Directed by Robert Altman and written by Doran William Cannon, Brewster McCloud is the story of a recluse who lives in a shelter at the Houston Astrodome as he dreams of wanting to fly where he would create a flying machine. The film is an offbeat comedy that plays into a young man wanting to do the impossible as it mixes fantasy and reality into this man’s desire to fly. Starring Bud Cort, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, Rene Auberjonois, Stacy Keach, Margaret Hamilton, Jennifer Salt, and introducing Shelley Duvall. Brewster McCloud is a witty and whimsical film from Robert Altman.
The film is about a young recluse who yearns to fly as he creates a flying machine that would give him the chance to fly as he would deal with others who threaten him leading to a murder investigation led a detective from San Francisco. Set entirely in the city of Houston with the Astrodome in the center of the story, the film follows this titular character (Bud Cort) as he is trying to get an idea of how to fly with these wings he created. The film’s screenplay by Doran William Cannon sets up the main premise yet much of the film is improvised by director Robert Altman who would include small subplots into the film as it relates to Brewster McCloud.
Popping up every now and then is a lecturer (Rene Auberjonois) talking about birds and their wings while another subplot involves this detective in Frank Shaft (Michael Murphy) who arrives from San Francisco to investigate these mysterious murders as the one key evidence in these killings are bird shit. McCloud would try to mind his own business despite being aided by a mysterious woman in a trench coat named Louise (Sally Kellerman) and getting the attention of a tour guide in Suzanne (Shelley Duvall). Still, he is determined to prove that man can fly no matter what obstacles he faces.
Altman’s direction is offbeat as it opens with a band rehearsing the American national anthem until its singer (Margaret Williams) stops it because the band was off-key prompting to start all over again with the opening credits appearing once again. Shot on location in Houston, Texas and in and out of the Astrodome, the film does play into this strange mixture of fantasy and reality as it relates to what Brewster is trying to do in being able to fly. Yet, he also has to make a living as he would be first seen being a chauffeur to a miserly old man (Stacy Keach) while he also deals with an off-duty narcotics officer who tries to plant drugs on him at the zoo. Both men would meet their fate in bizarre ways as it adds to the film’s offbeat tone. Much of Altman’s direction is loose as he does use wide shots to get a look of the locations as well as shots inside the Astrodome. There are also some medium shots and close-ups that play into the characters and their interaction with a location including a scene of Brewster hiding from a security guard where he finds himself party of a touring group.
The film also play into these offbeat moments that happen as if something else is happening during a key scene which adds to Altman’s approach to the story as it play into so much that is happening including overlapping dialogue that would become a trademark of Altman’s style. Even as there is this car chase during the third act where it’s a riff of the car chase in some respects but also play into this confrontation with reality for some of the characters. The film’s climax is about Brewster’s flight and everything he thought about into his attempt to fly and what he would do to make this dream happen just as discoveries are made about these bizarre murders. Overall, Altman crafts an odd yet rapturous film about a young recluse wanting to fly inside the Astrodome.
Cinematographers Lamar Boden and Jordan Cronenweth do excellent work with the film’s cinematography to capture the sunny look of the daytime exterior scenes in Houston as well as the interiors for some scenes at night as well as the interiors of the Astrodome. Editor Lou Lombardo does brilliant work with the editing with some stylish jump-cuts to play into the humor and parts of the suspense as well as some playful montages that play into the bits of fantasy colliding with reality. Art directors E. Preston Ames and George W. Davis, with set decorators Robert R. Benton and Hugh Hunt, do fantastic work with the look of the shelter that Brewster lives in as well as the home of some of the victims along with the place that Suzanne lives in that she takes Brewster too.
Special makeup effects artist/wing designer Leon Ericksen does amazing work with the look of the old man that Brewster works for early in the film as well as the design of the wings. The sound work of William L. McCaughey and Harry W. Tetrick do superb work with the sound as it help capture the sound of the crowd as well as the atmosphere of the stadium when it isn’t full as well as some of the film’s natural elements. The film’s music by Gene Page is terrific for its playful orchestral score with elements of folk and country that include some original songs by John Phillips that play into the sense of adventure.
The casting by Gary Chason is wonderful that include some notable small roles from G. Wood as a skeptical police captain in Crandall who isn’t fond of Shaft, Bert Remsen as the corrupt narcotics officer Breen, John Schuck as the officer Johnson who helps out Shaft, William Baldwin as Suzanne’s boyfriend Bernard who works for the top police official Weeks, Stacy Keach as a stingy and cruel old man who collects money from old folks home in Abraham, Corey Fischer as an officer who helps Crandall, Margaret Hamilton as a singer in Daphne Heap that is cruel to the band playing for her, and Jennifer Salt as a young woman named Hope who helps out Brewster while also being sexually attracted to him. Rene Auberjonois is fantastic as the lecturer as this mad professor who talks about birds and their power in a comical way while William Windom is terrific as the top police official Haskell Weeks who hires Shaft to investigate while trying to smooth things over within the city.
In her film debut, Shelley Duvall is excellent as Suzanne as a tour guide for the Astrodome that meets Brewster when he’s trying to steal her car as they evade the police while learning about what Brewster is doing. Michael Murphy is brilliant as detective Frank Shaft as a man with piercing blue eyes who lead the investigation over these bizarre murders as he’s an offbeat man that is trying to investigate the case where he is the closest to anyone getting any answers of what is going on. Sally Kellerman is amazing as Louise as this mysterious woman who helps Brewster in his quest as she is this caretaker of sorts while also giving him advice on what to do to achieve his dream. Finally, there’s Bud Cort in a marvelous performance as the titular character as this young man that is wanting to fly as it’s an odd performance of a kid who is shy and reclusive yet is so determined to wanting to fly.
Brewster McCloud is an incredible film from Robert Altman. Featuring a great cast, an offbeat premise, dazzling visuals, and humorous moments that play into the film’s mix of reality and fantasy. It’s a film that definitely displays Altman’s unique vision in telling a story in an unconventional manner while playing up the ideas of fantasy and reality. In the end, Brewster McCloud is a sensational film from Robert Altman.
Robert Altman Films: (The Delinquents) – (The James Dean Story) – Countdown (1968 film) - (That Cold Day in the Park) – M.A.S.H. - McCabe & Mrs. Miller - (Images) – Thieves Like Us - The Long Goodbye - California Split - Nashville - Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson - 3 Women - (A Wedding) – (Quintet) – (A Perfect Couple) – (HealtH) – Popeye - (Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean) – (Streamers) – (Secret Honor) – (O.C. and Stiggs) – Fool for Love - (Beyond Therapy) – (Aria-Les Boreades) – (Tanner ’88) – (Vincent & Theo) – The Player - Short Cuts - Pret-a-Porter - (Kansas City) – (The Gingerbread Man) – Cookie's Fortune - Dr. T and the Women - Gosford Park - The Company (2003 film) - (Tanner on Tanner) – A Prairie Home Companion
© thevoid99 2018
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 3/4/07 w/ Additional Edits.
Based on the novel by Richard Hooker, M.A.S.H. is the story about an eccentric group of medical personnel working during the Korean War as they defy the world of the military and all sorts of authority. Directed by Robert Altman and screenplay by Ring Lardner, the film is an exploration into the world of military service and how some deal with their time. With an all-star cast that includes Elliott Gould, Donald Sutherland, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Bud Cort, Rene Auberjonois, Tom Skerritt, Fred Williamson, Roger Bowen, John Schuck, and Michael Murphy. M.A.S.H. is an absurd yet chaotic war-comedy from Robert Altman.
It's the Korean War as two surgeons named Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland) and Duke (Tom Skerritt) arrived onto base and steal a jeep to go the M.A.S.H. unit miles away from where the fighting is going on. They meet their superior, Lt. Col. Blake (Roger Bowen) along with Cpl. "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff), Father "Dago Red" Mulcahy (Rene Auberjonois), and dentist Capt. "Painless Pole" Waldowski (John Schuck). While Hawkeye and Duke were drafted into the war, they reveal to be just ordinary guys that just want to help people. Unfortunately, they're forced to live in the same tent with the religious, tough Major Frank Burns (Robert Duvall). Going on with their business in surgery and flirting with nurses including Lt. "Dish" Schneider (Jo Ann Pflug), Hawkeye finds a new partner in arriving surgeon in "Trapper John" McIntyre (Elliott Gould).
Trapper John doesn't like the way things are run, especially when Burns blames the death of a patient on an orderly named Private Boone (Bud Cort). Trapper John responds to Burns' attitude by punching him just as new head nurse Major Margaret O'Houlihan (Sally Kellerman) arrives. O'Houlihan's arrival only increases Trapper John and Hawkeye's battle against authority. When they learn that O'Houlihan is having an affair with the married Burns, they learn her nickname to be "Hot Lips" as the medical personnel decide to play a prank on them. After getting Burns into the hot seat, John and Hawkeye continue to work on their wily ways while getting help from their Korean assistant Ho-Jon (Kim Atwood). When Hawkeye learns that Painless Pole is dealing with a problem that reveals that he's not a Don Juan, he finds a solution that will help him as the entire personnel including some reluctance from Dago Red, get involved. After another prank that involved Hot Lips, Hot Lips threatens to resign to Col. Blake.
When John and Hawkeye continue their wild ways, they learn that they can go to Japan to help operate on the son of a congressman. Still, dealing with the authority, Hawkeye and John continue to break the rules as they demand for some food and time to play golf and meet women with the building's doctor Capt. "Me Lay" Marston IV (Michael Murphy). Returning from Japan, they learn that General Hammond (G. Wood) wants to challenge Col. Blake for a football match with his unit. The rowdy personnel including Hot Lips decide to get a ringer named Spearchucker (Fred Williamson) for help to win some money. There, the general is forced to see for himself what the M.A.S.H. unit is really all about.
While films about war often show different sides of what goes on and off the battlefield. Robert Altman chooses to go outside of not just the battlefield but the conventions of war films by making not just an anti-war film but also anti-military. There's not a lot of mention of what was going on in the Korean War but rather as an allegory of sorts about Vietnam and its intentions. So, Altman chooses to explore the military in all of its absurdity and find characters that audiences can relate to. Then there's the story or rather... the lack of a story and plot. Still, Altman chooses to make fun of these things and defy authority through the film's central characters and supporting roles.
While the screenplay and story revels on what it was like working in the M.A.S.H. unit, it's really about a few, ordinary men trying to do their jobs and live their life while trying not to be pushed by their authority figures. Conflict is an important part of the film as characters such as Hawkeye and Trapper John duke it out with anyone like the mean Frank Burns who blames patients deaths on interns or Hot Lips for her strict guidelines. Yet, Altman's direction that is filled with chaos, overlapping dialogue between characters, and scenes that included more than two people in a frame. This became known as the Altman style and it feels very real to its audience where everyone from the big lead to a supporting player gets to have their moments. While the film incorporates a lot of style into this war comedy that includes a lot of low-brow humor and a football game in the end. To the casual film goer, it seems like one too many genres in a film yet Altman makes the film consistent through its irreverent humor where as a result, it's a no-holds-barred, witty comedy about war and the little people involved.
Cinematographer Harold E. Stine does excellent work in capturing the surreal, worldly look of the army bases and cities that the M.A.S.H. unit visit. Art directors Arthur Lonergan, Jack Martin Smith, and Michael Friedman also do excellent work in creating the tents and quirky look of the camps as well as some of the Japanese bases and sushi restaurants. Editor Danford B. Greene does excellent work in bringing rhythm and style to the film's editing with some perspective cuts as well as playing to the film's humor. Sound mixers Bernard Freericks and John D. Stack do great work on the sound to convey the atmosphere and mood of the scenes and settings they're in. Composer Johnny Mandel brings a comical film score to the film while the famous song Suicide Is Painless by Mandell and lyrics by then 14-year old Mike Altman is wonderfully funny ballad about one of the film's characters.
Then there's the cast which is very important to any Altman film. Notable small yet memorable performances from G. Wood, Kim Atwood, Indus Arthur as Col. Blake's mistress, Bobby Troup as Staff Sgt. Gorman, Cathleen Cordell as the head nurse in Japanese base, Danny Goldman as Cpt. Murrhardt, Corey Fischer as Cpt. Bandini, and in their film debuts, Fred Williamson as Spearchucker and Bud Cort as an intern. The voice of Sal Viscuso is very memorable for all the information he reveals about what movies are playing and such. Other small performances from Altman regulars Michael Murphy and Rene Auberjonois are wonderfully memorable for the brief scenes they're in while series regular Gary Burghoff is funny as Radar. Jo Ann Pflug is excellent as the nurse Lt. "Dish" Schneider while John Schuck gives a great performance as Painless Pole. Roger Bowen is wonderfully funny as the leading authority figure Lt. Col. Blake with his own quirky ideas about leading a unit.
Though he's known for dramatic roles, Robert Duvall is given to do a bit of comedy as the insane, religious Frank Burns. Duvall is great in willing to play a comic foil who takes himself too seriously and is willing to compromise his own beliefs. Sally Kellerman is wonderfully funny as another comic foil in Hot Lips with her hysterical behavior after her humiliating moments and her cheering as a cheerleader. Kellerman is very funny in the role that is definitely memorable. Tom Skerritt is also great as Duke with his mischievous ways and love for dope and Hot Lips. Donald Sutherland gives a wonderfully laid-back, funny performance as the easy-going Hawkeye who likes to flirt and cause trouble. Altman regular Elliott Gould is also extremely funny as Hawkeye's partner-in-chaos Trapper John with his hatred for authority and willingness to cause chaos. Gould and Sutherland really own the film by just adding memorable moment and one-liners after another.
M.A.S.H. is an off-the-wall yet extremely hilarious film from Robert Altman. Armed with a great ensemble cast and biting themes on war and authority, it is definitely one of the great films about military service. Notably as it isn't afraid to poke fun at the dark side of dealing with death and such. For those new to Robert Altman, this film is definitely one of the best places to start. In the end, M.A.S.H. is an incredibly funny film from Robert Altman.
Robert Altman Films: (The Delinquents) - (The James Dean Story) - Countdown (1968 film) - (That Cold Day in the Park) - Brewster McCloud - McCabe & Mrs. Miller - (Images) - The Long Goodbye - Thieves Like Us - California Split - Nashville - Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson - 3 Women - (A Wedding) - (Quintet) - (A Perfect Couple) - (HealtH) - Popeye - (Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean) - (Streamers) - (Secret Honor) - (O.C. and Stiggs) - Fool for Love - (Beyond Therapy) - (Aria-Les Boreades) - (Tanner ‘88) - (Vincent & Theo) - The Player - Short Cuts - Pret-a-Porter - (Kansas City) - (The Gingerbread Man) - Cookie’s Fortune - Dr. T & the Women - Gosford Park - The Company (2003 film) - (Tanner on Tanner) - A Prairie Home Companion
© thevoid99 2013
Directed by Hal Ashby and written by Colin Higgins, Harold and Maude is the story of a 20-year old death-obsessed young man who meets a 79-year old lively woman as they forge a unique relationship. The film is an exploration into love as a young man deals with his own posh surroundings as he falls for this old woman who has lived a full life. Starring Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon, and Vivian Pickles. Harold and Maude is a joyful and heartwarming film from Hal Ashby.
Harold Chasen (Bud Cort) is a 20-year old rich kid with an obsession for death as he tries to create fake suicides and drives a hearse much to the chagrin of his mother (Vivian Pickles). Harold also attends funerals for fun where he notices an upbeat and lively 79-year old woman named Maude (Ruth Gordon) attending these funerals and do all sorts of things like stealing cars and such. Harold’s mother decides that Harold should get married as she tries to get different women to meet Harold where the results have Harold do all sorts of strange things. Harold spends a lot of time with Maude as he is amazed by her energy and enthusiasm as she helps Harold out with his issues while having him to learn how to play the banjo. When Harold tells his mother his intentions to marry Maude, all sorts of trouble occur as everyone in Harold’s family wonder about this strange relationship.
The film is essentially an unconventional love story between a 20-year old young man with an obsession for death and a very lively 79-year old woman who lives a very bohemian lifestyle. It’s a strange premise for a love story but what makes it work is the fact that these two people are very unique individuals who like to attend funerals for people they don’t know and do all sorts of strange things. For Harold, it’s to rebel against his mother by staging fake suicides and drive a hearse as a way to get her attention. Particularly as he doesn’t feel like his mother really cares about what he wants rather what she thinks he should do with his life. In Maude, Harold finds someone to connect with as she is someone who has lived a long life as well as presenting something that could give Harold meaning in his life.
Colin Higgins’ screenplay isn’t just a film about these people trying to defy the conventions of the world but also try to live their life without compromise and be happy. For the young Harold, he always has to answer to his mother, his psychiatrist, and his one-armed uncle who is a general in the army. Harold’s mother isn’t a complete heartless woman but someone who really doesn’t understand her son at all. In Maude, Harold can find someone to talk to as she is this very vivacious woman who is very eccentric in terms of what she does as well as the fact that she’s lived a very long life and with a very unique point of view on things. Higgins’ script doesn’t have much of a traditional structure though the scenes where Harold meets his three dates do contain a lot of humor as the moments become more outrageous in what Harold tries to do.
Hal Ashby’s direction is very engaging for the way he presents the film as it’s set entirely near the Bay Area in California where it’s at the center of a world still coming out of the 1960s counterculture and its social movements. Ashby creates some amazing compositions and wide shots to display this world that is filled with imagery that has references to death. Some of which includes this large shot of a cemetery where Harold and Maude are just walking around or more intimate shots at a funeral at a cemetery or in a church. Ashby creates something where death is quite prevalent to establish the mood that Harold is in as well as the fact that he drives a hearse and later a Jaguar that he re-modeled into a hearse.
Things get much looser as the film progresses where Harold starts to become more lively as Ashby let things play out more naturally including the humor. The humor is a key part of the film that makes it so interesting from the scenes where Harold creates these elaborate suicide attempts. The way Ashby frames them are very interesting as it indicates not just how outrageous his attempts are but also how inattentive his mother is. Towards the end of the film where Harold and Maude become a couple and the people in Harold’s life are very baffled by this but it is followed by a very poignant ending that would eventually have Harold make a big decision with his life. Overall, Ashby creates a truly splendid and majestic film about love and life.
Cinematographer John Alonzo does lovely work with the film‘s colorful cinematography from the lush look of the locations to the low-key lighting schemes for some of the interiors including the opening scene of the film. Editors William A. Sawyer and Edward Warschilka do great work with the editing to play up with the rhythm of the humor as well as some nice montages to exude the feel-good vibe of the film as well as some of its drama. Production designer Michael Haller does wonderful work with the look of the posh home Harold lives as well as the more bohemian world that Maude lives in.
Costume designer William Theiss does nice work with the costumes from the suits that Harold wears to the more stylish clothing of Maude and Harold‘s mother. The sound work of William Randall is terrific for the atmosphere it creates in some scenes such as the carnival that Harold and Maude go to as well as the junkyard where they have a picnic. The film’s soundtrack largely consists of music by Cat Stevens that plays to not just Harold’s state of mind but also the joy he later feels with Maude as it features an array of great songs like Don’t Be Shy, If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out, Trouble, and several others as the soundtrack also includes a few classical pieces as it’s a very outstanding soundtrack.
The casting by Anne Brebner is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Tom Skerritt as a motorcycle cop, Eric Christmas as a baffled priest, G. Wood as Harold’s psychiatrist, Cyril Cusack as a sculptor friend of Maude’s, and Charles Tyner as Harold’s one-armed uncle General Victor Ball who is truly a hoot to watch. In the roles of the three women Harold’s mother offers to Harold, Candy Gulf and Shari Summers are very good as the first two dates who are freaked out by Harold’s antics while Ellen Geer is superb as the third date who does her own take on death. Vivian Pickles is great as Harold’s mother who doesn’t really understand her son as Pickles has some funny moments that showcases the sense of neglect she has for her son.
Finally there’s the duo of Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon in their respective roles as Harold and Maude. Cort brings a very captivating performance as a young man lost in the world as he is unable to find some kind of happiness as he finds himself drawn to death as a way to deal with his mother’s lack of affection towards him. Gordon brings a lot of excitement to her role as Maude as this woman who has the energy of someone in her 20 or 30s as she is so full of life and is also very charming in the way she deals with situations. Cort and Gordon are the heart and souls of the film as they definitely have great chemistry together and bring a lot to the film that makes it so much fun to watch.
The 2012 Region 1 DVD/Blu-Ray release from the Criterion Collection presents the film in its original 1:85:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 Surround Sound in optional stereo and mono. With a new pristine transfer, the film looks as gorgeous than ever as it is supported by amazing packaging and menus that add to the film’s quirky tone.
The first special feature is a commentary track on the film from Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill. Through separate commentaries, the two do discuss the film and its importance to 1970s American cinema. Dawson discusses a lot about Ashby’s work and how this film would be a springboard for the films he would do throughout the 70s as it all explored men living in a world where they’re naïve and out of sorts with things. Dawson also reveals about Ashby’s relationship with director Norman Jewison who Ashby had worked for as his editor for a few years and Jewison was his mentor. Mulvehill reveals a lot about the production as well as the film’s writer/producer Colin Higgins who wanted to direct the film but Paramount wasn’t sure as Ashby was called in to direct. Ashby was the reason Higgins became a producer for the film that Higgins can see things.
Mulvehill revealed that Ashby originally wanted Elton John to play the role of Harold as well as do the music but John wasn’t interested as Ashby later went for Bud Cort. Mulvehill reveals that the producers wanted a European actress to play Maude but ended up going with Ruth Gordon who ended up being the right person for the role though she never knew how to drive a car. Mulvehill also expresses how disappointed the film was received upon its release and wondered where were the people who ended up liking the movie as he felt he needed them so it would’ve done well in the box office. The overall commentary tracks are informative but also quite entertaining for what is revealed.
The next two special features are two 13-minute audio excerpts from American Film Institute seminars from Hal Ashby and screenwriter/producer Colin Higgins that features several photographs on set and such to accompany the audio. Ashby’s audio excerpt from January of 1972 where Ashby talks about his early career into the world of film and the film itself as he discusses about his approach to filmmaking, working with actors, and the importance of collaborators. Ashby also talks about the use of Cat Stevens’ music as well as into why it didn’t do well initially when it first came out. Higgins’ audio piece from January of 1979 has the writer talking about the creation of the story and how it got sold. He also reveals a lot about the production and the subsequent play versions of the film that he was involved in as he thinks it’s one of his best works.
The 11-minute interview with Yusuf/Cat Stevens has the famed singer-songwriter discussing about his background in music and the intentions he had as a singer-songwriter during the 1970s. Yusuf also reveals how he got involved in the film as he read the script and decided to have some of his songs used though he had reservations at first. The two songs he recorded in Don’t Be Shy and If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out were actually demos of songs he had hoped to properly recorded but the demos were used for the film as admitted to be upset about it at first. It’s a very engaging interview to see the man formerly known as Cat Stevens discuss his music and the film as he always felt his music should be in more films.
The DVD set also includes a booklet that features a lot of text material that relates to the film. The first is an essay from film critic Matt Zoller Seitz entitled Life and How to Live It where Seitz discusses about the film’s influence on the works of filmmakers like Wes Anderson and the early films of Paul Thomas Anderson as well as the fact that the film imbued a lot of the 60s idealism into the film was seemingly lost in the early 70s. Seitz also reveals what made the film so different from the other films of the New Hollywood era that was emerging and how it would fit into many of the films that Hal Ashby would make in the 1970s from The Landlord to Being There.
The next piece text is a 1971 New York Times article called A Boy of Twenty and a Woman of Eighty by Leticia Kent about actress Ruth Gordon who talks about her acting career as well as her unique take on life where she believes age is just a number as it’s definitely a great read to a woman who is truly full of life. The next piece of text is a 1997 conversation between actor Bud Cort, cinematographer John Alonzo, and James Rogers of the Colin Higgins Trust where Cort and Alonzo talk about their memories of the films as well as various tidbits about Ruth Gordon and Hal Ashby as it’s definitely a fun conversation to read.
The last piece of text in the booklet is an excerpt of a 2001 interview with executive producer Mildred Lewis, her husband Edward, and their daughter Susan about screenwriter Colin Higgins for a documentary about Higgins. Lewis and her family talk about how they met Higgins and how his script got into her hands where Edward Lewis took the script to the then-heads of Paramount in Robert Evans and Peter Bart who were intrigued by the script and had it green-lit. It’s a fun, short little piece that explores a lot about the late Higgins who would helm such films as Foul Play, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and 9 to 5.
Harold and Maude is a sensational film from Hal Ashby that features a superb script by Colin Higgins and exhilarating performances from Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort. Along with a spectacular music soundtrack from Cat Stevens, the film is definitely one of the great romantic films of the genre as well as a film that isn’t afraid to be quirky and off-the-wall. In the end, Harold and Maude is a triumphant film from Hal Ashby.
Hal Ashby Films: The Landlord - The Last Detail - Shampoo - Bound for Glory - Coming Home - Being There - Second-Hand Hearts - (Lookin’ to Get Out) - (Let’s Spend the Night Together) - (Solo Trans) - (The Slugger’s Wife) - 8 Million Ways to Die
© thevoid99 2012
