Off Topic: The end scene of Harold and Maude without the freeze frame.
Off Topic: The end scene of Harold and Maude without the freeze frame.
I just love how he's driving the E-Type hearse, of course. Proper rally.
But as a guy who just drove 200 miles today around these bluffs and cliffs, in northern california (Pt Reyes, not Pacifica/Devil's Slide), I was looking up the exact spot they filmed the Jag going over the cliff, and found this "fan edit" of the end of the film. Beyond it being the most "Northern California" movie ever, and with locations that truly just line up my formative years geographically, it's truly one of my favorite films of all time. I won't go too much into it for now, but as a film fan I had always cringed at the final "freeze cut" of the car going over the cliff. I know there's a story that all the film failed, and they wanted to show the impact of properly destroying the beautiful car... but I really want to watch the full film with this edit.
I am not sure the freeze frame of the film had the intent of relating that Maude transferred her energy to him, in a sense the end was the beginning of his life, sans morbid gothic darkness. Or it was just a "everything went wrong and we just wanted to dwell on this awesome vehicle" outside of subtext or intent for the narrative.
That being said, I think about that freeze a lot, and had never thought of an edit to make it more natural. Thought you might appreciate.
But as a guy who just drove 200 miles today around these bluffs and cliffs, in northern california (Pt Reyes, not Pacifica/Devil's Slide), I was looking up the exact spot they filmed the Jag going over the cliff, and found this "fan edit" of the end of the film. Beyond it being the most "Northern California" movie ever, and with locations that truly just line up my formative years geographically, it's truly one of my favorite films of all time. I won't go too much into it for now, but as a film fan I had always cringed at the final "freeze cut" of the car going over the cliff. I know there's a story that all the film failed, and they wanted to show the impact of properly destroying the beautiful car... but I really want to watch the full film with this edit.
I am not sure the freeze frame of the film had the intent of relating that Maude transferred her energy to him, in a sense the end was the beginning of his life, sans morbid gothic darkness. Or it was just a "everything went wrong and we just wanted to dwell on this awesome vehicle" outside of subtext or intent for the narrative.
That being said, I think about that freeze a lot, and had never thought of an edit to make it more natural. Thought you might appreciate.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 182
Likes: 115
From: Pleasanton, CA
One of my favorite films, which I'd repressed to keep my sanity. Thanks Uncle F. I'm going to watch this again w my kids this weekend. Just to screw them up. Lol! BTW Drove Pt Reyes last weekend and its gorgeous. Nothing like NorCal for the 3 weeks when the hills turn green.
Last edited by ferrral; Feb 23, 2021 at 11:41 PM.
YOU BET! I just found this, where the producer does acknowledge it wasn't the intent to freeze it:
Comment: This was the worst cut of the film. It was a compromise as the high-speed camera, that would have given us a slow motion shot, broke down midway through the shot and we didn’t have the money to recreate the moment. This was filmed on the last day of shooting and we were over schedule. The compromise is the cheesy freeze-frame that was ultimately used.
https://www.c-ville.com/shots-harold-maudes-producer/
Comment: This was the worst cut of the film. It was a compromise as the high-speed camera, that would have given us a slow motion shot, broke down midway through the shot and we didn’t have the money to recreate the moment. This was filmed on the last day of shooting and we were over schedule. The compromise is the cheesy freeze-frame that was ultimately used.
https://www.c-ville.com/shots-harold-maudes-producer/
Oh man, this is GREAT:
"50 years later, can you excuse the E-Type hearse"? =)
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/202...t-of-an-e-type
"50 years later, can you excuse the E-Type hearse"? =)
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/202...t-of-an-e-type
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