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Harold and Maude
Sign in to saveAlso known as Enséñame a vivir, Harold y Maude
1971 film directed by Hal Ashby
OverviewAI-generated
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American buddy comedy drama film directed by Hal Ashby and produced by Colin Higgins, who also wrote the screenplay. The movie features Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon, Cyril Cusack, and Eric Christmas in the cast. It was produced by Paramount Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures, Netflix, and Fandango at Home. The film is associated with the New Hollywood movement and was filmed in San Francisco.
The narrative focuses on a young man obsessed with death and an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live. The story is set in the 20th century within the United States and addresses themes of suicide, old age, and social alienation. The film references The Graduate and Sunset Boulevard. It has a runtime of 92 minutes, though one source lists 91 minutes. The original language is English, and the composer is Cat Stevens.
Synthesized by Vinony from 38 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, IMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film · TMDB
7.6A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.
Cast
- Ruth Gordon as Maude
- Bud Cort as Harold
- Vivian Pickles as Mrs. Chasen
- Cyril Cusack as Glaucus
- Charles Tyner as Uncle Victor
- Ellen Geer as Sunshine Doré
Themes
- dying and death
- depression
- suicide
- life and death
- age difference
- birthday
- suicide attempt
- dead wish
- cemetery
- life planning
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Key facts
- Directed by
- Hal Ashby
- Written by
- Colin Higgins
- Produced by
- Colin Higgins Charles B. Mulvehill
- Starring
- Ruth Gordon Bud Cort Vivian Pickles Cyril Cusack Charles Tyner Ellen Geer
- Cinematography
- John Alonzo
- Edited by
- William A. Sawyer Edward Warschilka
- Music by
- Cat Stevens
- Production companies
- Mildred Lewis and Colin Higgins Productions
- Distributed by
- Paramount Pictures
- Release date
- December 20, 1971 ( 1971-12-20 ) (United States)
- Running time
- 91 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Budget
- $1.2 million ( estimation</span>"}]]}'>est. )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- film
- Part of
- National Film Registry
- Country of origin
- United States
- Original language
- English language
- Main subject
- age disparity in sexual relationships
- Movement
- New Hollywood
- Director
- Hal Ashby
- Screenwriter
- Colin Higgins
- Cast member
- Eric Christmas
- Composer
- Cat Stevens
- Producer
- Colin Higgins
- Production company
- Paramount Pictures
- Cinematographer
- John A. Alonzo
- Narrative location
- San Francisco
- Duration
- 91
- FilmAffinity ID
- 742432
- Distribution format
- video on demand
Show 6 more facts
- publication date
- 1974-04-19
- title
- Harold and Maude
- distributed by
- Fandango at Home
- set in period
- 20th century
- references work, tradition or theory
- Sunset Boulevard
- review score
- 86%
Sources (15)
via Wikidata · CC0
~25 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American romantic black comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humour and existentialist drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chasen (Bud Cort), a young man who is obsessed 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 and Golden Gate National Cemetery, the ruins of the Sutro Baths, Mori Point, and Rosecourt Mansion in Hillsborough, California.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Harold and Maude” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.