$85.00
Add to Cart
Harold and Maude Criterion Collection Blu-ray Bluray Widescreen New & Sealed
Only 1 available
Details
Shipping: US-Mainland: $4.95 (more destinations)
Condition: Brand new
Returns: 7 days, buyer pays return shipping (more)
Harold and Maude
Criterion Collection Blu-ray Edition
High-Definition Video & Audio
Criterion | 1971 | Unedited Version | Rated PG | Jun 12, 2012
Harold and Maude ( Blu-ray )
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
English: Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Uncompressed Mono or Stereo 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Subtitles
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc
Playback
2K Blu-ray: Region A (locked)
Booklet includes reviews of the movie and interviews with Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon; cinematographer John Alonzo and executive producer Mildred Lewis.
With the idiosyncratic American fable HAROLD AND MAUDE, countercultural director Hal Ashby (BEING THERE) fashioned what would become the cult classic of it's era. Working from a script by Colin Higgins (9 TO 5), Ashby tells the story of the emotional and romantic bond between a death-obsessed young man (THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOUS Bud Cort) from a wealthy family and a devil-may-care, bohemian octogenarian (ROSEMARYS BABYS Ruth Gordon). Equal parts gallows humor and romantic innocence, HAROLD AND MAUDE dissolves the line between darkness and light along with the ones that separate people by class, gender, and age, and it features indelible performances and a remarkable soundtrack by Cat Stevens.
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
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 Criterion.
This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a SCANITY film scanner from a 35mm interpositive, which had to be wetgated from the original negative since it was severely scratched and not suitable for scanning. Colorist Sheri Eisenberg, who worked on a previous transfer of the film with the late director of photography John Alonzo, referenced Alonzo's original notes and the previous telecine to generate this version. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Image Systems' Phoenix, while jitter and flicker were fixed using Pixel Farm's PFClean.
The high-definition transfer has wonderful organic qualities. Detail and clarity are consistently pleasing, while contrast levels remain stable. Naturally, both the close-ups and panoramic scenes convey very good depth. The film's color scheme favors soft and earthy colors that look notably healthier than they do on the old R1 DVD release Paramount Pictures issued quite some time ago. There are absolutely no traces of post-production sharpening. Problematic degraining corrections have not been performed either. Unsurprisingly, a layer of light and well-resolved grain has been retained. When projected, the film looks tight and stable around the edges. Lastly, there are no artifacts or serious banding issues to report in this review. All in all, Criterion's Blu-ray release represents a strong upgrade in terms of visual quality over the old R1 DVD release. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0 and English LPCM 2.0 (Stereo). For the record, Criterion has provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
I had a difficult time choosing between the original Mono and Stereo tracks Criterion has included. I lean towards the Stereo track, but only because I really enjoyed listening to Cat Stevens' songs, and in particular "If You Want To Sing Out". In terms of dynamic progression, the two lossless tracks are quite similar, with the Stereo track possibly opening up the film in selected areas slightly better. The Mono track adds a stronger period feel to the film. The dialog is equally stable, clean, and easy to follow on both tracks. For the record, there are no distortions or audio dropouts to report.
Special Features:
New digital restoration, with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
Optional remastered uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
New audio commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill
Illustrated audio excerpts from seminars by Ashby and writer-producer Colin Higgins
New interview with songwriter Yusuf/Cat Stevens
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by film critic Matt Zoller Seitz; a 1971 New York Times profile of star Ruth Gordon (Blu-ray only); and two excerpted interviews, one from 1997 with star Bud Cort and cinematographer John Alonzo and one from 2001 with executive producer Mildred Lewis (Blu-ray only)
New cover by Jordan Crane
Criterion Collection Blu-ray Edition
High-Definition Video & Audio
Criterion | 1971 | Unedited Version | Rated PG | Jun 12, 2012
Harold and Maude ( Blu-ray )
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
English: Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Uncompressed Mono or Stereo 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Subtitles
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc
Playback
2K Blu-ray: Region A (locked)
Booklet includes reviews of the movie and interviews with Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon; cinematographer John Alonzo and executive producer Mildred Lewis.
With the idiosyncratic American fable HAROLD AND MAUDE, countercultural director Hal Ashby (BEING THERE) fashioned what would become the cult classic of it's era. Working from a script by Colin Higgins (9 TO 5), Ashby tells the story of the emotional and romantic bond between a death-obsessed young man (THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOUS Bud Cort) from a wealthy family and a devil-may-care, bohemian octogenarian (ROSEMARYS BABYS Ruth Gordon). Equal parts gallows humor and romantic innocence, HAROLD AND MAUDE dissolves the line between darkness and light along with the ones that separate people by class, gender, and age, and it features indelible performances and a remarkable soundtrack by Cat Stevens.
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
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 Criterion.
This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a SCANITY film scanner from a 35mm interpositive, which had to be wetgated from the original negative since it was severely scratched and not suitable for scanning. Colorist Sheri Eisenberg, who worked on a previous transfer of the film with the late director of photography John Alonzo, referenced Alonzo's original notes and the previous telecine to generate this version. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Image Systems' Phoenix, while jitter and flicker were fixed using Pixel Farm's PFClean.
The high-definition transfer has wonderful organic qualities. Detail and clarity are consistently pleasing, while contrast levels remain stable. Naturally, both the close-ups and panoramic scenes convey very good depth. The film's color scheme favors soft and earthy colors that look notably healthier than they do on the old R1 DVD release Paramount Pictures issued quite some time ago. There are absolutely no traces of post-production sharpening. Problematic degraining corrections have not been performed either. Unsurprisingly, a layer of light and well-resolved grain has been retained. When projected, the film looks tight and stable around the edges. Lastly, there are no artifacts or serious banding issues to report in this review. All in all, Criterion's Blu-ray release represents a strong upgrade in terms of visual quality over the old R1 DVD release. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0 and English LPCM 2.0 (Stereo). For the record, Criterion has provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
I had a difficult time choosing between the original Mono and Stereo tracks Criterion has included. I lean towards the Stereo track, but only because I really enjoyed listening to Cat Stevens' songs, and in particular "If You Want To Sing Out". In terms of dynamic progression, the two lossless tracks are quite similar, with the Stereo track possibly opening up the film in selected areas slightly better. The Mono track adds a stronger period feel to the film. The dialog is equally stable, clean, and easy to follow on both tracks. For the record, there are no distortions or audio dropouts to report.
Special Features:
New digital restoration, with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
Optional remastered uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
New audio commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill
Illustrated audio excerpts from seminars by Ashby and writer-producer Colin Higgins
New interview with songwriter Yusuf/Cat Stevens
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by film critic Matt Zoller Seitz; a 1971 New York Times profile of star Ruth Gordon (Blu-ray only); and two excerpted interviews, one from 1997 with star Bud Cort and cinematographer John Alonzo and one from 2001 with executive producer Mildred Lewis (Blu-ray only)
New cover by Jordan Crane
