialogue 5 (Somersaults)
*# "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out"
*# Dialogue 6 (Harold Loves Maude)
*# "Trouble"
*# "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out (ending)
*Additional tracks included in digital release:
*# "Don't Be Shy (Demo)"
*# "I Wish, I Wish (Studio Demo)"
*# "Miles from Nowhere (Demo Version)"
*# "I Think I See the Light (Studio Demo)"
*# "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" (Demo)
*# "Trouble (Studio Demo)"
*# "You Can Do (Whatever)!"
*# "Don't Be Shy (No Piano / Alternate Take)"

==Adaptations==
===Stage play adaptation===
Colin Higgins adapted the story into a stage play. A French adaptation by [[Jean-Claude Carrière]] opened in 1973 at the [[Théâtre Récamier]] in Paris, where [[Yves Saint Laurent (designer)|Yves Saint Laurent]] designed costumes for [[Madeleine Renaud]] as Maude.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://museeyslparis.com/en/biography/harold-et-maude |title=1973: Harold et Maude (Harold and Maude) |publisher=Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris}}</ref> Renaud would reprise the role in ''{{ill|Harold et Maude|fr|Harold et Maude (pièce de théâtre)}}'' for multiple productions.

The original [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production, starring [[Janet Gaynor]] as Maude and [[Keith McDermott]] as Harold, closed after four performances in February 1980.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.playbill.com/production/harold-and-maude-martin-beck-theatre-vault-0000008231|title=Harold and Maude Broadway @ Martin Beck Theatre |magazine=[[Playbill]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001114918/http://www.playbill.com/production/harold-and-maude-martin-beck-theatre-vault-0000008231|archive-date=2017-10-01}}</ref>

The Yugoslav premiere of ''Harold i Mod'' was staged at the [[Belgrade Drama Theatre]] (BDP) on March 23, 1980, directed by [[Paolo Magelli]], with [[Tatjana Lukjanova]] (Maude), [[Milan Erak]] (Harold), and [[Žiža Stojanović]] (Mrs. Chasen). [[Slobodan Beštić]] later assumed the role of Harold. The play remained in the BDP repertoire until Lukjanova's death in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Harold i Mod|url=https://lifeplus.rs/beogradsko-dramsko-pozoriste/harold-i-mod/|website=LIFE+|language=sr|date=2016-08-29|access-date=2020-12-07}}{{dead link|date=December 2023 |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

In Brazil, the first run of the play premiered in 2007, directed by {{ill|João Falcão|pt}} and starring {{ill|Arlindo Lopes|pt}} as Harold and [[Gloria Menezes]] as Maude.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://teatrobradesco.com.br/downloads/407_release_ensina-me_a_viver.pdf |title=Ensina-Me a Viver apresenta temporada no Teatro Bradesco em agosto e setembro |language=pt-BR |publisher=[[Teatro Bradesco]] |year=2015}}</ref> [[Nivea Maria]] later assumed the role of Maude.

===French television adaptation===
A French adaptation for television, translated and written by [[Jean-Claude Carrière]], aired in 1978. It was also adapted for the stage by the Compagnie Viola Léger in [[Moncton]], [[New Brunswick]],<ref>{{cite news|title= Viola Léger: de la langue de la Sagouine à celle de Musset |url=https://l-express.ca/viola-leger-de-la-langue-de-la-sagouine-a-celle-de-musset/ |newspaper= L'Express d'Ottawa |first= Annik |last= Chalifour |date= 2008-10-21 |access-date= 2016-08-08 |language= fr}}</ref> starring [[Roy Dupuis]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Roy Dupuis|url=http://ici.radio-canada.ca/television/notre_cinema/vedettes/fiche.asp?vedette=74|publisher=[[Ici Radio-Canada Télé]]|access-date=20 November 2014|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129120638/http://ici.radio-canada.ca/television/notre_cinema/vedettes/fiche.asp?vedette=74|archive-date=2014-11-29}}</ref>

===Musical adaptation===
A musical adaptation, with songs by [[Joseph Thalken]] and [[Tom Jones (writer)|Tom Jones]], premiered at the [[Paper Mill Playhouse]] in [[Millburn, New Jersey|Millburn, NJ]], in January 2005. The production starred [[Estelle Parsons]] as Maude and [[Eric Millegan]] as Harold.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beckerman |first1=Jim |title=No deviations from the deviants |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/501763276/ |access-date=November 27, 2020 |work=[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]] |location=Hackensack, New Jersey|date=January 12, 2005 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Molyneaux |first1=Thom |title=Parsons commands stage in Paper Mill's new musical |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/500015231 |access-date=November 27, 2020 |work=The Item of Millburn and Short Hills |location=Millburn, New Jersey| date=January 13, 2005 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Unproduced sequel and prequel===
Higgins expressed interest in 1978 regarding both a sequel and prequel to ''Harold and Maude'':<ref>{{cite news |last=Beck |first=Marilyn |date=August 6, 1978 |title=Higgins eyes 'Harold's Story' |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/pacific-stars-and-stripes/1978-08-06/page-16 |newspaper=[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]] |page=16 |access-date=2014-01-30 |via=[[NewspaperArchive.com]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Cort would return for ''Harold's Story'', living life after Maude. Higgins also imagined the prequel ''Grover and Maude'', where Maude learns how to [[Motor vehicle theft|steal cars]] from Grover Muldoon—the character portrayed by [[Richard Pryor]] in Higgins' 1976 film ''[[Silver Streak (film)|Silver Streak]]''—with Gordon and Pryor reprising their respective roles.

==See also==
* [[List of American films of 1971]]
* [[List of cult films]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Davidson |first=James A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fASQCwAAQBAJ |title=Hal Ashby and the Making of Harold and Maude |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4766-2385-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Dawson |first=Nick |year=2009 |title=Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel |location=Lexington, Kentucky |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |isbn=978-0-8131-2538-1 |doi=10.5810/kentucky/9780813125381.001.0001 |url=https://archive.org/details/Being_Hal_Ashby}}
* {{cite book |last=Gordon |first=Ruth |author-link=Ruth Gordon |year=1976 |url=https://archive.org/details/mysideautobiogra00gord/page/392/mode/2up |title=My Side: The Autobiography of Ruth Gordon |location=New York |publisher=[[Harper & Row]] |isbn=978-0-06-011618-7 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Peary |first=Danny |author-link=Danny Peary |title=Cult Movies: The Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful |location=New York |publisher=[[Delacorte Press]] |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-440-01626-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/cultmoviesclassi0000pear |url-access=registration}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q368577|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|s=no|wikt=no|c=no|display=''Harold and Maude''}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
* {{AFI film}}
* {{IBDB title|3682}}
* {{TCMDb title}}
* [https://giggster.com/guide/movie-location/where-was-harold-and-maude-filmed ''Harold and Maude'' filming locations] at Giggster
* [https://reelsf.com/harold-and-maude-1971 ''Harold and Maude'' filming locations] at Reel SF
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2347-a-boy-of-twenty-and-a-woman-of-eighty "A Boy of Twenty and a Woman of Eighty"] – an essay by Leticia Kent at [[The Criterion Collection]]
* {{cite book |last=Eagan |first=Daniel |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC&pg=PA677 |chapter=Harold and Maude |title=America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry |publisher=[[A & C Black]] |year=2010 |pages=677–679 |isbn=978-0826-42977-3}}

{{Hal Ashby}}
{{Cat Stevens}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1971 films]]
[[Category:1971 black comedy films]]
[[Category:1971 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1971 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1971 romantic drama films]]
[[Category:1971 independent films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:1970s buddy comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American buddy comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Cat Stevens]]
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language buddy comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Fiction about ageism]]
[[Category:Films about funerals]]
[[Category:Films about mother–son relationships]]
[[Category:Films about old age]]
[[Category:Films about suicide]]
[[Category:Films adapted into plays]]
[[Category:Films directed by Hal Ashby]]
[[Category:Films set in country houses]]
[[Category:Films set in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Films shot in Oakland, California]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Colin Higgins]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Vinyl Films albums]]