The Big Lebowski

"Times like these call for a Big Lebowski."

1998 1h 57m EN

🙌

7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 12,538

ComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.

“Times like these call for a Big Lebowski.”

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Cast

Jeff Bridges
The Dude
John Goodman
Walter Sobchak
Julianne Moore
Maude Lebowski
Steve Buscemi
Donny
David Huddleston
The Big Lebowski
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Brandt
Tara Reid
Bunny Lebowski
Philip Moon
Treehorn Thug

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joel Coen
Writers: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, J. Todd Anderson
Languages: English, Hebrew, Spanish, German
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Hebrew, Spanish, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joel Coen, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Carter Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ethan Coen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jeff Bridges and John Goodman and Julianne Moore carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joel Coen directs. Roger Deakins behind the camera. Carter Burwell scores. Ethan Coen cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Hebrew, Spanish, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.
228 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Hebrew, Spanish, German.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Directed by Joel Coen, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Carter Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Ethan Coen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jeff Bridges and John Goodman and Julianne Moore carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Times like these call for a Big Lebowski.".
10IMDB entry: tt0118715 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11The top-rated still from this film on TMDB has multiple community votes — a signal the frame composition stuck with viewers.
1212,538 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
13Classified under 22 themes, including "vietnam veteran", "white russian", "bowling", "carpet".

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Original score: Carter Burwell
Editing: Ethan Coen
Production design: Rick Heinrichs
Costume design: Mary Zophres
Makeup / hair: Selina Jayne
VFX supervisor: Janek Sirrs
Sound: Michael Barry
Stunt coordinator: Jery Hewitt
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $47,010,480
Return: 313% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Big Lebowski (1998)

Also by

Joel Coen

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Film.Viewer.9992021-04-07
★ 10/10
Fun, clever and engaging. Joel & Eitan Cohen's most iconic creation
Martin Oaks2022-12-25
★ 10/10
The perfect comedy The legendary Coen brothers deliver a hilarious and deeply unique odyssey that defies conventions and embraces the glorious absurdity of life. Through "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker whose existence revolves around bowling and White Russians, we witness his peaceful routine upended when he is mistaken for a millionaire who shares his last name. What begins as a simple quest to recover his rug—ruined by a pair of thugs—swiftly unravels into an intricate web of kidnappings, deception, and nihilistic characters in true Coen fashion. The film's greatest triumph lies in its characters, sculpted with surgical precision to perfectly fit the actors portraying them. The protagonist is Lebowski, the quintessential antihero: a laid-back pacifist who, despite the surrounding chaos, remains fiercely loyal to his passive philosophy. He is flanked by his best friend Walter (John Goodman), a volatile Vietnam veteran obsessed with the rules of a Jewish faith that is not originally his own. The Coen brothers once again demonstrate their genius for world-building, seamlessly intertwining black comedy, surreal humor, and social satire. The direction is impeccable, featuring memorable dream sequences and an extraordinary narrative pacing that sweeps the viewer into a whirlwind of unpredictable events. Ultimately, "The Big Lebowski" is a meditation on identity, purpose, and the futility of expectations. "The Dude," in all his simplicity, stands as a paradigm of passive resistance against the complexity and madness of the modern world.
r96sk2023-06-24
★ 8/10
<em>'The Big Lebowski'</em> is entertaining. Jeff Bridges and John Goodman are a fun duo, I even would've enjoyed this 1998 flick more if it was just those two for the whole near 2 hours. Everyone else on the cast is good too, amusing seeing Peter Stormare in a role like this - as opposed to one like John Abruzzi. Speaking of <em>'Prison Break'</em>, Jonathan Krantz is also in this! The film starts like a house on the fire, I did find the rest of it - particularly the middle portion - a little (emphasis on 'little') less as the story is stretched out a tad, though all in all it gave me a good time and I'd happily rewatch it no doubt.