Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Harold and Maude Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 24, 2014

Hal Ashby's "Harold and Maude" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive video discussion of the film by critic David Cairns and an audio commentary with author Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill. The release also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet featuring archival interviews with director Hal Ashby and writer-producer Colin Higgins, a 1971 profile of actress Ruth Gordon, and rare archival imagery. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. Region-B "locked".

"This world was not my own, so there was nothing much to gain..."

He is Harold (Bud Cort, Brewster McCloud), a 20-year-old rich and spoiled young man who constantly stages mock suicides - possibly to entertain himself, possibly to annoy his pretentious mother (Vivian Pickles, Britannia Hospital). She is Maude (Ruth Gordon, Rosemary's Baby), a 79-year-old lonely woman who loves life but senses that probably has little of it left to live. The two meet at a funeral and immediately discover that they have something in common – both are fascinated by death.

After the funeral, Harold and Maude begin spending time together and learning about each other. The discoveries they make eventually convince them that together they could be a great couple. But the age gap keeps them apart – at least for a while.

In the meantime, Harold’s mother decides that the right time for her son to be in a serious relationship has finally come. Naturally, she fills out a questionnaire with a local dating agency and quickly selects three single women that have the potential to be perfect for Harold. However, much to her disappointment Harold quickly proves that he does not have the potential to be perfect for them.

After a series of exciting adventures, Harold finally reveals to his mother that he has found the woman with whom he wishes to spend the rest of his life. He does not wait for her blessing and goes straight back to Maude, who is getting ready to celebrate her 80th birthday.

Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude is a film with two completely different identities. On one hand, it is a light, energetic and often irresistibly funny film about two people who despite their age difference connect and fall in love. More than anything else the attraction between them is mental, not physical, which is why their love isn’t intimidating.

On the other hand, Harold and Maude is a genuinely sad film. Harold looks alive only when he plays with Death, the rest of the time he is a walking shadow surrounded by fake people who simply exist. They see him as an eccentric character but he is in fact a lonely young man who constantly reminds himself that he isn’t like them, existing rather than living. Maude acts as she does because she is alive but no one seems to notice her presence. In a way, like Harold, most of the time she is also a walking shadow.

The funny and the sad constantly overlap, leaving one slightly uncertain whether everything that takes place in the film should be taken seriously. But this is what makes the film so charming – it is unpredictable, wild, and a bit too edgy to be easily dismissed as being simply too strange. Then there is also the soundtrack by Cat Stevens, pulling the film in an entirely different direction, forcing one to very seriously ponder why Harold and Maude have become so close.

The acting is excellent. The majority of the time Cort looks pale and appropriately disconnected from the world those around him cherish. As the film progresses, it is easy to understand why a disillusioned young man like him would want to constantly flirt with Death. Gordon is the exact opposite, energetic and enthusiastic, with a wonderful sense of humor.

Harold and Maude is beautifully lensed by cinematographer John A. Alonzo, who also collaborated with Roman Polanski on Chinatown and Brian De Palma on the classic gangster saga Scarface.

Harold and Maude Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

The high-definition appears to have been sourced from the same 2K master Criterion worked with when they prepared their Blu-ray release of Harold and Maude in 2012. Generally speaking, depth and clarity are consistently very pleasing. The outdoor footage, in particular, looks quite wonderful (see screencaptures #4 and 15). Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. There is a good range of soft and very natural colors that look notably healthy. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections and sharpening adjustments. As a result the film has a wonderful and stable organic look. Overall image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Harold and Maude Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 (Mono) and English LPCM 2.0 (Stereo). For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

I mentioned in our review of the Criterion release of Harold and Maude that I had a difficult time choosing between the two lossless tracks. Again, I lean towards the Stereo track, but in terms of dynamic activity and depth the two are virtually identical. Naturally, I think that the Mono track is just as effective as Stereo track. My advice to you is to experiment with both and see which one you like better. For the record, there are no pops, cracks, hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

Harold and Maude Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• David Cairns - presented here is a new video piece in which film critic David Cairns discusses Harold and Maude, Colin Higgins' script and some of its unusual qualities, the key relationships in the film, its production history, the film's framing and its macro editing, Hal Ashby and his career (including his work as an editor), etc. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Commentary - this audio commentary features Nick Dawson, author of Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel, and producer Charles B. Mulvehill. It was recorded for Criterion in 2011, and also appears on Criterion's Blu-ray release of Harold and Maude.

• Booklet - 40-page illustrated booklet featuring: Excerpt from an interview with Hal Ashby (Larry Salvato and Dennis Schaefer, 1976), Interview Excerpt with Colin Higgins (David Stratton, 1982), A boy of Twenty and a Woman of Eighty (Leticia Kent, 1971), and technical credits.

Harold and Maude Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of director Hal Ashby's counter-culture hit Harold and Maude residing in Region-B territories will be very pleased with Eureka Entertainment's upcoming Blu-ray release. It uses a high-definition transfer whose basic characteristics are practically identical to those of the high-definition transfer Criterion used for their release of the film in North America. Also included on this upcoming release is the audio commentary which author Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill recorded for Criterion in 2011. Buy with confidence, folks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.