Rating: 
Summary: Life-Affirming
Review: I first watched this movie on VHS in 9th grade. I adored it immediately. The depth of the characters is astonishing. I am not normally caught up in such feel-good, tear-jerking movies, but this is The Exception. I watched the movie again in 1990, the night my 80-year-old grandmother died. I had spent most of the day moping and crying and feeling the overwhelming sadness of losing one of my best friends. This movie jump-started my healing process. I was instantly able to look back on my grandmother's life with joy, not with tears. I recommend that it be bought, not rented, as it is a great movie to have on hand when mundane, daily irritations start to "get to" you. Maude's gentle explanations of the Cycle of Life, while simple, are beautifully communicated. We have the options, every day, to view life like pre-Maude Bud Cort, or like Maude herself. I know which I prefer. Beautiful, magical, heart-breaking...just a lovely movie.
Rating: 
Summary: A touching story of life and love
Review: This movie is beautiful. It affected me for more than just 20 minutes after I had watched it, which is really saying something, I think. I loved the very end. A banjo?! I shook with laughter as tears streamed down my face.
Rating:
Summary: Good didactic movie
Review: I show this movie to my students. We all laugh at Maude's illegal antics, but at who's expense? Is Maude a heroine, or simply a self-absorbed hedonist? Can we condone what she does? Any movie that causes you to question is meeting one of the requirements of art. It gets a little long at times, but overall, it's a worthwhile movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: My all time favorite movie! You laugh, you cry! Just loved Ruth Gorden, and Bud Courtare a great match, has a message and just an all around good movie. Great music too!
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: Pssssssssstt. What a classic this film is! I loved it the 1st time I viewed it and with each addtional viewing I find something more, especially with the genius performance of Ruth Gordon. Her character is a genuine crack up with eccentric interests, wonderfully funny and sexy body movements and a wonderful view of life, right down (or up) to her "timed exit". Only Ruth Gordon could make hilarious the fact that her character carries a multitude of keys so she will never have to worry about not having the correct key when she needs to steal a vehicle - what genius. Her character is right out in front of Life, which I find contagious no matter how many times I view the movie. Obviously, I cannot say enough about this character actress. If you don't care for the character she plays in this movie, try her in another - the one with Clint Eastwood. As for the fake suicides included in this movie - they were outstandingly funny and dark. Kudos to the author of the story!
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, pretty good DVD
Review: It's well known how wonderful this movie is. Unlike crude schtick like, say, "Blazing Saddles", "Harold & Maude" really makes the viewer think, think about the labels we place on things, think about life, love, branching-out. Very life-affirming.
The DVD-edition contains little in the way of 'bells-and-whistles', with only 2 theatrical trailers for extras. However, the picture is quite crisp and the sound, the sound is AMAZING. If you're a fan, you'll truly appreciate how great this disk looks and sounds. If you're not... WHY?!!
Rating: 
Summary: Wacky Grandma Syndrome
Review: Everyone does love this movie, and I mean *LOVE* this movie. It's OK at best, it's highly overrated. The best parts are the different "suicides" that Harold comes up with- after that it's just this eccentric old lady doing crazy, wacky things, and making suckered viewers love life more than before they saw the film.. And that's why people love it, the wacky grandma. Man, that's always an easy way to get a reaction, it's like throwing a little red-headed girl into a sitcom that's lost its edge. The wacky Maude appeals to the lowest common denominator within this "cult" genre. She's a tool to manipulate your perceptions and emotions, it's not good filmmaking or good storytelling. How could anyone possibly not like an old woman who has a zest for life, plays by her own rules, always has a bit of wisdom at hand, paints, sculpts and models nude, and to top it off, she was in a concentration camp? You'd have to be a big insenstitive jerk not to love her, right? And if you do love here, well that just proves how sensitive and open-minded you are, huh? The writer and director strove to create a character completely above criticism by throwing in every cliche'd endearing character trait they could into one person. That is the worst kind of pandering and the worst kind of filmmaking. Perhaps it was original at some point, but not anymore, and it does not hold up... unless of course you fall for that "wacky grandma" stuff. The biggest problem is the comic elements used in the film are the same elements you'd find in a slapstick comedy, but this isn't slapstick, rather it's a sort of ironic dramedy. Using the slapstick elements, while at the same time asking the viewer to be sympathetic and find Maude admirable, it's just too much. It comes off, to me, as pretentious. The director is showing us how cute and clever he is, and deeply sensitive, by using slapstick elements delivered in a morose tone. It panders it's way through an hour and a half, and blatantly pushes all of the cliche' buttons. It could have been funny if it was aware of it's own pretention. Maude is a ridiculous, altruistically self-righteous character, and it would take a movie that doesn't take itself so seriously to make it work, and not make me wanna barf. It's really not that good, rent it, don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Film
Review: I bought Harold and Maude after being unable to rent this gem of a film at the local video store. I had not seen the film since high school ... as an adult I found the film even more captivating. The score with original songs by Cat Stevens create a wonderful message to the movie, and the acting by Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort is magical. Unlike movies today, this film does not rely on Hollywood gimicks and heavy production technique, but rather takes a great story and creates a moving movie experience. One of my favorites of all time.
Rating:
Summary: My All Time favorite / where can I get the soundtrack?
Review: After moving away from home, I found myself without a job. With the last few dollars I had, I went to the dollar theater. "Harold and Maude" was playing. I had heard it was good. After that first scene, I stopped worrying about my sorry situation and realized life was much bigger than I had allowed.
That is why this has forever been my favorite movie.
Now, does anyone know where I can pick up te soundtrack???
Rating:
Summary: La Vida Buena !
Review: As described by, and outrageously LIVED by Maude, this movie illustrates the insecurities in all of us, not just Bud ! Every time I have watched it, I have come away with a more positive attitude, a penchant to attend funerals of total strangers, and a consuming desire to roll down a hill of daisies ! The dialog is one not to be glossed over, or ignored. From maude's "smelling machine" ( "I smell snow" ), her wooden sculpture of the female form, to her throwing Harold's souviner gift into the ocean just off West Cliff in Santa Cruz ( "That way I'll always know where it is "! ), all demonstrate a rare perspective on life, one that exudes love, gentleness, faith, confidence, and internal beauty. Ending is tough to handle, but demonstrates Maude's inevitable effect on Harold. Absolutely beautiful !
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