<Tr> <Th> Language </Th> <Td> English </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $1.2 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Harold and Maude is a 1971 American romantic black comedy drama directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures . It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man named Harold (Bud Cort) intrigued with death . Harold drifts away from the life that his detached mother (Vivian Pickles) prescribes for him, and slowly develops a strong friendship, and eventually a romantic relationship, with a 79 - year - old woman named Maude (Ruth Gordon) who teaches Harold about living life to its fullest and that life is the most precious gift of all . </P> <P> The film was based on a screenplay written by Colin Higgins and published as a novel in 1971 . Filming locations in the San Francisco Bay Area included both Holy Cross Cemetery and Golden Gate National Cemetery, and the ruins of the Sutro Baths . </P>

What is the theme of harold and maude