Editing The Big Lebowski

{{short description|1998 film by Joel and Ethan Coen}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2019}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = The Big Lebowski
| image          = Biglebowskiposter.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Coen brothers|Joel Coen]]{{efn|Due to [[Directors Guild of America|DGA]] regulations, Joel received sole directing credit while Ethan received sole production credit.}}<!--- DO NOT ADD ETHAN. UNCREDITED PEOPLE DON'T BELONG IN THE INFOBOX --->
| writer         = {{unbulleted list|[[Coen brothers|Ethan Coen]]|Joel Coen}}
| producer       = Ethan Coen<!--- DO NOT ADD JOEL. UNCREDITED PEOPLE DON'T BELONG IN THE INFOBOX --->
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jeff Bridges]]
* [[John Goodman]]
* [[Julianne Moore]]
* [[Steve Buscemi]]
* [[David Huddleston]]
* [[John Turturro]]
}}<!--- Per poster --->
| cinematography = [[Roger Deakins]]
| editing        = {{unbulleted list|[[Roderick Jaynes]]{{efn|Roderick Jaynes is the shared pseudonym used by the Coen brothers for their editing.}}<!-- credited editor; do not change to Joel & Ethan -->|[[Tricia Cooke]]}}
| music          = [[Carter Burwell]]
| studio         = [[Working Title Films]]
| distributor    = {{unbulleted list| [[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment]]|(with [[Gramercy Pictures]])}}
| released       = {{Film date|1998|1|18|[[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]]|1998|3|6|United States|1998|4|24|United Kingdom}}
| runtime        = 117 minutes
| country        = {{unbulleted list|United States<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/442771/the-big-lebowski |publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |title=The Big Lebowski |access-date=October 19, 2015 |archive-date=March 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309031246/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/442771/Big-Lebowski-The/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Lumiere">{{cite web|url=https://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=8050|title=The Big Lebowski|publisher=[[Lumiere (database)|Lumiere]]|access-date=June 24, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212041/https://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=8050|url-status=live}}</ref>|United Kingdom<ref name="Lumiere" /><ref>{{cite web |title=The Big Lebowski |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8000dbbb |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=August 27, 2017 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022638/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8000dbbb |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}
| language       = English
| budget         = $15&nbsp;million
| gross          = $47.4&nbsp;million<ref name="BOM" />
}}

'''''The Big Lebowski''''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|b|aʊ|s|k|i}}) is a 1998 [[crime comedy]] film written, directed, produced and co-edited by [[Coen brothers|Joel and Ethan Coen]]. It follows the life of Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski ([[Jeff Bridges]]), a [[Los Angeles]] [[slacker]] and avid [[Ten-pin bowling|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."<ref name="The Big Sleep" /> The [[film score|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 film|cult favorite]], noted for its eccentric characters, comedic dream sequences, idiosyncratic dialogue and eclectic soundtrack.<ref name="avclub" /><ref name="russell" /> 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."

== Plot ==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for featured film articles should be 400-700 words. -->
In 1990 or 1991,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Orr |first=Christopher |date=September 16, 2014 |title=30 Years of Coens: The Big Lebowski |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/30-years-of-coens-the-big-lebowski/380220/ |magazine=The Atlantic |location= |publisher= |access-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030073256/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/30-years-of-coens-the-big-lebowski/380220/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Allen |first=William Rodney |author-link= |date=2006 |title=The Coen Brothers - Interviews |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q5h91ZZemK0C&pg=PA88 |location= |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |page=88 |isbn=9781578068890 |access-date=October 30, 2023 |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101062707/https://books.google.com/books?id=q5h91ZZemK0C&pg=PA88 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[slacker]] and bowler Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is attacked in his [[LA County, California|Los Angeles]] home by two enforcers for [[Pornography|porn]] kingpin Jackie Treehorn, to whom a different Jeffrey Lebowski's wife owes money. One enforcer urinates on the Dude's rug before they realize they have the wrong man and leave.

After consulting his bowling partners, [[Vietnam veteran]] Walter Sobchak and Donny Kerabatsos, the Dude visits philanthropist Jeffrey Lebowski ("the big Lebowski"), requesting compensation for the rug. Lebowski refuses, but the Dude tricks his assistant Brandt into letting him take a similar rug from the mansion. Outside, he meets Bunny, Lebowski's [[trophy wife]] and her German [[Nihilism|nihilist]] friend Uli. Soon afterward, Bunny is apparently kidnapped and Lebowski hires the Dude to deliver a [[ransom]]. That night, another group of thugs ambushes the Dude, taking his replacement rug on behalf of Lebowski's daughter Maude.

Convinced the kidnap was a ruse by Bunny, Walter fakes the ransom drop. He and the Dude return to the bowling alley, leaving the briefcase of money in the Dude's car. While they are bowling, the car is stolen. The Dude is confronted by Lebowski, who has an envelope from the kidnappers containing a severed toe, supposedly Bunny's. Maude asks the Dude to help recover the money her father illegally withdrew from the family's charity foundation.

The police recover the Dude's car. The briefcase is missing, but the Dude finds a sheet of homework signed by a teenager named Larry Sellers. Walter learns that Larry is the good-for-nothing son of Arthur Digby Sellers, a writer for the television show ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'', that Walter reveres. The Dude and Walter visit Larry but get no information from him. 

Jackie Treehorn's thugs abduct the Dude and bring him to the porn kingpin, who demands to know where Bunny is. The Dude says Bunny faked her kidnapping and Larry has the money, then passes out from a [[Mickey Finn (drugs)|spiked drink]] Treehorn gave him. He is arrested while wandering in [[Malibu, California|Malibu]] and evicted by the police chief. On his way home, Bunny drives by, unnoticed by the Dude.

Maude is waiting for the Dude at his home and has sex with him, wishing to become pregnant by a father with whom she will not have to interact. She tells the Dude that her father has no money of his own; he is dependent on an allowance that Maude gives him from her inheritance from her late mother.

The Dude and Walter confront Lebowski and find that Bunny has returned, having simply gone out of town. Bunny's nihilist friends took the opportunity to blackmail Lebowski, who in turn had tried to embezzle money from the family charity, blaming its disappearance on the blackmailers. The Dude believes the briefcase never contained any money. Walter suspects that Lebowski is faking his paralysis and lifts him out of his wheelchair, but his condition is real.

Walter and the Dude are bowling when a rival bowler, Jesus Quintana, interrupts them. Walter had previously stated that he could not bowl on Saturdays since he is [[shomer Shabbat|shomer Shabbos]]. Quintana implies that he does not believe Walter's excuse for not bowling on Saturday, threatens Walter and the Dude, and storms out. Outside the bowling alley, the nihilists set fire to the Dude's car and demand the ransom money. Walter fights them off, but Donny dies from a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in the commotion. Unwilling to pay for an urn from the local crematorium, the Dude and Walter opt to put Donny's ashes in a coffee can instead. On a cliff overlooking the [[Pacific Ocean]], Walter eulogizes Donny's death but ruins it by referring to his fallen comrades in Vietnam. As he scatters Donny's ashes, they are blown back onto the Dude by an updraft. As Walter tries to brush off the ashes, the Dude loses his temper and yells at him for everything that has happened. After apologizing and consoling the Dude, the two go bowling.

At the bowling alley, the Dude encounters the Stranger, the movie's narrator, who sums up everything that happened in the film and states that while he "didn't like seeing Donny go", he remains inspired by the Dude and that Maude is pregnant with a "little Lebowski on the way".

== Cast ==
{{castlist|
* [[Jeff Bridges]] as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski
* [[John Goodman]] as Walter Sobchak
* [[Julianne Moore]] as Maude Lebowski
* [[Steve Buscemi]] as Donny Kerabatsos
* [[David Huddleston]] as Jeffrey "The Big" Lebowski
* [[Philip Seymour Hoffman]] as Brandt
* [[Tara Reid]] as Bunny Lebowski
* [[John Turturro]] as Jesus Quintana
* [[Sam Elliott]] as The Stranger
* [[David Thewlis]] as Knox Harrington
* [[Ben Gazzara]] as Jackie Treehorn
* [[Peter Stormare]], [[Torsten Voges]], and [[Flea (musician)|Flea]] as Uli Kunkel/Karl Hungus, Franz, and Kieffer, the [[nihilists]]
* [[Jon Polito]] as Da Fino
* [[Philip Moon (actor)|Philip Moon]] and [[Mark Pellegrino]] as Treehorn's thugs
* [[Jimmie Dale Gilmore]] as Smokey
* [[Jack Kehler]] as Marty, The Dude's landlord
* [[Dom Irrera]] as Tony, the chauffeur
* [[Harry Bugin]] as Arthur Digby Sellers
* Jesse Flanagan as Larry Sellers
* [[Leon Russom]] as the Malibu Police Chief
* [[Warren Keith]] as Francis Donnelly, funeral director
* [[Marshall Manesh]] as Doctor
* [[Asia Carrera]] as Sherry, porn actress<ref>{{Cite web|last=Van Luling|first=Todd|date=April 20, 2015|title=5 Stories You Didn't Know About 'The Big Lebowski'|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/big-lebowski-stories_n_7057708|access-date=April 23, 2021|website=HuffPost|language=en|archive-date=April 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423001347/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/big-lebowski-stories_n_7057708|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Aimee Mann]] as Franz's girlfriend
* [[Richard Gant]] and [[Christian Clemenson]] as cops
}}

== Production ==
=== Development ===
The Dude is mostly inspired by [[Jeff Dowd]], an American film producer and political activist the Coen brothers met while they were trying to find distribution for their first feature, ''[[Blood Simple]]''.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|90}}<ref name="HuffPostDowd">{{Cite news |last=Boardman |first=Madeline |title=Jeff Dowd, Real 'Big Lebowski' Dude, Talks White Russians, Jeff Bridges And Bowling |work=The Huffington Post |date=March 6, 2013 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/jeff-dowd-real-big-lebowski-dude_n_2814930.html |access-date=April 24, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022623/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jeff-dowd-real-big-lebowski-dude_n_2814930 |url-status=live }}</ref> Dowd had been a member of the [[Seattle Liberation Front|Seattle Seven]], liked to drink [[White Russian (cocktail)|white Russians]], and was known as "The Dude".<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|91–92}} The Dude was also partly based on a friend of the Coen brothers, Peter Exline (now a member of the faculty at [[University of Southern California|USC]]'s School of Cinematic Arts), a Vietnam War veteran who reportedly lived in a dump of an apartment and was proud of a little rug that "tied the room together".<ref name="Bergan, Ronald" />{{rp|188}} Exline knew [[Barry Sonnenfeld]] from [[New York University]] and Sonnenfeld introduced Exline to the Coen brothers while they were trying to raise money for ''Blood Simple''.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|97–98}} Exline became friends with the Coens and in 1989, told them many stories from his own life, including some about his actor-writer friend Lewis Abernathy (one of the inspirations for Walter), a fellow Vietnam vet who later became a private investigator and helped him track down and confront a high school kid who stole his car.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|99}} As in the film, Exline's car was impounded by the Los Angeles Police Department and Abernathy found an 8th grader's homework under the passenger seat.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|100}}

Exline also belonged to an amateur softball league but the Coens changed it to bowling in the film, because "it's a very social sport where you can sit around and drink and smoke while engaging in inane conversation".<ref name="Bergan, Ronald" />{{rp|195}} The Coens met filmmaker [[John Milius]] when they were in Los Angeles making ''[[Barton Fink]]'' and incorporated his love of guns and the military into the character of Walter.<ref name="Bergan, Ronald" />{{rp|189}} Milius introduced the Coen Brothers to one of his best friends, Jim Ganzer, who also served as a source for creating Jeff Bridges' character.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.artnet.com/people/the-quest-for-ed-ruschas-secret-artwork-inspires-a-film-228504 |title=The Quest for Ed Ruscha's Rocky II – artnet News |first=Christie |last=Chu |date=January 23, 2015 |work=artnet News |access-date=July 19, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022634/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/the-quest-for-ed-ruschas-secret-artwork-inspires-a-film-228504 |url-status=live }}</ref> Also known as the Dude,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.openingceremony.us/entry.asp?pid=5493 |title=The Real Dude: An Interview with Jim 'Jimmy'Z' Ganzer |work=openingceremony.us |access-date=July 19, 2015 |archive-date=May 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513073339/http://www.openingceremony.us/entry.asp?pid=5493 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ganzer and his gang, typical Malibu surfers, served as inspiration as well for Milius's film ''[[Big Wednesday]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bleakley |first1=Sam |last2=Callahan |first2=J. S. |title=Surfing Tropical Beats |publisher=Alison Hodge Publishers |year=2012 |page=133 |isbn=978-0906720851 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a9NT_dDXn9cC |access-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307165402/https://books.google.com/books?id=a9NT_dDXn9cC |url-status=live }}</ref>

Before David Huddleston was cast as "Big" Jeffrey Lebowski, the Coens considered [[Robert Duvall]] (who did not like the script), [[Anthony Hopkins]] (who was not interested in playing an American), [[Gene Hackman]] (who was taking a break from acting at the time), [[Jack Nicholson]] (who was not interested, he only wanted to portray [[Moses]]), [[Tommy Lee Jones]] (who was considered "too young"), [[Ned Beatty]], [[Michael Caine]], [[Bruce Dern]], [[James Coburn]], [[Charles Durning]], [[Jackie Cooper]], [[Fred Ward]], [[Richard Mulligan]], [[Rod Steiger]], [[Peter Boyle]], [[Lloyd Bridges]], [[Paul Dooley]], [[Pat Hingle]], [[Jonathan Winters]], [[Norman Mailer]], [[George C. Scott]], [[Jerry Falwell]], [[Gore Vidal]], [[Andy Griffith]], [[William F. Buckley]], and [[Ernest Borgnine]]; the Coens' top choice was [[Marlon Brando]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cinearchive.org/post/92676244775/our-friend-alex-belth-just-released-the-dudes|title=Our friend Alex Belth just released The Dudes...|date=March 15, 2015|website=cinearchive.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315043440/http://cinearchive.org/post/92676244775/our-friend-alex-belth-just-released-the-dudes |archive-date=March 15, 2015 }}</ref> [[Charlize Theron]] was considered for the role of Bunny Lebowski.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.shortlist.com/news/50-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-big-lebowski| title = The Big Lebowski: 50 facts you (probably) didn't know – Shortlist| date = August 6, 2021| access-date = July 21, 2021| archive-date = July 21, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210721224823/https://www.shortlist.com/news/50-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-big-lebowski| url-status = live}}</ref> [[David Cross]] auditioned for the role of Brandt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2010/11/david_cross_on_all_his_roles.html|title=David Cross on All His Roles: Mr. Show, Arrested Development, and More|first=John|last=Sellers|date=November 3, 2010|website=Vulture|access-date=September 23, 2023|archive-date=October 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002231534/https://www.vulture.com/2010/11/david_cross_on_all_his_roles.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| total_width       = 420
| image1            = Jeff Bridges by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg
| image2            = John Goodman by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| image3            = Julianne Moore Cannes 2018 (cropped).jpg
| footer            = Left to right: [[Jeff Bridges]] (pictured in 2017), [[John Goodman]] (2016) and [[Julianne Moore]] (2018)
}}

According to Julianne Moore, the character of Maude was based on artist [[Carolee Schneemann]], "who worked naked from a swing", and on [[Yoko Ono]].<ref name="Ciment, Michel" />{{rp|156}} 

The character of Jesus Quintana, a bowling opponent of The Dude's team, was inspired in part by a performance the Coens had seen John Turturro give in 1988 at the Public Theater in a play called ''Mi Puta Vida'' in which he played a [[pederast]]-type character, "so we thought, let's make Turturro a pederast. It'll be something he can really run with," Joel said in an interview.<ref name="Bergan, Ronald" />{{rp|195}}

The film's overall structure was influenced by the detective fiction of [[Raymond Chandler]]. Ethan said, "We wanted something that would generate a certain narrative feeling – like a modern Raymond Chandler story, and that's why it had to be set in Los Angeles ... We wanted to have a narrative flow, a story that moves like a Chandler book through different parts of town and different social classes."<ref name="Levine, Josh" /> The use of the Stranger's voice-over also came from Chandler as Joel remarked, "He is a little bit of an audience substitute. In the movie adaptation of Chandler it's the main character that speaks off-screen, but we didn't want to reproduce that though it obviously has echoes. It's as if someone was commenting on the plot from an all-seeing point of view. And at the same time rediscovering the old earthiness of a [[Mark Twain]]."<ref name="Ciment, Michel" />{{rp|169}}

The significance of the bowling culture was, according to Joel, "important in reflecting that period at the end of the fifties and the beginning of the sixties. That suited the retro side of the movie, slightly anachronistic, which sent us back to a not-so-far-away era, but one that was well and truly gone nevertheless."<ref name="Ciment, Michel" />{{rp|170}}

=== Screenplay ===
The Coen Brothers wrote ''The Big Lebowski'' around the same time as ''[[Barton Fink]]''. When the Coen brothers wanted to make it, John Goodman was filming episodes for ''[[Roseanne (TV series)|Roseanne]]'' and Jeff Bridges was making the [[Walter Hill (filmmaker)|Walter Hill]] film ''[[Wild Bill (1995 film)|Wild Bill]]''. The Coens decided to make ''[[Fargo (1996 film)|Fargo]]'' in the meantime.<ref name="Bergan, Ronald" />{{rp|189}} According to Ethan, "the movie was conceived as pivoting around that relationship between the Dude and Walter", which sprang from the scenes between Barton Fink and Charlie Meadows in ''Barton Fink''.<ref name="Ciment, Michel" />{{rp|169}} They also came up with the idea of setting the film in contemporary L.A., because the people who inspired the story lived in the area.<ref name="Robertson, William" />{{rp|41}} When Pete Exline told them about the homework in a baggie incident, the Coens thought that that was very Raymond Chandler and decided to integrate elements of the author's fiction into their script. Joel Coen cites [[Robert Altman]]'s ''[[The Long Goodbye (film)|The Long Goodbye]]'' as a primary influence on their film, in the sense that ''The Big Lebowski'' "is just kind of informed by Chandler around the edges".<ref name="Robertson, William" />{{rp|43}} When they started writing the script, the Coens wrote only 40 pages and then let it sit for a while before finishing it. This is a normal writing process for them, because they often "encounter a problem at a certain stage, we pass to another project, then we come back to the first script. That way we've already accumulated pieces for several future movies."<ref name="Ciment, Michel" />{{rp|171}} In order to liven up a scene that they thought was too heavy on [[exposition (narrative)|exposition]], they added an "effete art-world hanger-on", known as Knox Harrington, late in the screenwriting process.<ref name="McCarthy, Phillip" /> In the original script, the Dude's car was a [[Chrysler LeBaron]], as Dowd had once owned, but that car was not big enough to fit John Goodman so the Coens changed it to a [[Ford Torino]].<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|93}}

=== Pre-production ===
[[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment|PolyGram]] and [[Working Title Films]], which had funded ''Fargo'', backed ''The Big Lebowski'' with a budget of $15&nbsp;million. In casting the film, Joel remarked, "we tend to write both for people we know and have worked with, and some parts without knowing who's going to play the role. In ''The Big Lebowski'' we did write for John [Goodman] and Steve [Buscemi], but we didn't know who was getting the Jeff Bridges role."<ref name="Woods, Paul" /> The Coens originally considered [[Mel Gibson]] for the role of The Dude, but he did not take the pitch too seriously.<ref name="Greene, Andy">{{cite magazine |date=September 4, 2008 |last=Greene |first=Andy |title='The Big Lebowski': The Decade of the Dude |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/the-big-lebowski-the-decade-of-the-dude-231432/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122045939/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/the-big-lebowski-the-decade-of-the-dude-231432/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/dude-abides-20-years-big-lebowski-became-cultural-phenomenon/ | title='The Dude abides': 20 years on, how the Big Lebowski became a cultural phenomenon | newspaper=The Telegraph | date=March 7, 2018 | last1=Smith | first1=Patrick | access-date=June 21, 2023 | archive-date=June 21, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621163804/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/dude-abides-20-years-big-lebowski-became-cultural-phenomenon/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Bridges was hesitant to play the role as he was worried that would be a bad example for his daughters, but his daughter Jessica convinced him to take it after a meeting.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/jeff-bridges-super-natural-6155 | title=Jeff Bridges: Super Natural | access-date=October 24, 2023 | archive-date=October 30, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030073846/https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/jeff-bridges-super-natural-6155 | url-status=live }}</ref> In preparation for his role, Bridges met Dowd but actually "drew on myself a lot from back in the Sixties and Seventies. I lived in a little place like that and did drugs, although I think I was a little more creative than the Dude."<ref name="Bergan, Ronald" />{{rp|188}} The actor went into his own closet with the film's wardrobe person and picked out clothes that he had thought the Dude might wear.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|27}} He wore his character's clothes home because most of them were his own.<ref name="Carr, Jay" /> The actor also adopted the same physicality as Dowd, including the slouching and his ample belly.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|93}} Originally, Goodman wanted a different kind of beard for Walter but the Coen brothers insisted on the "Gladiator" or what they called the "Chin Strap" and he thought it would go well with his [[flattop]] haircut.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|32}}

For the film's look, the Coens wanted to avoid the usual retro 1960s clichés like [[lava lamps]], [[blacklight poster|Day-Glo posters]], and [[Grateful Dead]] music<ref name="Robertson, William" />{{rp|95}} and for it to be "consistent with the whole bowling thing, we wanted to keep the movie pretty bright and poppy", Joel said in an interview.<ref name="Bergan, Ronald" />{{rp|191}} For example, the star motif, featured predominantly throughout the film, started with the film's production designer Richard Heinrichs' design for the bowling alley. According to Joel, he "came up with the idea of just laying free-form neon stars on top of it and doing a similar free-form star thing on the interior". This carried over to the film's dream sequences. "Both dream sequences involve star patterns and are about lines radiating to a point. In the first dream sequence, the Dude gets knocked out and you see stars and they all coalesce into the overhead nightscape of L.A. The second dream sequence is an astral environment with a backdrop of stars", remembers Heinrichs.<ref name="Bergan, Ronald" />{{rp|191}} For Jackie Treehorn's Malibu beach house, he was inspired by late 1950s and early 1960s bachelor pad furniture. The Coen brothers told Heinrichs that they wanted Treehorn's beach party to be [[Inca]]-themed, with a "very Hollywood-looking party in which young, oiled-down, fairly aggressive men walk around with appetizers and drinks. So there's a very sacrificial quality to it."<ref name="Robertson, William" />{{rp|91}}

Cinematographer [[Roger Deakins]] discussed the look of the film with the Coens during pre-production. They told him that they wanted some parts of the film to have a real and contemporary feeling and other parts, like the dream sequences, to have a very stylized look.<ref name="Robertson, William" />{{rp|77}} Bill and Jacqui Landrum did all of the choreography for the film. For his dance sequence, Jack Kehler went through three three-hour rehearsals.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|27}} The Coen brothers offered him three to four choices of classical music for him to pick from and he chose [[Modest Mussorgsky]]'s ''[[Pictures at an Exhibition]]''. At each rehearsal, he went through each phase of the piece.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|64}}

=== Principal photography ===
Actual filming took place over an eleven-week period with location shooting in and around Los Angeles, including all of the bowling sequences at the [[Hollywood Star Lanes]] (for three weeks)<ref name="Wloszcyna, Susan" /> and the Dude's [[Busby Berkeley]] dream sequences in a converted airplane hangar.<ref name="Levine, Josh" /> According to Joel, the only time they ever directed Bridges "was when he would come over at the beginning of each scene and ask, 'Do you think the Dude burned one on the way over?' I'd reply 'Yes' usually, so Jeff would go over in the corner and start rubbing his eyes to get them bloodshot."<ref name="Bergan, Ronald" />{{rp|195}} Julianne Moore was sent the script while working on ''[[The Lost World: Jurassic Park]]''. She worked only two weeks on the film, early and late during the production that went from January to April 1997,<ref name="Arnold, Gary" /> while Sam Elliott was only on set for two days and did many takes of his final speech.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|46}}

Joel Coen said that Jeff Bridges was upset there was no playback monitor so Bridges made them get a playback monitor at the end of the second week of production.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/jeff-bridges-miserable-lebowski-set-coens-broke-set-rule-1234577780/ | title=Coen Bros. Made a Filmmaking Exception After 'Big Lebowski' Set Made Jeff Bridges 'Miserable' | date=August 3, 2020 | access-date=June 20, 2023 | archive-date=June 20, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620194231/https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/jeff-bridges-miserable-lebowski-set-coens-broke-set-rule-1234577780/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

The scenes in Jackie Treehorn's house were shot in the [[Sheats-Goldstein Residence]], designed by [[John Lautner]] and built in 1963 in the Hollywood Hills.<ref name="AutoTR-1" />

Deakins described the look of the fantasy scenes as being very crisp, monochromatic, and highly lit in order to afford greater depth of focus. However, with the Dude's apartment, Deakins said, "it's kind of seedy and the light's pretty nasty" with a grittier look. The visual bridge between these two different looks was how he photographed the night scenes. Instead of adopting the usual blue moonlight or blue street lamp look, he used an orange sodium-light effect.<ref name="Robertson, William" />{{rp|79}} The Coen brothers shot much of the film with wide-angle lens because, according to Joel, it made it easier to hold focus for a greater depth and it made camera movements more dynamic.<ref name="Robertson, William" />{{rp|82}}

To achieve the point-of-view of a rolling bowling ball the Coen brothers mounted a camera "on something like a barbecue spit", according to Ethan, and then dollied it along the lane. The challenge for them was figuring out the relative speeds of the forward motion and the rotating motion. [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] was used to create the vantage point of the thumb hole in the bowling ball.<ref name="Arnold, Gary" />

== Soundtrack ==
{{Infobox album
| name         = The Big Lebowski: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
| type         = soundtrack
| artist       = Various artists
| cover        =
| alt          =
| released     = February 24, 1998
| recorded     =
| venue        =
| studio       =
| genre        = *[[Rock music|Rock]]
* [[Classical music|classical]]
* [[jazz]]
* [[Country music|country]]
* [[Folk music|folk]]
* [[Pop music|pop]]
| length       = 51:45
| label        = [[Mercury Records|Mercury]]
| producer     = [[T&nbsp;Bone Burnett]], [[Joel Coen]], [[Ethan Coen]]
| chronology   = [[Coen Brothers]] film soundtracks
| prev_title   = [[Fargo (soundtrack)|Fargo]]
| prev_year    = 1996
| next_title   = [[O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack)|O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]
| next_year    = 2000
}}
The [[film score|original score]] was composed by [[Carter Burwell]], a veteran of all the [[Coen Brothers]]' films. While the Coens were writing the screenplay they had [[Kenny Rogers]]' "[[Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)]]", the [[Gipsy Kings]]' cover of "[[Hotel California]]", and several [[Creedence Clearwater Revival]] songs in mind.<ref name="Greene" /> They asked [[T&nbsp;Bone Burnett]] (who would later work with the Coens on ''[[O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]'' and ''[[Inside Llewyn Davis]]'') to pick songs for the soundtrack of the film. They knew that they wanted different genres of music from different times but, as Joel remembers, "T&nbsp;Bone even came up with some far-out [[Henry Mancini]] and [[Yma Sumac]]."<ref name="Altman" /> Burnett was able to secure songs by Kenny Rogers and the Gipsy Kings and also added tracks by [[Captain Beefheart]], [[Moondog]] and [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[The Man in Me]]".<ref name="Greene" /> However, he had a tough time securing the rights to [[Townes Van Zandt]]'s cover of [[the Rolling Stones]]' [[Dead Flowers (Rolling Stones song)|"Dead Flowers"]], which plays over the film's closing credits. Former Stones manager [[Allen Klein]] owned the rights to the song and wanted $150,000 for it. Burnett convinced Klein to watch an early cut of the film and remembers, "It got to the part where the Dude says, 'I hate the fuckin' [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]], man!' Klein stands up and says, 'That's it, you can have the song!' That was beautiful."<ref name="Greene" /><ref name="flowers" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-hilarious-connection-between-the-rolling-stones-and-the-big-lebowski/|title=Connection between The Rolling Stones and 'The Big Lebowski'|date=December 29, 2021|website=faroutmagazine.co.uk|access-date=September 5, 2023|archive-date=March 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329105233/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-hilarious-connection-between-the-rolling-stones-and-the-big-lebowski/|url-status=live}}</ref> Burnett was going to be credited on the film as "Music Supervisor", but asked his credit to be "Music Archivist" because he "hated the notion of being a supervisor; I wouldn't want anyone to think of me as management".<ref name="Altman" />

For Joel, "the original music, as with other elements of the movie, had to echo the retro sounds of the Sixties and early Seventies".<ref name="Ciment, Michel" />{{rp|156}} Music defines each character. For example, [[Bob Nolan]]'s "[[Tumbling Tumbleweeds]]" was chosen for the Stranger at the time the Coens wrote the screenplay, as was Henry Mancini's "[[Lujon]]" for Jackie Treehorn. "The German nihilists are accompanied by techno-pop and Jeff Bridges by Creedence. So there's a musical signature for each of them", remarked Ethan in an interview.<ref name="Ciment, Michel" />{{rp|156}}
The character Uli Kunkel was in the German electronic band Autobahn, an homage to the band [[Kraftwerk]]. The album cover of their record ''Nagelbett'' (''bed of nails'') is a parody of the Kraftwerk album cover for ''[[The Man-Machine]]'' and the group name Autobahn shares the name of a Kraftwerk [[Autobahn (song)|song]] and [[Autobahn (album)|album]]. In the lyrics the phrase "We believe in nothing" is repeated with electronic distortion. This is a reference to Autobahn's nihilism in the film.<ref name="burwell" />
{{track listing
| extra_column = Performer
| title1 = [[The Man in Me]]
| writer1 = [[Bob Dylan]]
| extra1 = Dylan
| title2 = [[Clear Spot|Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles]]
| writer2 = [[Captain Beefheart]]
| extra2 = Beefheart
| title3 = My Mood Swings
| writer3 = [[Elvis Costello]] and [[Cait O'Riordan]]
| extra3 = Costello
| title4 = [[Voice of the Xtabay|Ataypura]]
| writer4 = Moises Vivanco
| extra4 = [[Yma Sumac]]
| title5 = Traffic Boom
| writer5 = [[Piero Piccioni]]
| extra5 = Piccioni
| title6 = [[I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)]]
| writer6 = [[Duke Ellington]] and [[Paul Francis Webster]]
| extra6 = [[Nina Simone]]
| title7 = Stamping Ground
| note7 = The track actually includes two songs, starting with "Theme", which then leads to "Stamping Ground"
| writer7 = [[Moondog]]
| extra7 = Moondog
| title8 = [[Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)]]
| writer8 = [[Mickey Newbury]]
| extra8 = [[Kenny Rogers]] & [[The First Edition (band)|The First Edition]]
| title9 = Walking Song
| writer9 = [[Meredith Monk]]
| extra9 = Monk
| title10 = [[Glück das mir verblieb]]
| note10 = from ''[[Die tote Stadt]]&thinsp;''
| writer10 = [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]]
| extra10 = Ilona Steingruber, [[Anton Dermota]] and the Austrian State Radio Orchestra
| title11 = [[Lujon]]
| writer11 = [[Henry Mancini]]
| extra11 = Mancini
| title12 = [[Hotel California]]
| writer12 = [[Don Henley]], [[Glenn Frey]] and [[Don Felder]]
| extra12 = The [[Gipsy Kings]]
| title13 = Technopop
| note13 = Wie Glauben
| writer13 = [[Carter Burwell]]
| extra13 = Burwell
| title14 = [[Dead Flowers (Rolling Stones song)|Dead Flowers]]
| writer14 = [[Mick Jagger]] and [[Keith Richards]]
| extra14 = [[Townes Van Zandt]]
| length9 = 2:55
| length14 = 4:47
| length13 = 3:21
| length12 = 5:47
| length11 = 2:38
| length10 = 5:08
| length3 = 2:10
| length8 = 3:21
| length7 = 5:11
| length6 = 4:07
| length5 = 3:15
| length4 = 3:03
| length2 = 2:54
| length1 = 3:08
| total_length = 51:45
}}
{{track listing
| headline= Other music used (not on soundtrack album)
| extra_column= Performer
| title1= [[Tumbling Tumbleweeds]]
| writer1= [[Bob Nolan]]
| extra1= [[Sons of the Pioneers]]
| title2= Mucha Muchacha
| writer2= [[Juan García Esquivel]]
| extra2= Esquivel
| title3= I Hate You
| writer3= Gary Burger, David Havlicek, Roger Johnston, Thomas E. Shaw and Larry Spangler
| extra3= [[The Monks]]
| title4= [[Requiem (Mozart)|Requiem in D Minor]]: Introitus and Lacrimosa
| writer4= [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]
| extra4= The [[Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra]] and Choir
| title5= [[Run Through the Jungle]]
| writer5= [[John Fogerty]]
| extra5= [[Creedence Clearwater Revival]]
| title6= Behave Yourself
| writer6= [[Booker T. Jones]], [[Steve Cropper]], [[Al Jackson, Jr.]] and Lewie Steinberg
| extra6= [[Booker T. & the MG's]]
| title7= [[Standing on the Corner (show tune)|Standing on the Corner]]
| writer7= [[Frank Loesser]]
| extra7= [[Dean Martin]]
| title8= [[Tammy (song)|Tammy]]
| writer8= [[Jay Livingston]] and [[Ray Evans]]
| extra8= [[Debbie Reynolds]]
| title9= We Venerate Thy Cross
| writer9= traditional
| extra9= The Rustavi Choir
| title10= [[Lookin' Out My Back Door]]
| writer10= John Fogerty
| extra10= Creedence Clearwater Revival
| title11= Gnomus
| note11= from ''[[Pictures at an Exhibition]]''
| writer11= [[Modest Mussorgsky]], arranged for orchestra by [[Maurice Ravel]].
| title12= [[Oye Como Va]]
| writer12= [[Tito Puente]]
| extra12= [[Carlos Santana|Santana]]
| title13= Piacere Sequence
| writer13= Teo Usuelli
| extra13= Usuelli
| title14= [[Branded (TV series)|Branded]] Theme Song
| writer14= Alan Alch and [[Dominic Frontiere]]
| title15= [[Peaceful Easy Feeling]]
| writer15= [[Jack Tempchin]]
| extra15= [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]]
| title16= [[Viva Las Vegas (song)|Viva Las Vegas]]
| writer16= [[Doc Pomus]] and [[Mort Shuman]]
| extra16= [[ZZ Top]] (with Bunny Lebowski); and [[Shawn Colvin]] (closing credits).
| title17= Dick on a Case
| writer17= Carter Burwell
| extra17= Burwell
}}

== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
''The Big Lebowski'' received its world premiere at the 1998 [[Sundance Film Festival]] on January 18, 1998, at the 1,300-capacity Eccles Theater. It was also screened at the [[48th Berlin International Film Festival]]<ref name="Berlinale" /><ref name="Variety" /> before opening in the United States and Canada on March 6, 1998, in 1,207 theaters. It grossed $5.5&nbsp;million on its opening weekend, finishing up with a gross of $18&nbsp;million in the United States and Canada, just above its US$15&nbsp;million budget. The film's worldwide gross outside of the US and Canada was $28.7&nbsp;million, (including $2.6 million in the United Kingdom) bringing its worldwide gross to $46.7&nbsp;million.<ref name="BOM" /><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Screen International]]|title=Coen Brothers' films in the UK 1990-2000|last=Scott|first=Mary|page=39|date=September 22, 2000}}</ref>

===Critical response===
On [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 191 reviews, with an average score of 7.40/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''The Big Lebowski''{{'}}s shaggy dog story won't satisfy everybody, but those who abide will be treated to a rambling succession of comic delights, with Jeff Bridges' laconic performance really tying the movie together."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/big_lebowski |title=The Big Lebowski (1998) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] |access-date=June 19, 2023 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022631/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/big_lebowski |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Metacritic]], which uses a [[weighted average]], has assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-big-lebowski |title=The Big Lebowski (1998) |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022635/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-big-lebowski |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemascore.com |title=CinemaScore |website=[[CinemaScore]] |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626093250/http://www.cinemascore.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Many critics and audiences have likened the film to a modern [[Western (genre)|Western]], while many others dispute this, or liken it to a crime novel that revolves around [[mistaken identity]] plot devices.<ref name="comentale" /> Peter Howell, in his review for the ''[[Toronto Star]]'', wrote: "It's hard to believe that this is the work of a team that won an Oscar last year for the original screenplay of ''Fargo''. There's a large amount of profanity in the movie, which seems a weak attempt to paper over dialogue gaps."<ref name="Howell, Peter" /> Howell revised his opinion in a later review, and in 2011 stated that "it may just be my favourite Coen Bros. film."<ref name="howell">{{cite web |last=Howell |first=Peter |title=Howell: I love The Big Lebowski&nbsp;– even though the Wikipedia says I don't |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/howell-i-love-the-big-lebowski-even-though-the-wikipedia-says-i-don-t/article_dfba2b52-0df2-5cd7-ab95-aa8bcff260be.html |work=The Star |publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers |date=July 7, 2011 |access-date=September 15, 2017 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022624/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2011/07/07/howell_i_love_the_big_lebowski_even_though_the_wikipedia_says_i_dont.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Todd McCarthy in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine wrote: "One of the film's indisputable triumphs is its soundtrack, which mixes Carter Burwell's original score with classic pop tunes and some fabulous covers."<ref name="McCarthy" /> ''[[USA Today]]'' gave the film three out of four stars and felt that the Dude was "too passive a hero to sustain interest," but that there was "enough startling brilliance here to suggest that, just like the Dude, those smarty-pants Coens will abide."<ref name="Wloszczyna, Susan" />

In his review for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', [[Desson Thomson|Desson Howe]] praised the Coens and "their inspired, absurdist taste for weird, peculiar Americana&nbsp;– but a sort of neo-Americana that is entirely invented&nbsp;– the Coens have defined and mastered their own bizarre subgenre. No one does it like them and, it almost goes without saying, no one does it better."<ref name="Howe, Desson" />

[[Janet Maslin]] praised Bridges' performance in her review for ''[[The New York Times]]'': "Mr. Bridges finds a role so right 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."<ref name="Maslin, Janet" /> [[Andrew Sarris]], in his review for the ''[[New York Observer]]'', wrote: "The result is a lot of laughs and a feeling of awe toward the craftsmanship involved. I doubt that there'll be anything else like it the rest of this year."<ref name="Sarris, Andrew" /> In a five star review for ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]],'' Ian Nathan wrote: "For those who delight in the Coens' divinely abstract take on reality, this is pure nirvana" and "in a perfect world all movies would be made by the Coen brothers."<ref name="nathan" /> [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film three stars out of four, saying ''The Big Lebowski'' was inferior to ''Fargo'' but nonetheless described it as "a genial, shambling comedy" which was "weirdly engaging."<ref name="ebert" /> In a 2010 review, Ebert raised his original score to four stars out of four and added the film to his "[[Great Movies]]" canon. Ebert  declared the film's plot was almost irrelevant, but the film was nonetheless a triumph of visual style and eccentric character performances anchored by Bridges' role: "The Dude is in a sense [Raymond Chandler's private investigator] [[Philip Marlowe]] — not in his energy or focus, but in the code he lives by."<ref name="ebert2" />

A more negative assessment came from [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]], who wrote in the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'': "To be sure, ''The Big Lebowski'' is packed with show-offy filmmaking and as a result is pretty entertaining. But insofar as it represents a moral position—and the Coens' relative styling of their figures invariably does—it's an elitist one, elevating salt-of-the-earth types like Bridges and Goodman ... over everyone else in the movie."<ref name="Rosenbaum, Jonathan" /> Dave Kehr, in his review for the ''Daily News'', criticized the film's premise as a "tired idea, and it produces an episodic, unstrung film."<ref name="Kehr, Dave" /> ''[[The Guardian]]'' criticized the film as "a bunch of ideas shoveled into a bag and allowed to spill out at random. The film is infuriating, and will win no prizes. But it does have some terrific jokes."<ref name="Guardian" />

== Legacy ==
{{See also|Dudeism}}
Since its original release, ''The Big Lebowski'' has become a [[cult film|cult classic]].<ref name="russell" /> Ardent fans of the film call themselves "achievers".<ref name="OCRegBowling">{{Cite news |last=Larsen |first=Peter |title=Bringing the bowling to 'The Big Lebowski' |work=The Orange County Register |date=March 21, 2013 |url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/asher-500841-bowling-lebowski.html |access-date=March 20, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022635/https://www.ocregister.com/2013/03/23/bringing-the-bowling-to-the-big-lebowski/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LATimesAchievers">{{Cite news |last=Timberg |first=Scott |title='The Achievers: The Story of the Lebowski Fans' explores The Dude phenomenon |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=July 30, 2009 |url=https://www.latimes.com/la-et-lebowski30-2009jul30-story.html#page=1 |access-date=March 20, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022637/https://www.latimes.com/la-et-lebowski30-2009jul30-story.html#page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Steve Palopoli wrote about the film's emerging cult status in July 2002.<ref name="Palopoli, Steve" /> He first realized that the film had a [[cult following]] when he attended a [[midnight movie|midnight screening]] in 2000 at the [[New Beverly Cinema]] in Los Angeles and witnessed people quoting dialogue from the film to each other.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|129}} Soon after the article appeared, the programmer for a local midnight film series in [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]] decided to screen ''The Big Lebowski'' and on the first weekend they had to turn away several hundred people. The theater held the film over for six weeks, which had never happened before.<ref name="Green, Bill" />{{rp|130}}

[[File:Moore and Bridges Lebowskifest.jpg|thumb|Stars [[Julianne Moore]] and [[Jeff Bridges]] at the 2011 [[Lebowski Fest]]]]
An annual festival, [[Lebowski Fest]], began in [[Louisville, Kentucky]], United States, in 2002 with 150 fans showing up, and has since expanded to several other cities.<ref name="Hoggard, Liz" /> The festival's main event each year is a night of unlimited bowling with various contests including costume, trivia, hardest- and farthest-traveled contests. Held over a weekend, events typically include a pre-fest party with bands the night before the bowling event as well as a day-long outdoor party with bands, vendor booths and games. Various celebrities from the film have attended some of the events, including [[Jeff Bridges]] who attended the Los Angeles event.<ref name="Hoggard, Liz" /> The British equivalent, inspired by Lebowski Fest, is known as The Dude Abides and is held in London.<ref name="Hodgkinson, Will" />

[[Dudeism]], a religion devoted largely to spreading the philosophy and lifestyle of the film's main character, was founded in 2005. Also known as ''The Church of the Latter-Day Dude'' (a name parody of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]), the organization has ordained over 220,000 "Dudeist Priests" all over the world via its website.<ref name="Anderman, Joan" />

"The Big Lebowski and Philosophy: Keeping Your Mind Limber with Abiding Wisdom," published in 2012 by Wiley,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fosl |first1=Peter |last2=Irwin |first2=William |title=The Big Lebowski and Philosophy: Keeping Your Mind Limber with Abiding Wisdom |date=2012 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1118074565 |pages=304 |language=en}}</ref> is a collection of 18 essays by different writers analyzing the movie's philosophical themes of nihilism, war and politics, money and materialism, idealism and morality, and the Dude as the philosopher's hero who struggles to live the good life in spite of the challenges he endures.

Two species of African spider are named after the film and main character: ''[[Anelosimus biglebowski]]'' and ''[[Anelosimus dude]]'', both described in 2006.<ref name='az06'>{{cite journal |first1=Ingi |last1=Agnarsson |first2=Jun-Xia |last2=Zhang |title=New species of ''Anelosimus'' (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Africa and Southeast Asia, with notes on sociality and color polymorphism |journal=Zootaxa |volume=1147 |pages=8, 13 |url=http://www.theridiidae.com/uploads/6/6/8/0/6680387/agnarssonandzhang2006.pdf |access-date=May 23, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022646/http://www.theridiidae.com/uploads/6/6/8/0/6680387/agnarssonandzhang2006.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, an extinct [[Permian]] conifer genus is named after the film in honor of its creators. The first species described within this genus in 2007 is based on 270-million-year-old plant fossils from Texas, and is called ''Lebowskia grandifolia''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Looy |first=Cindy V. |date=July 1, 2007 |title=Extending the Range of Derived Late Paleozoic Conifers: Lebowskia gen. nov. (Majonicaceae) |journal=International Journal of Plant Sciences |volume=168 |issue=6 |pages=957–972 |doi=10.1086/518256 |s2cid=84273509 |issn=1058-5893}}</ref>

''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' ranked it 8th on their Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years list.<ref name="ewtop25" /> The film was also ranked No. 34 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films"<ref name="EWCult" /> and ranked No. 15 on the magazine's "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" list.<ref name="EWCult25" /> In addition, the magazine also ranked The Dude No. 14 in their "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years" poll.<ref name="ewtop100" /> The film was also nominated for the prestigious [[Grand Prix (Belgian Film Critics Association)|Grand Prix]] of the [[Belgian Film Critics Association]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archives.lesoir.be/breves_t-19990112-Z0G80N.html |title="Hana Bi": grand prix U.C.C. |journal=[[Le Soir]] |date=January 12, 1999 |page=10 |access-date=October 26, 2012 |language=fr |archive-date=June 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602133046/http://archives.lesoir.be/breves_t-19990112-Z0G80N.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Big Lebowski'' was voted as the 10th best film set in Los Angeles in the last 25 years by a group of ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' writers and editors with two criteria: "The movie had to communicate some inherent truth about the L.A. experience, and only one film per director was allowed on the list."<ref name="boucher" /> ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine ranked Walter Sobchak No. 49 and the Dude No. 7 in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll.<ref name="EmpirePoll" /> [[Roger Ebert]] added ''The Big Lebowski'' to his list of "Great Movies" in March 2010.<ref name="ebert2" />

=== Spin-off ===
The Coen brothers have stated that they will never make a sequel to ''The Big Lebowski''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Setoodeh |first=Ramin |date=February 3, 2016 |title=The Coen Brothers Will Never Make a Sequel to 'The Big Lebowski' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/big-lebowski-sequel-coen-brothers-1201694771/ |access-date=August 20, 2016 |archive-date=September 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160905105740/http://variety.com/2016/film/news/big-lebowski-sequel-coen-brothers-1201694771/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless, John Turturro expressed interest in reprising his role as Jesus Quintana,<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Neal |first=Sean |date=June 28, 2011 |title=Random Roles: John Turturro |work=[[The A.V. Club]]' |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/john-turturro-58178 |access-date=August 20, 2016 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022626/https://film.avclub.com/john-turturro-1798226284 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 2014, he announced that he had requested permission to use the character.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lyman |first=Eric J. |date=June 22, 2014 |title=Taormina Fest Honors John Turturro, Fox's Jim Gianopulos on Final Day |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/taormina-fest-honors-john-turturro-713898 |access-date=August 20, 2016 |archive-date=August 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825061627/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/taormina-fest-honors-john-turturro-713898 |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 2016, it was reported that Turturro would reprise his role as Jesus Quintana in ''[[The Jesus Rolls]]'', a spin-off of ''The Big Lebowski'', based on the 1974 French film ''[[Going Places (1974 film)|Going Places]]'', with Turturro starring, writing, and directing. It was released in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hipes |first1=Patrick |title=The Big Release Date: John Turturro's 'The Jesus Rolls' To Hit Theaters In 2020 |url=https://deadline.com/2019/07/the-jesus-rolls-john-tururro-jesus-quintana-movie-release-date-screen-media-1202643024/ |access-date=September 3, 2019 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood|Deadline]] |date=July 8, 2019 |archive-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708180845/https://deadline.com/2019/07/the-jesus-rolls-john-tururro-jesus-quintana-movie-release-date-screen-media-1202643024/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Coen brothers, although having granted Turturro the right to use the character, were not involved, and no other character from ''The Big Lebowski'' was featured in the film.<ref>{{cite news |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=August 18, 2016 |title=John Turturro in Production on 'Big Lebowski' Spinoff 'Going Places' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/big-lebowski-spinoff-john-turturro-going-places-1201840371/ |access-date=August 20, 2016 |archive-date=August 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821055149/http://variety.com/2016/film/news/big-lebowski-spinoff-john-turturro-going-places-1201840371/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Stella Artois commercial ===
On January 24, 2019, [[Jeff Bridges]] posted a 5-second clip on Twitter with the statement: "Can't be living in the past, man. Stay tuned" and showing Bridges as the Dude, walking through a room as a [[tumbleweed]] rolls by.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kirkland |first=Justin |date=January 24, 2019 |title=The Dude Returns in an Ad That Will Really Tie Super Bowl Sunday Together |work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a26026898/jeff-bridges-the-dude-big-lebowski-super-bowl-commercial/ |access-date=January 24, 2010 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022702/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a26026898/jeff-bridges-the-dude-big-lebowski-super-bowl-commercial/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The clip was a [[teaser trailer]] for an ad during [[Super Bowl LIII]] which featured Bridges reprising the role of The Dude for a [[Stella Artois]] commercial.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jordan Laskey |first1=Mike |title=Don't let that 'Big Lebowski' Super Bowl commercial delight you |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/young-voices/dont-let-big-lebowski-super-bowl-commercial-delight-you |access-date=February 6, 2019 |agency=National Catholic Reporter |date=January 31, 2019 |quote=At the end of the clip, the date "2.3.19" appears. "A sequel! And it's coming out in like 10 days!" I immediately thought. But then I remembered the American liturgical calendar: Feb. 3 is the Super Bowl. This couldn't be as good as it seemed. |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022652/https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/young-voices/dont-let-big-lebowski-super-bowl-commercial-delight-you |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=E. J. Schultz |title=Stella Artois Reprises 'The Big Lebowski' and 'Sex and the City' in Super Bowl Ad |url=https://adage.com/article/special-report-super-bowl/stella-artois-reprises-big-lebowski-super-bowl-ad/316389/ |access-date=February 6, 2019 |agency=Ad Age |date=January 28, 2019 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022629/https://adage.com/article/special-report-super-bowl/stella-artois-reprises-big-lebowski-super-bowl-ad/316389 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Use as social and political analysis ===
''The Big Lebowski'' has been interpreted from a variety of social and political perspectives by academics and pundits. 

In September 2008, ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' published an article that interpreted ''The Big Lebowski'' as a political critique. The center piece of this viewpoint was that Walter Sobchak is "a [[Neoconservatism|neocon]]," citing the film's references to then President [[George H. W. Bush]] and the first [[Gulf War]].<ref name="WalterNeocon" /> The article says Sobchak's aggressive and impulsive attitude, which always results in catastrophe, is an allegory of neoconservative foreign policy and its supposed consequences.

A journal article by Brian Wall, published in the feminist journal ''[[Camera Obscura (journal)|Camera Obscura]],'' uses the film to explain [[Karl Marx]]'s [[commodity fetishism]] and the feminist consequences of [[sexual fetishism]].<ref>Wall, Brian 2008, {{"'}}Jackie Treehorn Treats Objects Like Women!': Two Types of Fetishism in The Big Lebowski," ''Camera Obscura,'', Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 111–135</ref>

In ''That Rug Really Tied the Room Together,'' first published in 2001, [[Joseph Natoli]] argues that The Dude represents a counter narrative to the post-[[Reaganomics|Reaganomic]] entrepreneurial rush for "return on investment" on display in such films as ''[[Jerry Maguire]]'' and ''[[Forrest Gump]].''<ref>{{cite book |last=Natoli |first=Joseph |date=2001 |title=Postmodern Journeys: Film and Culture 1996–1998 |publisher=SUNY}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor=Oliver Benjamin |date=2013 |title=Lebowski 101:Limber-Minded Investigations into the Greatest Story Ever Blathered |publisher=Abide University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Natoli |first=Joseph |date=2017 |title=Dark Affinities, Dark Imaginaries: A Mind's Odyssey |publisher=SUNY Press}}</ref>

The movie has been interpreted as [[carnivalesque]] critique of society, as an analysis on war and ethics, as a narrative on mass communication and US militarism and other issues.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Paul |last2=Renegar |first2=Valeria |title="The Man for His Time" The Big Lebowski as Carnivalesque Social Critique |journal=Communication Studies |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=299–313 |doi=10.1080/10510970701518397 |year=2007|s2cid=144179844 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sub.uwpress.org/content/34/2/98.citation |title="This Aggression Will Not Stand": Myth, War, and Ethics in The Big Lebowski |publisher=Sub.uwpress.org |date=January 1, 2005 |access-date=June 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124055200/http://sub.uwpress.org/content/34/2/98.citation |archive-date=November 24, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Part Three Representing Automobility: No literal connection: images of mass commodification, US militarism, and the oil industry, in The Big Lebowski |date=September 18, 2006 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-954X.2006.00641.x |volume=54 |journal=The Sociological Review |pages=133–149 |last1=Martin-Jones |first1=David|s2cid=141887692 }}</ref>

== Home media ==
[[Universal Pictures Home Entertainment|Universal Studios Home Entertainment]] released a "Collector's Edition" DVD on October 18, 2005, with extra features that included an "introduction by Mortimer Young", "Jeff Bridges' Photography", "Making of ''The Big Lebowski''", and "Production Notes". In addition, a limited-edition "Achiever's Edition Gift Set" also included ''The Big Lebowski'' Bowling Shammy Towel, four Collectible Coasters that included photographs and quotable lines from the film, and eight Exclusive Photo Cards from Jeff Bridges' personal collection.<ref name="Foster" />
A "10th Anniversary Edition" was released on September 9, 2008, and features all of the extras from the "Collector's Edition" and "The Dude's Life: Strikes and Gutters ... Ups and Downs ... The Dude Abides" theatrical trailer (from the first DVD release), "The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever's Story", "Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of the Dude", "Interactive Map", "Jeff Bridges Photo Book", and a "Photo Gallery". There are both a standard release and a Limited Edition which features "Bowling Ball Packaging" and is individually numbered.<ref name="Foster2" />

A high-definition version of ''The Big Lebowski'' was released by Universal on [[HD DVD]] format on June 26, 2007. The film was released in [[Blu-ray]] format in Italy by Cecchi Gori.

On August 16, 2011, Universal Pictures released ''The Big Lebowski'' on Blu-ray. The limited-edition package includes a Jeff Bridges photo book, a ten-years-on retrospective, and an in-depth look at the annual [[Lebowski Fest]].<ref name="matheson" /> The film is also available in the Blu-ray Coen Brothers box set released in the UK; however, this version is region-free and will work in any Blu-ray player.

For the film's 20th Anniversary, [[Universal Pictures]] released a 4K [[Ultra HD Blu-ray]] version of the film, which was released on October 16, 2018.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.blurayauthority.com/4k/the-big-lebowski-ultra-hd-4k-blu-ray/| title = 4K Review on Blu-ray Authority| date = October 19, 2018| access-date = August 24, 2021| archive-date = August 24, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210824210233/https://www.blurayauthority.com/4k/the-big-lebowski-ultra-hd-4k-blu-ray/| url-status = live}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of cult films]]
* [[List of films that most frequently use the word fuck]]
* [[List of films featuring fictional films]]
* [[List of films featuring miniature people]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=biglebowski.htm |title=The Big Lebowski (1998) |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=March 2, 2024 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022632/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl239568385/weekend/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="The Big Sleep">{{cite news |url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/the_coens_speak_reluctantly/ |title=The Coens Speak (Reluctantly) |work=[[Indie Wire]] |date=March 9, 1998 |access-date=June 19, 2011 |author=Stone, Doug |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022636/https://www.indiewire.com/1998/03/the-coens-speak-reluctantly-83037/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="avclub">{{cite news |last=Tobias |first=Scott |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-big-lebowski-1798216518 |title=The New Cult Canon&nbsp;– The Big Lebowski |newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date=April 20, 2011 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022630/https://film.avclub.com/the-big-lebowski-1798216518 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="russell">{{Cite news |last=Russell |first=Will |url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/the-big-lebowski-hey-dude-26438817.html |title=The Big Lebowski: Hey Dude |work=The Independent |date=August 15, 2007 |access-date=January 22, 2014 |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202102040/http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/the-big-lebowski-hey-dude-26438817.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Green, Bill">{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Bill |author2=Ben Peskoe |author3=Will Russell |author4=Scott Shuffitt |title=''I'm A Lebowski, You're A Lebowski'' |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |year=2007}}</ref>

<ref name="Bergan, Ronald">{{Cite news |last=Bergan |first=Ronald |title=''The Coen Brothers'' |url=https://archive.org/details/coenbrothers0000berg |url-access=registration |publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press |year=2000}}</ref>

<ref name="Ciment, Michel">{{Cite news |last=Ciment |first=Michel |author2=Hubert Niogret |title=The Logic of Soft Drugs |work=Postif |date=May 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="Levine, Josh">{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Josh |title=''The Coen Brothers: The Story of Two American Filmmakers'' |url=https://archive.org/details/coenbrothersstor00levi |url-access=limited |page=[https://archive.org/details/coenbrothersstor00levi/page/n150 140] |publisher=ECW Press |year=2000}}</ref>

<ref name="Robertson, William">{{Cite news |last=Robertson |first=William Preston |author2=Tricia Cooke |title=''The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film'' |page=41 |publisher=[[W.W. Norton]] |year=1998}}</ref>

<ref name="McCarthy, Phillip">{{Cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Phillip |title=Coen Off |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=March 27, 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="Woods, Paul">{{Cite news |last=Woods |first=Paul A |title=''Joel & Ethan Coen: Blood Siblings'' |publisher=Plexus |year=2000}}</ref>

<ref name="Carr, Jay">{{Cite news |last=Carr |first=Jay |title=The ''Big'' Easy |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=March 1, 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="Wloszcyna, Susan">{{Cite news |last=Wloszcyna |first=Susan |title=Another Quirky Coen Toss Turning Their Sly Style to ''Lebowski'' |work=USA Today |date=March 5, 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="Arnold, Gary">{{Cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |title=Siblings' Style Has No Rivals |work=Washington Times |date=March 6, 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="AutoTR-1">{{cite web |title=Movies featuring Lautner buildings |website=The John Lautner Foundation |date=April 12, 2008 |url=http://www.johnlautner.org/wp/?p=32 |access-date=February 19, 2011 |archive-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613174414/http://www.johnlautner.org/wp/?p=32 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Greene">{{Cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |title=Inside the Dude's Stoner Soundtrack |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=September 4, 2008 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/inside-the-dudes-stoner-soundtrack-19691231 |access-date=April 2, 2013 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022631/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/inside-the-dudes-stoner-soundtrack-187983/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Altman">{{Cite news |last=Altman |first=Billy |title=A Music Maker Happy to Be Just a Conduit |work=The New York Times |date=February 24, 2002 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E5D6163EF937A15751C0A9649C8B63 |access-date=April 30, 2008 |archive-date=June 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618153930/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/24/movies/music-a-music-maker-happy-to-be-just-a-conduit.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="flowers">{{cite web |url=http://www.rollogrady.com/the-big-lebowski-dead-flowers/ |title=The Big Lebowski // Dead Flowers&nbsp;– Rollo & Grady: Los Angeles Music Blog |publisher=Rollogrady.com |date=August 29, 2008 |access-date=April 20, 2011 |archive-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606033346/http://www.rollogrady.com/the-big-lebowski-dead-flowers/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="burwell">{{cite web |url=http://www.carterburwell.com/projects/Big_Lebowski.shtml |title=Projects&nbsp;– The Big Lebowski |publisher=Carterburwell.com |access-date=August 11, 2008 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022651/http://www.carterburwell.com/projects/Big_Lebowski.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Berlinale">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1998/02_programm_1998/02_Programm_1998.html |title=Berlinale: 1998 Programme |access-date=January 15, 2012 |work=berlinale.de |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017053938/http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1998/02_programm_1998/02_Programm_1998.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Variety">{{Cite magazine |title=Berlinale 1998: Pix in official selection |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=February 9–15, 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="comentale">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B_rQPB8QHawC&q=The+Year%27s+Work+in+Lebowski+Studies |title=The Year's Work in Lebowski Studies By Edward P. Comentale, Aaron Jaffe p.230 |access-date=April 20, 2011 |isbn=978-0-253-22136-0 |last1=Comentale |first1=Edward P. |last2=Jaffe |first2=Aaron |year=2009 |publisher=Indiana University Press |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022704/https://books.google.com/books?id=B_rQPB8QHawC&q=The+Year%27s+Work+in+Lebowski+Studies |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Howell, Peter">{{Cite news |last=Howell |first=Peter |title=Coens' latest doesn't hold together ''The Big Lebowski'' is more sprawling than large |work=Toronto Star |date=January 19, 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="McCarthy">{{Cite magazine |last=McCarthy |first=Todd |title=''The Big Lebowski'' |magazine=Variety |date=January 20, 1998 |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117906660 |access-date=January 4, 2021 |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226110721/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117906660.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&query=%22The+Big+Lebowski%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Wloszczyna, Susan">{{Cite news |last=Wloszczyna |first=Susan |title=''The Big Lebowski'': Coen humor to spare |work=USA Today |date=March 6, 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="Howe, Desson">{{Cite news |last=Howe |first=Desson |title=''The Big Lebowski'': Rollin' a Strike |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=March 6, 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="Maslin, Janet">{{Cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |title=A Bowling Ball's-Eye View of Reality |work=The New York Times |date=March 6, 1998 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E1D91131F935A35750C0A96E958260 |access-date=January 4, 2008 |archive-date=June 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618154442/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/06/movies/film-review-a-bowling-ball-s-eye-view-of-reality.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Sarris, Andrew">{{Cite news |last=Sarris |first=Andrew |title=A Cubist Coen Comedy |work=[[New York Observer]] |date=March 8, 1998 |url=http://observer.com/1998/03/a-cubist-coen-comedy-men-in-white-meet-men-with-guns-scorseses-cheat-sheet-on-american-film/ |access-date=January 4, 2008 |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202154138/http://observer.com/1998/03/a-cubist-coen-comedy-men-in-white-meet-men-with-guns-scorseses-cheat-sheet-on-american-film/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="nathan">{{cite magazine |last=Nathan |first=Ian |title=The Big Lebowski |magazine=Empire |date=May 1998 |url=https://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=117203 |access-date=September 23, 2009 |archive-date=August 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824235454/http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=117203 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="ebert">{{cite web |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19980306/REVIEWS/803060301/1023&AID1=/19980306/REVIEWS/803060301/1023&AID2=/20100310/REVIEWS08/100319989/1023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112000631/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-big-lebowski-1998|archive-date=January 12, 2014 |title=The Big Lebowski |publisher=[[Roger Ebert]] |access-date=March 28, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="Rosenbaum, Jonathan">{{Cite news |last=Rosenbaum |first=Jonathan |title=L.A. Residential |work=[[Chicago Reader]] |date=March 6, 1998 |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/la-residential/Content?oid=895709 |access-date=August 7, 2013 |archive-date=May 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512180346/http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/la-residential/Content?oid=895709 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Kehr, Dave">{{Cite news |last=Kehr |first=Dave |title=Coen Brothers' Latest is a Big Letdownski |work=Daily News |date=March 6, 1998}}</ref>

<ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news |title=Meanwhile, ''The Big Lebowski'' should have stayed in the bowling alley ... |work=The Guardian |date=April 24, 1998|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/116344833|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

<ref name="Palopoli, Steve">{{Cite news |last=Palopoli |first=Steve |title=The Last Cult Picture Show |publisher=Metro Santa Cruz |date=July 25–31, 2002 |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/07.25.02/lebowski1-0230.html |access-date=April 10, 2008 |archive-date=October 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002123206/http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/07.25.02/lebowski1-0230.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Hoggard, Liz">{{Cite news |last=Hoggard |first=Liz |title=Get with the Dude's vibe |work=The Guardian |date=July 22, 2007 |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2131837,00.html |access-date=January 4, 2008 |archive-date=May 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514041738/http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/jul/22/features.review |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Hodgkinson, Will">{{Cite news |last=Hodgkinson |first=Will |title=Dude, let's go bowling |work=The Guardian |date=May 11, 2005 |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1481323,00.html | access-date = January 4, 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060627103438/http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0%2C%2C1481323%2C00.html | archive-date = June 27, 2006}}</ref>

<ref name="Anderman, Joan">{{Cite news |last=Anderman |first=Joan |title=How 'The Big Lebowski' became a cultural touchstone and the impetus for festivals across the country |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=September 15, 2009 |url=https://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2009/09/15/the_big_lebowski_spawns_its_own_subculture/ |access-date=September 22, 2009 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022639/http://archive.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2009/09/15/the_big_lebowski_spawns_its_own_subculture/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="ewtop25">{{Cite magazine |title=The Comedy 25: The Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=August 27, 2008 |url=https://ew.com/gallery/comedy-25-funniest-movies-past-25-years/ |access-date=August 27, 2008 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022720/https://ew.com/gallery/comedy-25-funniest-movies-past-25-years/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="EWCult">{{Cite magazine |title=The Top 50 Cult Films |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=May 23, 2003 }}</ref>

<ref name="EWCult25">{{Cite magazine |title=The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=September 3, 2008 |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20221982_10,00.html |access-date=September 4, 2008 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022707/https://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20221982_10,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="ewtop100">{{Cite magazine |title=The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=June 4–11, 2010 |page=64}}</ref>

<ref name="boucher">{{Cite news |last=Boucher |first=Geoff |title=L.A.'s story is complicated, but they got it: The 25 best L.A. films of the last 25 years |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 31, 2008 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-31-ca-25films31-story.html |access-date=January 29, 2012 |archive-date=January 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108100646/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/31/entertainment/ca-25films31 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="EmpirePoll">{{Cite magazine |title=The 100 Greatest Movie Characters |magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |url=https://www.empireonline.com/100-greatest-movie-characters/default.asp?c=7 |access-date=December 2, 2008 |archive-date=September 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906072055/http://www.empireonline.com/100-greatest-movie-characters/default.asp?c=7 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="ebert2">{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=El Duderino in his time and place |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=March 10, 2010 |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-big-lebowski-1998 |access-date=March 13, 2010 |archive-date=March 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322203456/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100310%2FREVIEWS08%2F100319989%2F1004 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="WalterNeocon">{{Cite magazine |last=Haglund |first=David |title=Walter Sobchak, Neocon |date=September 11, 2008 |magazine=[[Slate Magazine]] |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2199811/ |access-date=March 11, 2010 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225022634/https://slate.com/culture/2008/09/the-prescient-politics-of-the-big-lebowski.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Foster">{{Cite news |last=Foster |first=Dave |title=''The Big Lebowski'' CE in October |publisher=DVD Times |date=August 27, 2005 |url=http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=57690 |access-date=June 4, 2008 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716233133/http://homecinema.thedigitalfix.com/content.php?contentid=57690 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Foster2">{{Cite news |last=Foster |first=Dave |title=''The Big Lebowski'' 10th AE (R1) in September |publisher=DVD Times |date=April 6, 2008 |url=http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=67857 |access-date=June 4, 2008 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716233111/http://homecinema.thedigitalfix.com/content.php?contentid=67857 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="matheson">{{cite news |last=Matheson |first=Whitney |title=Cool stuff on DVD today: 'Lebowski' on Blu-ray! |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2011/08/cool-stuff-on-dvd-today-lebowski-on-blu-ray/1 |access-date=August 16, 2011 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=August 16, 2011 |archive-date=October 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012025949/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2011/08/cool-stuff-on-dvd-today-lebowski-on-blu-ray/1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

== Further reading ==
* Bergan, Ronald, ''The Coen Brothers'' (2000, Thunder's Mouth Press), {{ISBN|1-56025-254-5}}.
* Coen, Ethan and [[Joel Coen]], ''The Big Lebowski'' (May 1998, Faber and Faber Ltd.), {{ISBN|0-571-19335-8}}.
* Green, Bill, Ben Peskoe, Scott Shuffitt, Will Russell; ''I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski, and What Have You'' (Bloomsbury USA&nbsp;– August 21, 2007), {{ISBN|978-1-59691-246-5}}.
* Levine, Josh, ''The Coen Brothers: The Story of Two American Filmmakers'', (2000, ECW Press), {{ISBN|1-55022-424-7}}.
* Robertson, William Preston, Tricia Cooke, John Todd Anderson and Rafael Sanudo, ''The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film'' (1998, W.W. Norton & Company), {{ISBN|0-393-31750-1}}.
* {{Cite web |last=Rohrer |first=Finlo |date=October 10, 2008 |title=Is The Big Lebowski a cultural milestone? |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7662943.stm |access-date=July 16, 2024 |website=BBC News Magazine}}
* Tyree, J. M., Ben Walters ''The Big Lebowski'' (BFI Film Classics, 2007, British Film Institute), {{ISBN|978-1-84457-173-4}}.
* [http://dudespaper.com/lebowskitheory-at-dude-university.html/ ''The Big Lebowski'' in Feminist Film Theory]
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/big_lebowski.pdf ''The Big Lebowski essay''] by J.M. Tyree & Ben Walters at [[National Film Registry]]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/books/30lebowski.html?_r=1 "Dissertations on His Dudeness"], Dwight Garner, ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 29, 2009
* Comentale, Edward P. and Aaron Jaffe, eds. [https://muse.jhu.edu/book/36646 The Year's Work in Lebowski Studies]. Bloomington: 2009.
* [https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&context=trickstersway "Deception and detection: The Trickster Archetype in the film, ''The Big Lebowski'', and its cult following"] in [https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/trickstersway/ ''Trickster's Way'']

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb title|0118715|The Big Lebowski}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|2=The Big Lebowski}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=442771}}
* {{AFI film|60644}}

{{Coen brothers}}
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