Movies - The Big Lebowski

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	Movies - The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski is a 1998 film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen starring Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, John Goodman as Walter Sobchak, Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski, David Huddleston as Jeffrey "The Big" Lebowski, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt, and Sam Elliott as "The Stranger". Coen brothers regulars John Turturro, Jon Polito, Steve Buscemi and Warren Keith are also featured. The movie is widely considered to be a cult classic for its originality and direction, its eccentric characters, and its convoluted plot that centers on The Dude's earnest quest to replace his soiled living room rug.

As with Kingpin
(another Ten-pin bowling movie), the film, while not a box office smash, has garnered a devoted group of fans and could be considered a cult classic. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted The Big Lebowski the 20th greatest comedy film of all time. On the movie Web site Hollywood Bitchslap, 130 users reviewed or rated the film, and more than 88% rated the movie either "awesome" or "worth a look."

Story

The Dude, Jeff Lebowski (Bridges), has his home invaded by thugs looking to collect a debt incurred by the wife of Jeff Lebowski. Only after the thugs trash the Dude's house and urinate on his rug do they realize they're at the house of the wrong Jeff Lebowski.

At the insistence of his Ten-pin bowling buddy, Walter (Goodman), the Dude attempts to obtain a replacement rug from the other Jeff Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire who becomes known as the Big Lebowski. The Dude later becomes entangled in a kidnapping scheme involving Lebowski's trophy wife, "Bunny" (Tara Reid), and a gang of German nihilists.

The plot is loosely based on Raymond Chandler's novel The Big Sleep and the subsequent Humphrey Bogart film based on it, but has been modernized considerably, with marijuana, ten pin bowling, and the 1991 Gulf War serving as a backdrop to the mystery. (The Dude's "this will not stand, this aggression will not stand, man," echoes George H. W. Bush's famous comment before the Gulf War seen in the film's opening scene). Inspiration from Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye
(1973, also adapted from Chandler) is evident as well.

Characters

The Dude (Jeff Bridges
) or His Dudeness, Duder, El Duderino, the latter phrase being typically employed by individuals addressing The Dude who are "not into the whole brevity thing." — Real name: Jeffrey Lebowski; he is an unemployed, Cannabis-smoking hero, whose ambition is limited to bowling and drinking White Russian cocktails. Lebowski is an avid Creedence Clearwater Revival fan, and lives in a small apartment in Venice, California. The Dude attended college, though he spent most of his time using drugs, occupying various administration buildings, vandalizing the ROTC and bowling. He claims to have been a co-writer of the original Port Huron Statement and a member of the Seattle Seven (part of the Seattle Liberation Front). He was also briefly a roadie for Metallica on the fictitious Speed of Sound tour. He has an extreme dislike for The Eagles. The Dude is unmarried, leaves the toilet seat up, freely uses profanity and is not above post-dating a check for a carton of half and half.
Walter Sobchak (John Goodman
) — A Vietnam War vet and convert through failed marriage to Judaism, (Polish Catholic by birth) whose mental instability provides much of the comedy of the film; he is paranoid and his constant interference in the events of the story are the impetus for much of the action. He runs his own security firm (Sobchak Security). Believes Donny to be out of his element much of the time. The character is loosely based on filmmaker John Milius.
Donny (Steve Buscemi
) — Theodore Donald "Donny" Kerabatsos; member of Walter and The Dude's bowling team, forever out of touch with events and trying to catch up, and constantly being told that he is "out of his element" and to "shut the fuck up" by Walter.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Big Lebowski ]

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Movies - The Big Lebowski

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