Harold and Maude

Black comedies don't come much blacker (or much funnier) than this 1971 cult favorite (a box-office flop on its initial release) from director Hal Ashby about the unlikely romance between death-obsessed 19-year-old Harold (Bud Cort) and life-loving 79-year-old widow Maude (Ruth Gordon). The pair meet at a funeral, and Maude finds something oddly appealing about Harold, urging him to "reach out" and grab life by the lapels as opposed to morbidly dwelling on mortality. Harold grows fond of Maude—who is a lot more fun than the girls his mother desperately matches him up with—and together they make this one of the sweetest and most unconventional love stories ever filmed. Much of the early humor arises from Harold's outrageous suicide fantasies, played out as a kind of twisted parlor game to mortify his mother, who's grown immune to her strange son's antics. Gradually, however, Harold adopts a brighter outlook, ultimately becoming truly happy to be alive. Featuring a winning soundtrack by Cat Stevens, this classic arrives from Criterion in both DVD and Blu-ray versions, with extras including audio commentary by Ashby biographer Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill, illustrated audio excerpts from seminars featuring Ashby and writer-producer Colin Higgins, a new interview with Yusuf (the former Cat Stevens), and a booklet. Highly recommended. (J. Shannon)