Harold and Maude

Harold (Bud Cort) is obsessed with death, drives a hearse, and yearns to break free of the life his narcissistic mother has prescribed for him. Even after repeated suicide attempts - by hanging, slicing, gunshot, drowning, and even hara-kiri - mom just won't listen! But then Harold meets octogenarian Maude (Ruth Gordon), whose free-spirited nature (grand theft auto and posing nude are regular hobbies for her) makes the depressed young man reevaluate his life. Harold and Maude, quite possibly the most iconic May-December relationship captured on screen, is an outrageously funny and affecting fable by counterculture director Hal Ashby. The indelible performances are punctuated by Cat Stevens' engrossing score. Though maligned on release, the film became a bona-fide cult classic and is presented here on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.