Harold and Maude provides a wonderfully dark, ironic contrast between the angst of growing up and the celebration of growing old and embracing death. Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon put in excellent performances.

Even if the plot line doesn't appeal to you, the sound track for the movie--exclusively Cat Stevens--is stunning and makes this a must-hear movie.

This movie is my official screening device for future friends and lovers. I know many kind and wonderful people who could not appreciate this film, and god bless 'em. But if I want to know right away if there's any possibility of someone "getting" me or a deeper connection between myself and them, I ask them if they like this movie. If they haven't seen it, I lend it to them.

I was in tenth grade when this movie came out and must have seen it 5 times. Of course, the soundtrack was incredible and made the movie and really turned me on to Cat Stevens. Fast forward to 2005 and if you are up to date with the times today (2/05) with all the remakes they are doing, this one also should me remade.
How about Jack White and Loretta Lynn. They showed they had good chemistry on her last album and I would love them to be the new Harold and Maude.

The Cat Stevens soundtrack is incredible. The farcical Bud Cort is fabulous. If you love and miss your grandmother, and you have a little Goth in you, you'll love this movie. :)

HAROLD AND MAUDE is truly a cult classic, and, rightfully so! This is a film about learning to embrace life, find the joy in the little things, and not take a moment for granted. It is also a dark comedy about two misfits who find friendship and love in the company of one another.

Harold (Bud Cort), is best described as an "odd young man" with a constant preoccupation with death. He is constantly faking his own death to get the attention of his blase and inattentive mother (Vivian Pickles). Her response is often one of boredom, and wearily attempts to fix him up with women through a computer dating service. The wealthy young man spends his time attending the funerals of strangers, cruising around in his very own hearse. It's one fateful day that he has a chance encounter with the fiesty, plucky, flamboyantly irreverant Maude (Ruth Gordon). This woman is truly like no woman he could ever meet through the computer dating service. Together, they embark on a lifechanging friendship. She teaches him to embrace life, challenge authority and awakens his spirit to the world around him.

Although, this film was quite a scandal, when it came out, due in no small part to the depiction of a romantic relationship between a young man and a woman old enough to be his grandmother, don't judge the book by its cover. Truthfully, Maude has more life in her than women 1/3 her age, and Bud Cort's portrayal of Harold gives new meaning to the term "goth." Not only does the story have some priceless scenes (particularly, when Harold fakes his own death in front of the young women his mother attempts to set him up with), but it is touching and, ultimately heartwrenching. What's more, the soundtrack by Cat Stevens is fantastic! The real spirit of the movie is captured in his beautiful music.