"I was surprised that they showed us this movie in high school in suburban America. Ruth Gordon gives one of the greatest performances of all time. This is another one that never gets old."

"This movie made me fall even more in love with Ruth Gordon. I think it’s perfect from start to finish. The score is one of the most beautiful. Horror movies are my favorite, especially psychological ones like this one."

"This is the film that turned me on to Cat Stevens, Bud Cort, and Ruth Gordon, all simultaneously. The film never gets old, and the extras on the Criterion version are amazing. I had no idea that Hal Ashby was such a hippie."

"Ruth Gordon was so much more than Garson Kanin‘s beard. With music by Cat Stevens… as a motorcycle cop… this movie satisfies on so many levels. Death and sex have never been so beautifully linked together. This film is Love Story for the rest of us."

"A hilarious, twisted, gorgeous love story between a teenager, Bud Cort, and an old lady, the magnificent Ruth Gordon. Indelibly directed by Hal Ashby, it features one of the best soundtracks ever—all classic Cat Stevens. Still can’t hear “Trouble” without seeing a hearse drive off a cliff."

"Well, it was an actor playing Othello. It was written by Garson Kanin, who later married a teacher of mine, but he was married to Ruth Gordon, who was a favorite actress of mine. And it was a movie about the theater. I love those kinds of in-house things. I love political movies or plays, but especially plays about the inner workings of the business, or that give you insight into the process of what actors go through."

"A lullaby for the Antichrist, Roman Polanski’s adaptation of Ira Levin’s diabolic best seller has Manhattanite Rosemary (Mia Farrow) slowly coming to believe that her husband (John Cassavetes), nosy neighbor (Ruth Gordon), and almost everyone else in their apartment building are conspiring against her . . . and that the child she is carrying is the prophesied spawn of Satan. The chanting and summoning are solemn yet absurd, but the sense of betrayal and a world turned against a lone woman makes this an enduring nightmare."

"I’m going to go with Harold and Maude, by Hal Ashby. I think it’s definitely one of the most unusual love stories that I’ve seen. Maude is one of the most inspiring characters. She reminds me to see the world positively and forgivingly and put past troubles behind me. The Cat Stevens soundtrack is sublime. The comedy is delicious. The performance of Ruth Gordon – you know, she’s a woman in her 80s acting like a 16-year-old – is one of the most extraordinary performances I’ve ever seen. I believe it got very bad reviews when it came out, almost unanimously, but is, I think, probably one of the great comedies ever made."