Big Lebowski (Widescreen Collector's Edition) (1998)

"... Coen concoction with a most agreeable cast. Turturro is a standout as Jesus the bowler.  James Berardinelli's ReelViews
"...a genial, shambling comedy...  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"...uproariously hilarious in uniquely Coen fashion...  Wade Major, Boxoffice Magazine

Editor's Note The Coen brothers have done it again. Mixing in Leninist philosophy, mistaken identity, crazy characters, a kidnapping plot, and a deep love of bowling, they have unleashed upon an unsuspecting world the many glories of THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Jeff Bridges plays Jeff Lebowski, known as the Dude, a laid-back, easygoing burnout who happens to have the same name as a millionaire whose wife owes a lot of dangerous people a whole bunch of money--resulting in the Dude having his rug soiled, sending him spiraling into the Los Angeles underworld. The film is beautiful to look at, especially the scenes in the bowling alley, which feature a vast array of bizarre characters--including Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Sam Elliott, and the movie-stealing, riotously funny John Goodman as the Dude's crazy best buddy. As usual in Coen brothers films (BARTON FINK, RAISING ARIZONA), the dialogue is hysterically warped; the plot is confusing, complicated, and kinetic; the soundtrack is virtually another character; and the acting is weirdly stellar. THE BIG LEBOWSKI is yet another thoroughly entertaining foray into the strange and fascinating world ruled by Joel and Ethan Coen.

	Jeff Bridges
	John Goodman
	John Turturro
	Julianne Moore
	Steve Buscemi
	Carter Burwell - Original Music By
	Ethan Coen - Producer
	Ethan Coen, et. al. - Writer
	Joel Coen - Director
	Rick Heinrichs - Production Designer
	Roger Deakins - Cinematographer
	Tim Bevan, et. al. - Executive Producer
	Tricia Cooke, et. al. - Editor

When hired goons mistake oafish, amiable bowling enthusiast Jeff "the Dude" Lebowski for their proper shakedown, eccentric millionaire the Big Lebowski, their error sets into motion a wacky chain of events that pull the Dude into a hilariously twisted mystery. The film is a high-key, fanciful farce with the same runaway-train comic sensibility as the Coens' RAISING ARIZONA--and a surreal musical number to boot.

"Nobody calls me Lebowski. You got the wrong guy. I'm the Dude, man."----The Dude (Jeff Bridges) to Treehorn's thug

"That rug really tied the room together, did it not?"----Walter (John Goodman) |"Freakin' a..."----The Dude

"I don't roll on Shabbos!"----Walter to Donny (Steve Buscemi), upon realizing he's scheduled to bowl on the Jewish Sabbath

"All the Dude ever wanted was his rug back."----The Dude to Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara)

"You're entering a world of pain."----Walter to a child

"Are these the Nazis, Walter?"----Donny |"No, Donny, these men are Nihilists. Nothing to be afraid of."----Walter

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that."----The Stranger (Sam Elliott)

Sight and Sound
"...The range of acting turns is rich....Best of all, in a memorably unctuous cameo, is Philip Seymour Hoffman...the best character-actor find in years..." 05/01/1998 p.38-42

USA Today
"...The Coen brothers, those far-out FARGO guys, cover everything with eye-popping panache..." 3 1/2 out of 4 Stars 04/03/1998 p.5E

New York Times
"...Mr. Bridges finds a role so fit for him that he seems never to have been anywhere else. Watch this performance to see shambling executed with nonchalant grace and a seemingly out-to-lunch character played with fine comic flair..." 03/06/1998 p.E31

Premiere
"...Joel and Ethan Coen have crafted another shrewdly ironic valentine to Americana with this hilarious tale..." 03/01/1998 p.17

Los Angeles Times
"...The Coens are able to create wickedly funny eccentrics and possess the ability to energize certain actors to inhabit them completely..." 03/06/1998 p.C1

Chicago Sun-Times
"...Genial....It's weirdly engaging, like its hero..." 03/06/1998 p.37

Entertainment Weekly
"...A masterpiece of anti-storytelling..." 05/23/2003 p.35

Rolling Stone
Ranked #7 in Rolling Stone's "Top 25 DVDs Of 2005' -- "[T]he prize in this Coen Brothers 1998 goodie is still Jeff Bridges..." 12/01/2005 p.92

Uncut
5 stars out of 5 -- "LEBOWSKI sees the Coens embark on a delirious joyride through the great Sin City itself, executing some audacious hair-pin turns through the conventions of noir along the way." 05/01/2006 p.148

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[W]hat makes the Coens' seventh film so inexhaustibly re-watchable is its oddball range of characters so gonzo, so heroically grotesque as to be the stuff of the greatest stoner-comic book never written." 06/01/2006 p.132

Wall Street Journal
"Joel and Ethan Coen's now-classic comedy is an absurdist neonoir film about mistaken identity....[A] big sweet teddy bear of an entertainment..." 12/24/2010

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 9 of 10
One of the things I appreciated the most about The Big Lebowski is its mockery of the voiceover narrative. Readers of my reviews know that this is one of my pet peeves, so it was great fun to watch a film in which this approach is openly satirized. The Big Lebowski is narrated by Sam Elliot, but, during his self-consciously long-winded opening monologue (in which he introduces The Dude), he suddenly loses his train of thought, and says as much to the audience. It's rare that any movie uses the narrator to comic effect rather than for unnecessary exposition... Once again, the Coens have chosen their cast well... The Big Lebowski ranks as one of the most audacious comedies of recent years...