The Big Lebowski (1998)

"Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers:

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore

Top 250 #130 | 1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Jeffrey Lebowski - The Dude
John Goodman	...	Walter Sobchak
Julianne Moore	...	Maude Lebowski
Steve Buscemi	...	Theodore Donald 'Donny' Kerabatsos
David Huddleston	...	Jeffrey Lebowski - The Big Lebowski
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Brandt
Tara Reid	...	Bunny Lebowski
Philip Moon	...	Woo, Treehorn Thug
Mark Pellegrino	...	Blond Treehorn Thug
Peter Stormare	...	Nihilist #1, Uli Kunkel / 'Karl Hungus'
Flea	...	Nihilist #2, Kieffer
Torsten Voges	...	Nihilist #3, Franz
Jimmie Dale Gilmore	...	Smokey
Jack Kehler	...	Marty
John Turturro	...	Jesus Quintana

Storyline

When "The Dude" Lebowski is mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, two thugs urinate on his rug to coerce him into paying a debt he knows nothing about. While attempting to gain recompense for the ruined rug from his wealthy counterpart, he accepts a one-time job with high pay-off. He enlists the help of his bowling buddy, Walter, a gun-toting Jewish-convert with anger issues. Deception leads to more trouble, and it soon seems that everyone from porn empire tycoons to nihilists want something from The Dude.

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Plot Keywords:

rug | bowling | millionaire | jewish convert | money | 

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Taglines:

They figured he was a lazy time wasting slacker. They were right.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language, drug content, sexuality and brief violence

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English German Hebrew Spanish

Release Date:

6 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big Lebowski

Filming Locations:

812 North Kenmore Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,200,000 (Non-US) (24 April 1998)

Gross:

£1,462,880 (UK) (19 June 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The plot and characters of The Big Lebowski basically (if creatively) follow the 1939 Raymond Chandler detective novel and 1945 Howard Hawks film noir The Big Sleep. The equivalent characters are: private detective Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart)/unwilling investigator Jeffrey "the Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges); General Sternwood (Charles Waldron), the wealthy wheelchair-bound man who summons Marlowe / Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston), the wealthy wheelchair-bound man who summons the dude; Vivian Rutledge (Lauren Bacall), the wealthy man's unconventional older daughter who becomes romantically involved with Marlowe/Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore), the the wealthy man's unconventional daughter who becomes romantically involved with the dude; Carmen Sternwood (Martha Vickers), the wealthy man's younger daughter who comes on to Marlowe and is involved with pornography/Bunny Lebowski (Tara Reid), the wealthy man's younger wife who comes on to the dude and is involved with pornography ; Arthur Geiger (Theodore von Eltz), a pornographer who has filmed Carmen Sternwood in compromising positions /Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara), a pornographer who has filmed Bunny Lebowski in compromising positions.

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Goofs

The mat in front of the toilet disappears and reappears between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The Stranger: [voiceover] Way out west there was this fella... fella I wanna tell ya about. Fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least that was the handle his loving parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. Mr. Lebowski, he called himself "The Dude". Now, "Dude" - that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I ...

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Crazy Credits

Baby Wranglers: Howls/Giggles/Marmots

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Connections

References Double Indemnity (1944)

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Soundtracks

"Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)"
Written by Mickey Newbury
Performed by Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
Published by Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. (BMI)
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets

User Reviews

You can watch it a million times, and yet, it will never get old

The Big Lebowski is the type of movie that is so funny, and so clever, you want nothing more but to meet the Coen brothers, congratulate them personally for their unique talent, and get inside their heads and find out what makes these two geniuses "tick". The main characters are Jeff Bridges (who plays such broad roles like The Muse, The Contender, and Sea Biscuit), John Goodman (who should have won an oscar for best supporting actor for his character, Walter Sobchak)Juliane Moore (Maude Lebowski)and Steve Buscemi (who is unique in every Coen Brother movie).

The first time I saw this movie, I will admit that I enjoyed it, but did not fully appreciate its level of humor and raw talent. I thought the middle section was a bit too depressing and long. But trust me, this is a movie that gets more funny every time you see it, even if it's your thousandth time seeing it. Its level of comedy, action, brutality, and vulgarity become that much more evident and important.

The characters are brilliantly written by the coen brothers, and, likewise, are brilliantly portrayed by the actors. The Big Lebowski is like no other film. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. There is no other film such as TBL that is sharp and witty all the way through. One of the Joel and Ethan Coen's best, and one of the movie industry's best comedic film of all time. You want to go see this flick.