Harold and Maude Page #3

Synopsis: Harold and Maude is a 1971 American romantic dark comedy drama directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man named Harold (played by Bud Cort) intrigued with death. Harold drifts away from the life that his detached mother (Vivian Pickles) prescribes for him, and slowly develops a strong friendship, and eventually a romantic relationship, with a 79-year-old woman named Maude (Ruth Gordon) who teaches Harold about living life to its fullest and that life is the most precious gift of all.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Production: Paramount Pictures
  Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
8.0
Rotten Tomatoes:
86%
PG
Year:
1971
91 min
2,834 Views


18INT. PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE - DAY

Harold is lying on the couch.

HAROLD:

(a reasoned

assessment)

I don't think I'm getting through

to Mother like I used to.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Does that worry you?

HAROLD:

(pause)

Yes. It does.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Why?

HAROLD:

I put a lot of effort into these

things.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Ah, yes.

HAROLD:

And a lot of time.

PSYCHIATRIST:

I'm sure. But what else do you

do with your time? Do you go to

school?

HAROLD:

No.

PSYCHIATRIST:

What about the draft?

HAROLD:

My mother spoke to my Uncle Victor.

He's in the Army and he fixed it up.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Oh. Well, how do you spend your

day?

HAROLD:

You mean when I'm not working on a...

PSYCHIATRIST:

Yes. What kind of things do you do?

19EXT. AUTOMOBILE JUNKYARD - DAY

Cranes, auto smashers, bulldozers, and mountains of rusting

cars and other junk. Very noisy and very fast cut. A

little essay on destructive machinery at work with Harold

looking on in rapture.

20INT. PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE - DAY

PSYCHIATRIST:

I see. Junkyards. What is the

fascination there?

HAROLD:

I don't know.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Is it the machines? The noise?

The people?

HAROLD:

No. It's the junk. I like to

look at junk.

PSYCHIATRIST:

What else do you like?

Harold pauses.

21INSERT - STOCK

A giant steel ball crashes into a building. We watch it

fall noisily into dust and rubble.

22INT. PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE - DAY

PSYCHIATRIST:

That's very interesting, Harold,

and I think very illuminative.

There seems to be a definite pattern

emerging.

(taking copious notes)

Your fondness for useless machines

and demolitions seems indicative

of your present emotional state,

your self-destructive urges and

your alienation from the regular

social interaction. What do you

think? And of course this pattern

once isolated can be coped with.

Recognize the problem and you are

half way on the road to its

solution. But tell me, what do

you do for fun? What activity

gives you a different sense of

enjoyment than the others? What

do you find fulfilling? What

gives you that certain satisfaction?

HAROLD:

I go to funerals.

23EXT. CEMETERY - LONG SHOT - DAY

showing a small group of mourners around a grave. A nearby

bench by a tree is empty. The coffin is slowly being

lowered into the ground.

24EXT. CEMETERY - DAY

CLOSER SHOTS of the mourners sobbing and the priest pray-

ing. We come to Harold who has a look of gentle fascina-

tion. The service is concluding. Harold looks up across

the grave. A hundred yards away on the cemetery bench

sits an old woman eating a tangerine. This is MAUDE.

Harold stares at her. She seems to be having some kind of

happy picnic. She looks over towards him. He quickly

returns his attention to the burial.

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Colin Higgins

Colin Higgins (28 July 1941 – 5 August 1988) was an Australian-American screenwriter, actor, director, and producer. He was best known for writing the screenplay for the 1971 film Harold and Maude, and for directing the films Foul Play (1978) and 9 to 5 (1980). He is not to be confused with a British actor of the same name who is known to Star Wars trivia buffs as "Fake Wedge" and who died in December 2012. more…

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Submitted by aviv on January 29, 2017

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