8.1/10
713,408
1,246 user 193 critic

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Trailer
0:31 | Trailer
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.

Directors:

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (uncredited)

Writers:

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Popularity
183 ( 21)
Top Rated Movies #191 | 5 wins & 18 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges ... The Dude
John Goodman ... Walter Sobchak
Julianne Moore ... Maude Lebowski
Steve Buscemi ... Theodore Donald 'Donny' Kerabatsos
David Huddleston ... 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 Jimmie Dale Gilmore ... Smokey
Jack Kehler ... Marty
John Turturro ... Jesus Quintana
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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. Written by ahmetkozan

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

It takes guys as simple as the Dude and Walter to make a story this complicated... and they'd really rather be bowling. See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Sport

Certificate:

R16 | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The fictional German techno-pop band in the movie, Autobahn, is a parody of (or homage to) the legendary electronic band Kraftwerk. The Autobahn album cover is stylistically similar to the cover of the Kraftwerk album "The Man-Machine", and the group name Autobahn is the name of a Kraftwerk song. The title of Autobahn's album "Nagelbett" is German for "nail bed". In Swedish, Peter Stormare's native tongue, it means "nail bite". See more »

Goofs

The briefcase that Brandt gives The Dude is not large enough to hold one million dollars in twenty dollar bills. One "Brick" of twenty dollar bills contains one thousand bills. Which is twenty-thousand dollars. It would take 50 (fifty) "Bricks" to make up the one million dollars in twenty dollar bills. Hence, The Dude would have needed a much larger briefcase. See more »

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 See more »

Alternate Versions

When Comedy Central, in removing the 200+ "fucks" from the movie, was attempting to edit the scene where Walter is smashing the car, they didn't know how to cut Walter saying "do you see what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass" without having to do severe, overly obvious editing which would look fake. To solve this they decided just to re-dub it, and the phrase they chose? "Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?". See more »

Connections

Referenced in Panic Room (2002) See more »

Soundtracks

Pictures at an Exhibition
Written by Modest Mussorgsky
Performed by Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest (as The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)
Conducted by Colin Davis (as Sir Colin Davis)
Used by permission of Bodsey & Hawkes, Inc. (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Philips Classics
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Music
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User Reviews

A celebration of the ultimate man, nay, the ultimate dude
5 February 1999 | by Engine-2See all my reviews

I'd heard a lot of bad press about this movie. Not as good as Fargo, was a much used phrase. I wasn't overly impressed with Fargo, the atmosphere just didn't click for me, but anyway, that made me a little apprehensive about this.

It's easily better than Fargo, IMHO, and it's right up there with Barton Fink or Miller's Crossing. A true comedy classic with so many memorable lines and characters, but it's the movie's atmosphere which is so truly joyous, a wonderful celebration of basically doing nothing. Achieving one's goals is important, yes, but it's okay to set them low, is what I perceived this movie to be saying. As long as one is basically a good guy, then that's enough. Well, that's what it seemed like to me, and it was expressed so beautifully in the stunning cast of grotesques, lovely music ( although more Burwell would have been nice ), and the trippiest, funniest, most absurd dream sequences you've ever seen. Great stuff.


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | German | Hebrew | Spanish

Release Date:

27 August 1998 (New Zealand) See more »

Also Known As:

Big Lebowski See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,533,844, 8 March 1998

Gross USA:

$18,034,458

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,735,469
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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