Motion Picture- Harold and Maude

Bibliographic information:

Higgins, C. (Producer), & Ashby, H. (Director). (1971). Harold and Maude [Motion Picture].  United States: Paramount Pictures.

Plot Summary:

            Harold (Bud Cort) is a young man from an upper-class family.  Harold is obsessed with death, and rebelling from the controlling influence of his mother.  He performs a number of fake suicides, drives a hearse, and visits funerals.  At a few funerals he notices an elderly woman who also visits.  She introduces herself as Maude (Ruth Gordon).  She turns out to be a feisty woman who is living life to its fullest.  Although it is not mentioned outright, it is assumed that Maude is a survivor of the Holocaust as she bears the tattooed numbers on her wrist.  The two become friends and have a number of adventures, some involving the police.  Eventually they fall in love despite the 60 year age difference, and Harold decides to ask Maude to marry him. Harold’s mother has been trying to set him up with girls through a dating service and she is shocked when he decides to marry Maude.  Harold never gets a chance to propose and the ending is quite unique and bittersweet.

Critical Evaluation:

            The idea for the story was quite interesting, and has achieved a cult following over the years. The issues are not so much about death, and rebellion as they are about love, life, and happiness.  The acting was superb and I feel the players were able to pull of their roles.  The balance of eccentric characters such as the two primary characters, with the straight characters is well conceived and necessary for character definition.  The film could not have been made with as enormous a budget as many films are today, but the story more than makes up for any technical shortcomings.  The music was another aspect that I considered to be of some note.  Cat Stevens arranged all of the music for the film and some of the pieces in it are recognizable.  Although this film is older, it is new to me and I think it may be of interest to older teens as it addresses issues such as life, death, self definition, and rebelliousness. 
Author Information: 
Producer Colin Higgins was the writer of the story.

Viewers Annotation:

Young Harold, who is obsessed with death, falls in love with 80 year old Maude who teaches him to love life.

Genre:

Romantic Comedy

Curriculum Ties:

N/A

Interest Age:

14+
Filmtalking Ideas:  
1.  Discuss how Harold is obsessed with death and how this impacts the plot.
2.  Speak about the control Harold's mother tries to exert over him.
3.  Discuss why Maude seems to always live life to the fullest is it because of her past or her future.
Challenge Issues:

Defiance of the law/ Non traditional relationship/ Suicide Rated PG

Challenge Defense Ideas:

1.  Watch the film.

2.  Be Familiar with the policy of the ALA and your institution.

3. Make a note of the contents of the work and how they fall in with the collection development policy of your institution and the standpoint of the ALA. 

4. Gain an awareness of the awards, reviews, and criticisms of the film.

5. Know the process for materials challenges at your library.

Why did you include this film? :

I thought I would include one film that might be of interest to the older teen age group which was not a recent film.