The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoel Coen
Written by
Produced byEthan Coen
Starring
CinematographyRoger Deakins
Edited by
Music byCarter Burwell
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 18, 1998 (1998-01-18) (Sundance)
  • March 6, 1998 (1998-03-06) (United States)
  • April 24, 1998 (1998-04-24) (United Kingdom)
Running time
117 minutes
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million
Box office$47.4 million[4]

The Big Lebowski (/ləˈbaʊski/) is a 1998 crime comedy film written, directed, produced and co-edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows the life of Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken identity then learns that a millionaire, also named Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston), was the intended victim. The millionaire Lebowski's trophy wife is supposedly kidnapped and millionaire Lebowski commissions The Dude to deliver the ransom to secure her release. The plan goes awry when the Dude's friend Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) schemes to keep the ransom money for the Dude and himself. Sam Elliott, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, David Thewlis, Peter Stormare, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jon Polito and Ben Gazzara also appear in supporting roles.

The film is loosely inspired by the work of Raymond Chandler. Joel Coen stated, "We wanted to do a Chandler kind of story – how it moves episodically and deals with the characters trying to unravel a mystery, as well as having a hopelessly complex plot that's ultimately unimportant."[5] The original score was composed by Carter Burwell, a longtime collaborator of the Coen brothers.

The Big Lebowski received mixed reviews at the time of its release. Reviews have since become largely positive and the film has become a cult favorite, noted for its eccentric characters, comedic dream sequences, idiosyncratic dialogue and eclectic soundtrack.[6][7] In 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."


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  1. ^ "The Big Lebowski". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "The Big Lebowski". Lumiere. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "The Big Lebowski". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference BOM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Big Sleep was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference avclub was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference russell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).