Harold and Maude (Revisited)

I've seen this movie many, many times.  I'm pretty sure I've already written about it at least twice.

Rather than add any more here, I'll just recommend you see it.

Harold and Maude - Revisited

I jump at any chance to see this movie.  It's definitely a contender on my "all time favorite" list (which doesn't actually exist).

This time, I caught a screening at my local theater's "Classic Film Wednesday" series.  There's definitely a special charm to seeing it on the silver screen.

Charm.  That's the key-word that came to mind after seeing it this time around.  "Harold and Maude" has a lot of charm.  And it's important, because that charm draws the audience in to what would ordinarily be an absurd situation.  An adolescent millionaire obsessed with faking his own death?  An old woman who refuses to recognize boundaries and property, but never seems to get into any major trouble?  Total nonsense that goes completely unquestioned because the characters have charmed us into believing in them.

The amount of music struck me this time.  Cat Steven's backing tracks have always been a key element in the film.  But this is the first time that I noticed that basically every transition - especially early in the film - is a musical transition.  It helps to set "Harold and Maude" apart most typical films.

Go see it.  Right now.

Harold and Maude

Directed by: Hal Ashby

Written by: Colin Higgins

Simply put, "Harold and Maude" is one of my all-time favorite movies. No matter how many times I've seen it - on DVD, in the theater, or, most recently, projected against the side of a building - I always feel I'm getting to enjoy it for the first time.

Harold (Cort) is a wealthy young man with an unhealthy obsession with death, and he gets his kicks by shocking his mother (Pickles) with increasingly elaborate fake suicides. While visiting a funeral, he meets Maude (Gordon), an old woman with a lust for life. Harold becomes inseparable from Maude and begins learning to appreciate the many things that life offers.

I love this movie, and I could easily go on and on about it. But I'll try to limit myself to a few things I noticed on my most recent viewing.

Part of what makes this movie so great is the use of subtleties. Harold's appearance rarely changes, except at key moments (and a few times for humor, in the scenes with the therapist). A few quick lines and a brief shot of her arm - it can't be more than two seconds - allows the audience to absorb that Maude may have been a Holocaust survivor. These things are small and seemingly insignificant, but all the small things build up to make the whole film greater.

At this most recent screening, I gained a new appreciation for the character of Harold's mother. She only has a few scenes, but she literally steals each and every one.

I can't write - or even think - about this movie without mentioning the montage used at the emotional climax. Usually, I'm an anti-montage person. My position is based on my feeling that no montage can ever be more effective than the montage in "Harold and Maude." It is an emotionally wrenching scene, and no matter how many times I see it is nearly brings me to tears. Every clip and cut is perfectly balanced by Cat Stevens's "Trouble."

You must see this movie, if you haven't seen it yet. And even if you have, it's probably time to see it again.