VIDEO A CAREER DEFINED BY 'MAUDE'.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

The recent opening of ``Harold and Maude'' at the Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga comes on the heels of the release of the 1971 cult film on DVD. The film, which was a failure at first, was the second directorial effort of Hal Ashby, who in the '70s had a string of successes that would be the envy of most Hollywood filmmakers.

Ashby now is mostly overlooked as a filmmaker. To some degree, this is because, after his 1979 film ``Being There,'' he made a number of flops and died in 1988. And as Peter Biskind points out in his excellent book on the Tinseltown scene of the 1970s, ``Easy Rider, Raging Bulls'': ``There's no worse career move in Hollywood than dying.''

Between ``Maude'' and ``Being There,'' however, Ashby made ``The Last Detail'' (1973) ``Shampoo'' (1975), ``Bound for Glory'' (1978) and ``Coming Home'' (1978). Except for ``Maude,'' all of them received Oscar nominations. As further proof of Ashby's slide in recognition, only two of his other films are available on DVD - ``Detail'' and ``Glory.''

Contemporaries such as Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Robert Altman have made a more lasting impression, and rightly so. Each of them has a stronger, identifiable cinematic style; but Ashby, who had won an Oscar as an editor, had an intuitiveness as a filmmaker that, when it was working, created movie magic.

``Harold and Maude,'' from a script by Colin Higgins (``Foul Play''), is about an 80-year-old woman (Ruth Gordon) and a 20-year-old man (Bud Cort). She has a zest for life; he feels smothered by his privileged upbringing and exhibits it by committing fake suicides and attending funerals for people he doesn't know. According to Biskind, the film closed a week after it opened. Eventually, it found its way into revival houses and started winning fans. It's sentimental, for sure, but it's hard not to be won over by Gordon's plucky performance. Plus, its ``live-life-to-the-fullest'' and anti-establishment messages were perfect for the era, and, I suspect, even work today.

Ashby followed ``Maude'' in 1973 with ``The Last Detail,'' a story of a young seaman (Randy Quaid) who has been convicted of petty theft and is being escorted to prison by two shore patrolmen - Billy Budduskey (Jack Nicholson) and Mulhall (Otis Young). Nicholson is brilliant as the wise-cracking, foul-mouthed ``Bad Ass'' and, along with Quaid, received an Oscar nomination.

Ashby was known for his work - or some say lack of work - with actors, allowing them freedom that other directors wouldn't. It's clear, though, that he had a good eye. In his next film, ``Shampoo,'' Lee Grant and Jack Warden got Oscar nominations, with Grant winning hers for best supporting actress.

While David Carradine didn't pick up a nomination for his portrayal of folk singer Woody Guthrie in ``Bound for Glory,'' his performance captured the spirit of the man. Guthrie's travels from the Dust Bowl to California must have struck a chord with socially conscious Ashby, who grew up with hard times on a farm in Utah before making his way at 21 to the Golden State. The magnificently shot film (Haskell Wexler was the cinematographer) is in tune with Guthrie's ``Do Re Mi,'' a song that depicts the plight of Depression refugees being turned back at the California line by the police for not having enough money.

Ashby's next film, the Vietnam-era ``Coming Home,'' brought acting Oscars to Jane Fonda and Jon Voight and a directing nomination to Ashby. Melvyn Douglas won the best supporting actor Oscar for his performance in the wry fable ``Being There,'' Ashby's last good film. It also brought a best actor nomination to Peter Sellers as Chance the Gardener.

Some lay Ashby's success to his work with others. It's true he had heavyweights like screenwriter Robert Towne on ``Detail'' and ``Shampoo'' (along with Warren Beatty), Wexler and others, but Ashby did pull it all together or at least recognized when to let talent work. Unfortunately, in Biskind's and other accounts, drugs took their toll on Ashby in the end. And though he tried a comeback, his health gave out before he found another hit.

``Harold and Maude'' (Paramount) is 29.99 on DVD. ``The Last Detail '' (Columbia) is $24.95 on DVD. ``Bound for Glory'' (MGM) is $24.98 on DVD. All the titles are available on VHS.

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(1 -- 2) Hal Ashby, left, directed the cult hit ``Harold and Maude,'' now available on DVD. Right, David Carradine captured the spirit of folksinger Woody Guthrie in Ashby's ``Bound for Glory.''