Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4490 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-10-18
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, German, Hebrew, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
After the tight plotting and quirky intensity of Fargo, this casually amusing follow-up from the prolifically inventive Coen (Ethan and Joel) brothers seems like a bit of a lark, and the result was a box-office disappointment. The good news is, The Big Lebowski is every bit a Coen movie, and its lazy plot is part of its laidback charm. After all, how many movies can claim as their hero a pot-bellied, pot-smoking loser named Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) who spends most of his time bowling and getting stoned? And where else could you find a hairnetted Latino bowler named Jesus (John Turturro) who sports dazzling purple footgear, or an erotic artist (Julianne Moore) whose creativity consists of covering her naked body in paint, flying through the air in a leather harness, and splatting herself against a giant canvas? Who else but the Coens would think of showing you a camera view from inside the holes of a bowling ball, or an elaborate Busby Berkely-styled musical dream sequence involving a Viking goddess and giant bowling pins? The plot--which finds Lebowski involved in a kidnapping scheme after he's mistaken for a rich guy with the same name--is almost beside the point. What counts here is a steady cascade of hilarious dialogue, great work from Coen regulars John Goodman and Steve Buscemi, and the kind of cinematic ingenuity that puts the Coens in a class all their own. Be sure to watch with snacks in hand, because The Big Lebowski might give you a giddy case of the munchies. --Jeff Shannon

Amazon.com
After the tight plotting and quirky intensity of Fargo, this casually amusing follow-up from the prolifically inventive Coen (Ethan and Joel) brothers seems like a bit of a lark, and the result was a box-office disappointment. The good news is, The Big Lebowski is every bit a Coen movie, and its lazy plot is part of its laidback charm. After all, how many movies can claim as their hero a pot-bellied, pot-smoking loser named Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) who spends most of his time bowling and getting stoned? And where else could you find a hairnetted Latino bowler named Jesus (John Turturro) who sports dazzling purple footgear, or an erotic artist (Julianne Moore) whose creativity consists of covering her naked body in paint, flying through the air in a leather harness, and splatting herself against a giant canvas? Who else but the Coens would think of showing you a camera view from inside the holes of a bowling ball, or an elaborate Busby Berkely-styled musical dream sequence involving a Viking goddess and giant bowling pins? The plot--which finds Lebowski involved in a kidnapping scheme after he's mistaken for a rich guy with the same name--is almost beside the point. What counts here is a steady cascade of hilarious dialogue, great work from Coen regulars John Goodman and Steve Buscemi, and the kind of cinematic ingenuity that puts the Coens in a class all their own. Be sure to watch with snacks in hand, because The Big Lebowski might give you a giddy case of the munchies. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
After the mysteriously affecting "Fargo," the Coen brothers have reverted to their studied pose of cynical disengagement with a movie that-insofar as it's about anything-is about the interface of bowling and Orthodox Judaism. Set in Los Angeles, this irritatingly antic caper stars Jeff Bridges as the Dude, a carefree seventies-style dropout who hangs out at the local bowling alley with his buddies Walter (John Goodman), a chronically irate Nam vet, and Donny (Steve Buscemi), the trio's sweet but dim verbal foil. Although his laid-back existence is interrupted by at least three extortion and kidnapping plots, all of which revolve around an elderly millionaire in a wheelchair (David Huddleston), the Dude-who's not only amiable but infinitely resilient-comes out smiling, like Popeye. The clever dialogue, seductive camera work, and beautiful production design (the lavish dream sequences look like Busby Berkeley on Ecstasy) almost make you forget the vacancy at the movie's core, but in the end there's no escaping the feeling that the Coens are speaking a secret language. With Julianne Moore and John Turturro. -Daphne Merkin
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Big Lebowski Means Big Laughs
This brilliantly cynical losers saga is absolutely hilarious! With 600+ reviews written already, I won't waste any time going over the absurd plot, ingenious characters or plentiful cameos. I just wanted to add my 2 cents, and my 5 stars, to this riotous 'high-brow' comedy from the Coens.

The 10th anniversary edition has a good selection of extras, including making of features and the like. Also comes with Dolby 5.1, so you can really get lost in those dream sequences. Yeah! Yeah! YEAAAAAAH!

Great DVD set--no scratches (for me, at least)
I've heard people complaining about the DVDs in this limted edition set. When I bought mine, there were no scratches on the DVDs. As for getting the DVDs in and out of the cardboard slipcases, I have done so numerous times, and I have not one scratch on the DVDs. Unless I start noticing scratches on them from the case as time goes by, my review still stands.

The Big Disappointment
What are you people who rave about this movie smoking. It simply stunk, and I wasted a buck to rent it (not to mention an hour before I fell asleep). My wife now refuses to let me rent anything. (My last selection was Son of Rambow, so you see why). What the hell - not funny, no plot, and who wants to watch an ugly guy walk around in boxers and an ugly bathroom. Whoever gave this more than 1 star (I wish I could have given it 0) is an idiot! The Coen Brothers have done some good work - Fargo and Old Men, but this one was a dud.