The Big Lebowski (1998)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers (WGA):

Ethan Coen (written by) &
Joel Coen (written by)

Release Date:

6 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Rug | Millionaire | Bowling | Jewish Convert | Mistaken Identity

Awards:

1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

El gran Lebowski (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
O Grande Lebowski (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
The Big Lebowski (Austria) (Germany) [de]
A nagy Lebowski (Hungary) [hu]
Büyük Lebowski (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Big Lebowski (Czech Republic) [cs]
Big Lebowski (Slovakia) [sk]
Den store Lebowski (Norway) [no]
Erreur sur la personne (Canada: French title) [fr]
Il grande Lebowski (Italy) [it]
Le grand Lebowski (Canada: French title) (DVD title) [fr]
Marele Lebowski (Romania) [ro]
O megalos Lebowski (Greece) [el]
The Big Lebowski (France) [fr]
Veliki Lebovski (Serbia) [sr]
Veliki Lebowski (Slovenia) [sl]

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | German | Hebrew | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Philippines:R-18 | Spain:18 | Brazil:14 | Italy:T | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KT | Canada:14A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #35633) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Singapore:R(A) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

Of all the different personalized bowling shirts Donny wears throughout the film, none of them bears his name.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the blond thug in the opening scene drops the bowling ball, the tile on the floor is different than when he picks the ball off the floor.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Stranger: [voiceover] Way out west there was this fella I wanna tell ya about. Goes 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. See, this Lebowski, he called himself "The Dude". Now, "Dude" - there's a name no man would self-apply where I come from...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Wolf Lake: Leader of the Pack (#1.7)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Looking Out My Back Door

Greatest movie ever made.

With the combination of the writing of the Coen brothers and the Cinematography of Roger Deakins, they created a film as beautiful as it is funny. The Coen brothers consistently impress me with their ability to write an interesting story with fascinating yet quirky characters. Without resorting to gratuitous sexual scenes like many other writer/directors of R rated films the Coen brothers manage to add the right amount of language and violence that is necessary to the story without it becoming the only reason for watching. 'The Big Lebowski' has so many clever and hilarious lines that you have to watch it over and over again.

Nothing else needs to be said about it other than it is the greatest movie ever made.