Tonight I found my ancient first website (which was on Compuserve & that shut down some time ago) so I thought I might put some of these up to archive for a time. Please realise this was from the early days of the Internet and things (& myself) had so much more Naïveté back in 1996...
This is a film one either loves or hates. This reviewer is of a positive opinion of the film, having viewed it first ten years after its release. There in a crowd of two hundred film class participants, this reviewer was the only person to stand for the merits of this film at an end of show critique.
The stylization of character fits into the same realm of such plays as "Oh Dad Poor Dad...".
There is created a real relationship between Harold and the intended audience as seen in 4th-wall breaking takes to the camera. This is Harold's story; and as a protagonist, he's just a skinny kid who wants to some attention and affection.
The antagonist of Harold is the entire "establishment" of the early 1970s, including a socialite & unloving mother, a puffy faced priest, an ineffectual 'with it' psycho-analyst, and a one-armed uncle in the military. When he meets Maude over some licorice while attending a funeral of a person neither of them knows it is only a matter of time before he begins to learn how to master his own life.
It is the interaction between Maude & Harold that makes this film an unique experience, which some find too unusual in their intimacy to fully appreciate.
Whilst the message of the film may, to some, be too obviously "Hippy"or "past its sell-by date"; the theme does inspire both thought and discussion, even when viewing it today. It is not the finest movie ever made, but it is a film that ought to be experienced at least once.
If one does like this film and understands the use of the dark comedy---he or she can use the film as a 'watch dog'. If you like this film and want to test the compatibility between yourself and a new acquaintance, get this film and have this new person watch it with you. If they don't like it and you do, it is perhaps a measure of how the two of you will evolve within the knowing of each other.
Maudianism is a way of being. It's based on the concepts about living espoused in the film HAROLD and MAUDE, or what could be called "Maudianisms". Maudianism is to approach life in a similar way as the character Maude approaches life (although the borrowing of others' cars or other property or taking the tablets on your 80th birthday is NOT a part of the main concept of Maudianism NOR is it advised here).
[2013---I have decided to have my own ideas about the ending of the film, and no one can stop me. I believe that Maude actually took no tablets. She really faked her own death so Harold couldn't adhere himself to her, which she knew couldn't work in the long run. Just as Harold has faked many deaths, she just ironically does the same thing to maintain her freedom. Remember what she says, "Go out and love some more"... She knew that Harold just needed permission & if it took enacting her death well so be it! ]
What's important is the Harold has finally grasped life when he has had to face feeling a true death.
There are no rules for membership, in fact, there isn't a membership at all. Likewise, there are no meetings, and no one's in charge. It is quite simple to be a Maudian. No one will ever make you pay any dues or force you to live in some cultish arrangement.
As Collin Higgins wrote using the Maude voice, it's only about this: "Give me an L! Give me an I! Give me a V! Give me an E! L---I---V---E! LIVE! Otherwise you got nothing to talk about in the locker room!"
For photos from the film, check out:
You can like it on Facebook:
ABOUT MAUDIANISM
Basic Facts:
HAROLD and MAUDE
is the title of a book and later a film, and still later a stage adaptation, written originally by Colin Higgins. The film was produced in 1971 by Paramount Pictures it starred Ruth Gordon as MAUDE and Bud Cort as HAROLD. The film was directed by Hal Ashby, and Cat Stevens provided the Musical Score. The film is called a"'classic cult film that features one of the screen's most unlikely pairs. It will defy everything you've ever seen or known about screen lovers...HAROLD, is a young man bored with wealth but interested in death...{who meets}...MAUDE, a wonderful old rascal who can see nothing but good intentions in the world...An outrageously funny and affecting film that proves that Love has no boundaries."
HAROLD and MAUDEis the title of a book and later a film, and still later a stage adaptation, written originally by Colin Higgins. The film was produced in 1971 by Paramount Pictures it starred Ruth Gordon as MAUDE and Bud Cort as HAROLD. The film was directed by Hal Ashby, and Cat Stevens provided the Musical Score. The film is called a"'classic cult film that features one of the screen's most unlikely pairs. It will defy everything you've ever seen or known about screen lovers...HAROLD, is a young man bored with wealth but interested in death...{who meets}...MAUDE, a wonderful old rascal who can see nothing but good intentions in the world...An outrageously funny and affecting film that proves that Love has no boundaries."
An Opinion Of the Film:
Realizing that this film was produced in the early 1970's, one hopefully would not judge it on its "rustic" cinematography alone. While there are patches when one wonders if the editors were enjoying one of 'Maude's vices' while cutting the thing, it is a good laugh to look back at the fashions of that time, especially Harold's extra long wooly scarf and bell-bottom trouser ensemble.This is a film one either loves or hates. This reviewer is of a positive opinion of the film, having viewed it first ten years after its release. There in a crowd of two hundred film class participants, this reviewer was the only person to stand for the merits of this film at an end of show critique.
The stylization of character fits into the same realm of such plays as "Oh Dad Poor Dad...".
There is created a real relationship between Harold and the intended audience as seen in 4th-wall breaking takes to the camera. This is Harold's story; and as a protagonist, he's just a skinny kid who wants to some attention and affection.
The antagonist of Harold is the entire "establishment" of the early 1970s, including a socialite & unloving mother, a puffy faced priest, an ineffectual 'with it' psycho-analyst, and a one-armed uncle in the military. When he meets Maude over some licorice while attending a funeral of a person neither of them knows it is only a matter of time before he begins to learn how to master his own life.
It is the interaction between Maude & Harold that makes this film an unique experience, which some find too unusual in their intimacy to fully appreciate.
Whilst the message of the film may, to some, be too obviously "Hippy"or "past its sell-by date"; the theme does inspire both thought and discussion, even when viewing it today. It is not the finest movie ever made, but it is a film that ought to be experienced at least once.
If one does like this film and understands the use of the dark comedy---he or she can use the film as a 'watch dog'. If you like this film and want to test the compatibility between yourself and a new acquaintance, get this film and have this new person watch it with you. If they don't like it and you do, it is perhaps a measure of how the two of you will evolve within the knowing of each other.
"So What is Maudianism?"
[2013---I have decided to have my own ideas about the ending of the film, and no one can stop me. I believe that Maude actually took no tablets. She really faked her own death so Harold couldn't adhere himself to her, which she knew couldn't work in the long run. Just as Harold has faked many deaths, she just ironically does the same thing to maintain her freedom. Remember what she says, "Go out and love some more"... She knew that Harold just needed permission & if it took enacting her death well so be it! ]
What's important is the Harold has finally grasped life when he has had to face feeling a true death.
There are no rules for membership, in fact, there isn't a membership at all. Likewise, there are no meetings, and no one's in charge. It is quite simple to be a Maudian. No one will ever make you pay any dues or force you to live in some cultish arrangement.
As Collin Higgins wrote using the Maude voice, it's only about this: "Give me an L! Give me an I! Give me a V! Give me an E! L---I---V---E! LIVE! Otherwise you got nothing to talk about in the locker room!"
For photos from the film, check out:
You can like it on Facebook:
"Maude: I should like to change into a sunflower most of all. They're so tall and simple. What flower would you like to be? Harold: I don't know. One of these, maybe. Maude: Why? Harold: Because they're all alike. Maude: Oh, but they're *not*. Look. See, some are smaller, some are fatter, some grow to the left, some to the right, some even have lost some petals. All *kinds* of observable differences..."
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