Harold and Maude

Harold and Maude
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Hal Ashby
Written by	Colin Higgins
Produced by	Colin Higgins Charles B. Mulvehill
Starring	Ruth Gordon Bud Cort Vivian Pickles Cyril Cusack Charles Tyner Ellen Geer
Cinematography	John Alonzo
Edited by	William A. Sawyer Edward Warschilka
Music by	Cat Stevens
Production companies	Mildred Lewis and Colin Higgins Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	December 20, 1971 (1971-12-20) (United States)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.2 million (est.)[1]

Harold and Maude is a 1971 American romantic black comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chasen (Bud Cort), a young man who is intrigued with death, and who rejects the life his detached mother (Vivian Pickles) prescribes for him. Harold develops a friendship, and eventual romantic relationship, with 79-year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon) who teaches Harold about the importance of living life to its fullest.

The screenplay by Colin Higgins began as his master's thesis for film school. Filming took place in and around San Francisco and San Mateo, California, with locations including both Holy Cross Cemetery and Golden Gate National Cemetery, the ruins of the Sutro Baths, Mori Point, and Rosecourt Mansion in Hillsborough, California.

Critically and commercially unsuccessful when first released, the film eventually developed a cult following, and first made a profit in 1983.^[1][2] The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1997, and was ranked number 45 on the American Film Institute list of 100 funniest films of all time in 2000. The Criterion Collection released a special-edition Blu-ray and DVD in 2012.^[3]