Harold and Maude

Like so many cult classics, Hal Ashby's second film, Harold and Maude, received little critical recognition during its initial release and fared poorly at the box office, however the film found ardent fans on college campuses and at midnight screenings, and miraculously had a Lazarus-like second life. The legend of  Harold and Maude is that it was written by a pool boy (Colin Higgins, who would later direct 9 to 5) and that production was shielded in such secrecy that some Paramount executives didn't know they were making a love story about a 19-year-old boy (Bud Cort) and a 79-year-old woman (Ruth Gordon). What's undeniable is that this is a special and unique film, an ode to life and its joys in the face of a violent, oppressive modern world, a philosophy that was resonant to hippies (like Ashby) at the time, and still delights audiences young and old to this day.