Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on Star 96.7 Wssr-fm reviewing the new Blu-Ray edition of “Harold and Maude,” the cult classic featuring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort in the ultimate May/December lesson about freedom, passion and love.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
”Harold and Maude” was released over 50 years ago in 1971, and it was directed by Hal Ashby – his second film as director after a Oscar-winning career as an editor – and featured Bud Cort as Harold and Ruth Gordon as Maude. 20-year-old Harold is obsessed with death, after rejecting his life of privilege and his detached mother (Vivian Pickles). Enter Maude, a free-spirited 79-year-old fellow traveler who like Harold likes to attend funerals. They developa friendship, and eventual romantic relationship, and it is Maude who teaches Harold about the importance of living life to its fullest. H and M also features a classic soundtrack from 1970s troubadour Yusuf “Cat” Stevens.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
”Harold and Maude” was released over 50 years ago in 1971, and it was directed by Hal Ashby – his second film as director after a Oscar-winning career as an editor – and featured Bud Cort as Harold and Ruth Gordon as Maude. 20-year-old Harold is obsessed with death, after rejecting his life of privilege and his detached mother (Vivian Pickles). Enter Maude, a free-spirited 79-year-old fellow traveler who like Harold likes to attend funerals. They developa friendship, and eventual romantic relationship, and it is Maude who teaches Harold about the importance of living life to its fullest. H and M also features a classic soundtrack from 1970s troubadour Yusuf “Cat” Stevens.
- 6/21/2022
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“Age Is Just A Number”
By Raymond Benson
Harold and Maude, which was directed by Hal Ashby (his second feature film) and released in 1971, is one of those initially critically stomped box-office bombs… and yet years later became a cult hit in revival houses, on television broadcasts, and home video releases. It’s one of many examples that illustrate how critics don’t always know everything and how some motion pictures are ahead of their time. Harold and Maude now resides in the top 50 of the AFI’s list of 100 greatest comedy films.
Written by Colin Higgins, who simultaneously turned his original screenplay into a novel (also published in 1971), the movie was unquestionably a counter-culture, rebellious black comedy that from the get-go had the potential to offend some folks. The main character’s fake suicide pranks aside, the theme of a May-December romance...
“Age Is Just A Number”
By Raymond Benson
Harold and Maude, which was directed by Hal Ashby (his second feature film) and released in 1971, is one of those initially critically stomped box-office bombs… and yet years later became a cult hit in revival houses, on television broadcasts, and home video releases. It’s one of many examples that illustrate how critics don’t always know everything and how some motion pictures are ahead of their time. Harold and Maude now resides in the top 50 of the AFI’s list of 100 greatest comedy films.
Written by Colin Higgins, who simultaneously turned his original screenplay into a novel (also published in 1971), the movie was unquestionably a counter-culture, rebellious black comedy that from the get-go had the potential to offend some folks. The main character’s fake suicide pranks aside, the theme of a May-December romance...
- 12/16/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Lindsay Anderson’s third ‘Mick Travis’ movie is a crazy comedy eager to overstep lines of cinematic decorum. Britain in 1982 is a country at war with itself, torn by elitist snobbery and working-class revolt. Union grievances cripple the functioning of a major public hospital, on a day when the Queen is set to visit. A huge comic cast grapples with satire that reaches beyond cynicism to express total dysfunction. And the comedy has a wicked sting in its tail: Graham Crowden’s mad-as-a-hatter scientist has diverted National Health funds into grisly experiments with human body parts. The ‘visionary’ maniac spills more blood than Peter Cushing and Sam Peckinpah, put together.
Britannia Hospital
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1982 / Color / 1:85 widescreen/ 117 (111) min. / Street Date June 29, 2020 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Leonard Rossiter, Vivian Pickles, Graham Crowden, Jill Bennett,
Marsha A. Hunt, Joan Plowright, Malcolm McDowell, Mark Hamill.
Cinematography: Mike Fash...
Britannia Hospital
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1982 / Color / 1:85 widescreen/ 117 (111) min. / Street Date June 29, 2020 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Leonard Rossiter, Vivian Pickles, Graham Crowden, Jill Bennett,
Marsha A. Hunt, Joan Plowright, Malcolm McDowell, Mark Hamill.
Cinematography: Mike Fash...
- 7/7/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In a war film, what’s the difference between nasty exploitation and just plain honest reportage? André De Toth made tough-minded action films with the best of them, and this nail-biting commando mission with Michael Caine and Nigel Davenport is simply superb, one of those great action pictures that’s not widely screened. To its credit it’s not ‘feel good’ enough to be suitable for Memorial Day TV marathons.
Play Dirty
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 118 min. / Street Date October 17, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green, Harry Andrews.
Cinematography: Edward Scaife
Film Editor: Jack Slade
Art Direction: Tom Morahan, Maurice Pelling
Original Music: Michel Legrand
Written by Lotte Colin, Melvyn Bragg, from a story by George Marton
Produced by Harry Saltzman
Directed by André De Toth
Some movies that were ignored when new now seem far more important, perhaps due to the tenor of times.
Play Dirty
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 118 min. / Street Date October 17, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green, Harry Andrews.
Cinematography: Edward Scaife
Film Editor: Jack Slade
Art Direction: Tom Morahan, Maurice Pelling
Original Music: Michel Legrand
Written by Lotte Colin, Melvyn Bragg, from a story by George Marton
Produced by Harry Saltzman
Directed by André De Toth
Some movies that were ignored when new now seem far more important, perhaps due to the tenor of times.
- 10/24/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Who sends dead flowers to a funeral? It’s absurd!”
Harold And Maude screens after a reception for Kim Tucci Wednesday, November 9th at 6:00pm at Delmar Hall (6133 Delmar Blvd.). Ticket information can be found Here
6 p.m. – Cocktail Reception
7:30 p.m. – Program: Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation, J. Kim Tucci
Auction to Benefit Cinema St. Louis
8 p.m. – Screening of Harold And Maude (Kim’s favorite film)
Cinema St. Louis pays tribute to longtime board chair Kim Tucci as part of Sliff’s 25th-anniversary celebration. Kim’s service to the St. Louis region includes investing in the community, raising funds to fight disease, and enabling projects of civic pride. And still, somehow, he finds time to enjoy the movies. While many cinephiles would be content with outings to the local multiplex, Kim has put his love of film to greater use by serving on the board of Cinema St.
Harold And Maude screens after a reception for Kim Tucci Wednesday, November 9th at 6:00pm at Delmar Hall (6133 Delmar Blvd.). Ticket information can be found Here
6 p.m. – Cocktail Reception
7:30 p.m. – Program: Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation, J. Kim Tucci
Auction to Benefit Cinema St. Louis
8 p.m. – Screening of Harold And Maude (Kim’s favorite film)
Cinema St. Louis pays tribute to longtime board chair Kim Tucci as part of Sliff’s 25th-anniversary celebration. Kim’s service to the St. Louis region includes investing in the community, raising funds to fight disease, and enabling projects of civic pride. And still, somehow, he finds time to enjoy the movies. While many cinephiles would be content with outings to the local multiplex, Kim has put his love of film to greater use by serving on the board of Cinema St.
- 11/4/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“Who sends dead flowers to a funeral? It’s absurd!”
Harold And Maude screens midnights this weekend (September 11th and 12th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of their Reel Late at The Tivoli midnight series.
The Tivoli is going old-school this weekend with its Reel Late at The Tivoli midnight series. It’s Harold And Maude, which I saw at the Tiv back in the late ‘70s, one of the very first films I ever saw there. Harold And Maude was a midnight perennial in my youth, but seems to have fallen off the cult movie radar (King Of Hearts, which I saw double-billed with Harold And Maude in my youth, has suffered a similar fate).
Harold And Maude is a funny and quirky May-December romance from 1971 between 20-something morbid rich kid Harold with a holocaust-survivor Maude who is approaching her 80th. Both are enthusiastic funeral-crashers Harold is a...
Harold And Maude screens midnights this weekend (September 11th and 12th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of their Reel Late at The Tivoli midnight series.
The Tivoli is going old-school this weekend with its Reel Late at The Tivoli midnight series. It’s Harold And Maude, which I saw at the Tiv back in the late ‘70s, one of the very first films I ever saw there. Harold And Maude was a midnight perennial in my youth, but seems to have fallen off the cult movie radar (King Of Hearts, which I saw double-billed with Harold And Maude in my youth, has suffered a similar fate).
Harold And Maude is a funny and quirky May-December romance from 1971 between 20-something morbid rich kid Harold with a holocaust-survivor Maude who is approaching her 80th. Both are enthusiastic funeral-crashers Harold is a...
- 9/7/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
By Alex Simon
Cars have been a staple of motion pictures since the earliest Keystone Kops two-reel comedies a century ago, usually providing fodder for chase scenes and general mayhem. Whether they’re breaking land-speed records, flying through the air defying laws of aerodynamics, or driven by intrepid heroes pursuing bad guys, cars and movies go together like…well, like movies and popcorn.Like movies and tickets. Like cars and tickets. Wait…let’s just get on with the list, shall we?
Here are the ten coolest cars in movie history, in no particular order:
1. Rendezvous: 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450Sel 6.9
Director Claude Lelouch mounted a camera on his 1976 Mercedes and tore through the early morning streets of Paris at breakneck speeds, cheating only slightly in post-production by overdubbing the sound of a Ferrari 275 Gtb engine with that of his Benz’s. Three people were in the car, with Lelouch at the wheel,...
Cars have been a staple of motion pictures since the earliest Keystone Kops two-reel comedies a century ago, usually providing fodder for chase scenes and general mayhem. Whether they’re breaking land-speed records, flying through the air defying laws of aerodynamics, or driven by intrepid heroes pursuing bad guys, cars and movies go together like…well, like movies and popcorn.Like movies and tickets. Like cars and tickets. Wait…let’s just get on with the list, shall we?
Here are the ten coolest cars in movie history, in no particular order:
1. Rendezvous: 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450Sel 6.9
Director Claude Lelouch mounted a camera on his 1976 Mercedes and tore through the early morning streets of Paris at breakneck speeds, cheating only slightly in post-production by overdubbing the sound of a Ferrari 275 Gtb engine with that of his Benz’s. Three people were in the car, with Lelouch at the wheel,...
- 7/8/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Glenda Jackson: Actress and former Labour MP. Two-time Oscar winner and former Labour MP Glenda Jackson returns to acting Two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson set aside her acting career after becoming a Labour Party MP in 1992. Four years ago, Jackson, who represented the Greater London constituency of Hampstead and Highgate, announced that she would stand down the 2015 general election – which, somewhat controversially, was won by right-wing prime minister David Cameron's Conservative party.[1] The silver lining: following a two-decade-plus break, Glenda Jackson is returning to acting. Now, Jackson isn't – for the time being – returning to acting in front of the camera. The 79-year-old is to be featured in the Radio 4 series Emile Zola: Blood, Sex and Money, described on their website as a “mash-up” adaptation of 20 Emile Zola novels collectively known as "Les Rougon-Macquart."[2] Part 1 of the three-part Radio 4 series will be broadcast daily during an...
- 7/2/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'Nicholas and Alexandra': Movie starred Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman 'Nicholas and Alexandra' movie review: Opulent 1971 spectacle lacks emotional core Nicholas and Alexandra is surely one of the most sumptuous film productions ever made. The elaborate sets and costumes, Richard Rodney Bennett's lush musical score, and frequent David Lean collaborator Freddie Young's richly textured cinematography provide the perfect period atmosphere for this historical epic. Missing, however, is a screenplay that offers dialogue instead of speeches, and a directorial hand that brings out emotional truth instead of soapy melodrama. Nicholas and Alexandra begins when, after several unsuccessful attempts, Tsar Nicholas II (Michael Jayston) finally becomes the father of a boy. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife, the German-born Empress Alexandra (Janet Suzman), have their happiness crushed when they discover that their infant son is a hemophiliac. In addition to his familial turmoil, the Tsar must also deal with popular...
- 5/7/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Stars: Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, Ellen Geer, Eric Christmas | Written by Colin Higgins | Directed by Hal Ashby
Harold (Cort) is young, rich, depressed, lonely and obsessed with death. His idea of fun is visiting funerals and pretending to commit suicide in a variety of gruesome and violent ways in front of his controlling mother. One day at a funeral he meets Maude (Gordon), a fun and rebellious seventy-nine year-old who loves life and every thing to do with it. As their friendship grows, Maude teaches Harold how to live life to the full with a smile on your face, how to love and to not worry so much about the little things.
Filmed in 1971, Harold and Maude is coming to Blu-ray this year as part of the Masters of Cinema series. This irreverent and dark comedy is a strange tale of loving life to the fullest.
Harold (Cort) is young, rich, depressed, lonely and obsessed with death. His idea of fun is visiting funerals and pretending to commit suicide in a variety of gruesome and violent ways in front of his controlling mother. One day at a funeral he meets Maude (Gordon), a fun and rebellious seventy-nine year-old who loves life and every thing to do with it. As their friendship grows, Maude teaches Harold how to live life to the full with a smile on your face, how to love and to not worry so much about the little things.
Filmed in 1971, Harold and Maude is coming to Blu-ray this year as part of the Masters of Cinema series. This irreverent and dark comedy is a strange tale of loving life to the fullest.
- 7/14/2014
- by Richard Axtell
- Nerdly
Chicago – People adore “Harold and Maude.” When the Criterion Collection announced the release of Hal Ashby’s 1971 dark comedy earlier this year, I’ve never seen so many “Likes” on Facebook for the announcement of a DVD/Blu-ray release. What is it about this film that has allowed it to sustain for over four decades? Pick up the Criterion DVD edition and decide for yourself.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The film’s detractors (Roger Ebert is notoriously not a fan) might have argued against the film’s simple approach to life and death, depression and happiness but I think that’s what has made it so timeless. We will always deal with the issues relevant to “Harold and Maude” — how we see the world and how we respond to its problems and our own sadness within it. At its core, “Harold and Maude” is a film about a young man (Bud Cort) dealing...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The film’s detractors (Roger Ebert is notoriously not a fan) might have argued against the film’s simple approach to life and death, depression and happiness but I think that’s what has made it so timeless. We will always deal with the issues relevant to “Harold and Maude” — how we see the world and how we respond to its problems and our own sadness within it. At its core, “Harold and Maude” is a film about a young man (Bud Cort) dealing...
- 7/2/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
This week brings the long-awaited release of the Criterion Collection's reissue of the classic "Harold and Maude." Also out this week, there's last year's follow-up to Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes," the Neveldine and Taylor-ification of "Ghost Rider," and a new DC Comic Premiere Movie.
Check it all out on this week's Video Score!
Pick of the Week
"Harold and Maude" (1971)
Director: Hal Ashby
Cast: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles
Story:
A young man with a death wish and a 79-year-old high on life find love in Hal Ashby's cult black comedy. This cinema classic gets the full Criterion treatment in this new Blu-ray release.
On the Disc:
As you should expect from Criterion, this release comes with all the bells and whistles, including a new audio commentary from an Ashby biographer, new interviews with Yusuf/Cat Stevens, and a booklet featuring essays and interviews.
Reviews:
Rotten...
Check it all out on this week's Video Score!
Pick of the Week
"Harold and Maude" (1971)
Director: Hal Ashby
Cast: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles
Story:
A young man with a death wish and a 79-year-old high on life find love in Hal Ashby's cult black comedy. This cinema classic gets the full Criterion treatment in this new Blu-ray release.
On the Disc:
As you should expect from Criterion, this release comes with all the bells and whistles, including a new audio commentary from an Ashby biographer, new interviews with Yusuf/Cat Stevens, and a booklet featuring essays and interviews.
Reviews:
Rotten...
- 6/12/2012
- by Kevin P. Sullivan
- MTV Movies Blog
By Allen Gardner
Harold And Maude (Criterion) Hal Ashby’s masterpiece of black humor centers on a wealthy young man (Bud Cort) who’s obsessed with death and the septuagenarian (Ruth Gordon) with whom he finds true love. As unabashedly romantic as it is quirky, with Cat Stevens supplying one of the great film scores of all-time. Fine support from Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, and Ellen Geer. Fine screenplay by Colin Higgins. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson, producer Charles Mulvehill; Illustrated audio excerpts from seminars by Ashby and Higgins; Interview with Cat Stevens. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo.
In Darkness (Sony) Agnieszka Holland’s Ww II epic tells the true story of a sewer worker and petty thief in Nazi-occupied Poland who single-handedly helped hide a group of Jews in the city’s labyrinthine sewer system for the duration of the war.
Harold And Maude (Criterion) Hal Ashby’s masterpiece of black humor centers on a wealthy young man (Bud Cort) who’s obsessed with death and the septuagenarian (Ruth Gordon) with whom he finds true love. As unabashedly romantic as it is quirky, with Cat Stevens supplying one of the great film scores of all-time. Fine support from Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, and Ellen Geer. Fine screenplay by Colin Higgins. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson, producer Charles Mulvehill; Illustrated audio excerpts from seminars by Ashby and Higgins; Interview with Cat Stevens. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo.
In Darkness (Sony) Agnieszka Holland’s Ww II epic tells the true story of a sewer worker and petty thief in Nazi-occupied Poland who single-handedly helped hide a group of Jews in the city’s labyrinthine sewer system for the duration of the war.
- 6/5/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.
Sorry, folks… there are simply too many great films streaming this week to post an image for them all, but that’s a good thing, eh? You’ve got your movie watching work cut out for you, due in great part to Miramax releasing damn near their entire catalog of films on one day!
B. Monkey (1999)
Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
Director: Michael Radford
Synopsis: Good-hearted schoolteacher Alan Furnace (Jared Harris) desperately wants some excitement in his life — and he may just get some. One lonely night at a London bar, Alan spies the raven-haired beauty Beatrice (Asia Argento) arguing with two friends, Paul (Rupert Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Beatrice quickly befriends Alan and...
Sorry, folks… there are simply too many great films streaming this week to post an image for them all, but that’s a good thing, eh? You’ve got your movie watching work cut out for you, due in great part to Miramax releasing damn near their entire catalog of films on one day!
B. Monkey (1999)
Streaming Available: 05/01/2011
Director: Michael Radford
Synopsis: Good-hearted schoolteacher Alan Furnace (Jared Harris) desperately wants some excitement in his life — and he may just get some. One lonely night at a London bar, Alan spies the raven-haired beauty Beatrice (Asia Argento) arguing with two friends, Paul (Rupert Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Beatrice quickly befriends Alan and...
- 4/29/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.
This Week’s New Instant Releases… Title: Black Heaven (2010)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Louise Bourgoin, Melvil Poupaud, Pauline Etienne, Pierre Niney, Ali Marhyar, Patrick Descamps, Pierre Vittet, Swann Arlaud, Francesco Merenda
Director: Gilles Marchand
Synopsis: While searching for the owner of a missing mobile phone with his girlfriend, Marion (Pauline Etienne), Gaspard (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) falls for the mysterious Sam (Louise Bourgoin), who draws him into a dangerous virtual-reality video game, where she provokes unsuspecting victims into killing themselves. Directed by Gilles Marchand, this intense French drama alternates between real-life events and those within the simulated computer world. Title: Heartless (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Clémence Poésy , Noel Clarke, Luke Treadaway, Justin Salinger,...
This Week’s New Instant Releases… Title: Black Heaven (2010)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Louise Bourgoin, Melvil Poupaud, Pauline Etienne, Pierre Niney, Ali Marhyar, Patrick Descamps, Pierre Vittet, Swann Arlaud, Francesco Merenda
Director: Gilles Marchand
Synopsis: While searching for the owner of a missing mobile phone with his girlfriend, Marion (Pauline Etienne), Gaspard (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) falls for the mysterious Sam (Louise Bourgoin), who draws him into a dangerous virtual-reality video game, where she provokes unsuspecting victims into killing themselves. Directed by Gilles Marchand, this intense French drama alternates between real-life events and those within the simulated computer world. Title: Heartless (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Clémence Poésy , Noel Clarke, Luke Treadaway, Justin Salinger,...
- 4/11/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
On December 20, 1971, the world is introduced to Harold Chasen (Bud Cort); young, rich, and obsessed with death. Mrs. Chasen (Vivian Pickles) has tried everything to get Harold away from his fixation with death, suicide, and dying. At one point, socialite Mrs. Chasen calls in Harold's Uncle Victor (Charles Tyner) to assist her in the attempt, but to no avail. The one-armed veteran tries to recruit Harold in to the armed forces, but Harold has other plans. For a hobby, Harold attends funerals in his full-sized black hearse, which is where he meets Maude (Ruth...
- 10/9/2010
- by Vicki Perry, Eugene Comedy Movie Examiner
- Examiner Movies Channel
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