The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Big Lebowski is on my top ten list of all time best films. I've seen A LOT of films by the way. I don't need to explain to anyone why this movie is so brilliant, and why it continues to be a cultural phenomenon. I mention these things first because I don't want people to feel like I'm giving the film one star. If I could I would give the movie 100 stars. What I'm giving such a poor review for is my distaste for movie studios pumping out special editon dvd's every few years because they know a film has a huge following. This new "bowling ball" edition of Lebowski is further proof that Universal has nothing but contempt for the fans of Big Lebowski. They wrap it up in a nice big package and make it look slick, but that's as far as the creativity goes into supplying anything new in terms of extras. Does anyone remember the terrible repackage they gave it a few years ago with a towel and coasters? No actual extras existed, but they still put it out as a revamped "deluxe edition". Well, don't expect much more here.

The only new extras to this edition are four very brief featurettes. They feature new interviews with all of the major players (with the exception of the Coen brothers, of course), but they mostly just sit around and say stuff like, "It's a great film! It's hilarious! Coen Brothers are geniuses!". Err, yeah, we know all of that. It also has a featurette that centers around the Lebowski Fest which is vaguely interesting for a few minutes until it turns into the same old "Lebowski is great!" territory. The featurettes are a snooze fest to say the least.

What really annoyed me with this DVD, though, is that they included the SAME "Making of Big Lebowski" documentary that has been on every release of this film! Not only that, it looks as if it was recorded from an old VHS tape and plastered onto a full screen format. It looks horrible, and what's more, we've all seen it before! How many times is Universal going to pump out the same damn extras to the same audience?? It's an insult to be charged more and more money for the same mediocre extras that were never that good to begin with. Luckily I was able to rent this and didn't actually buy it! "The Big Lebowski" will NEVER have proper extras until the people who created it (the Coen Brothers) are involved. We want a commentary, a full length documentary with in-depth interviews, and deleted scenes (and plenty of them!).

DON'T BUY THIS EDITION. It's junk! Simply keep the edition you already have (the very first edition) safely knowing that you are not missing anything with any other edition!

"The Big Lebowski" is just perfect. Everything about this movie is a laugh riot, even the bits of dialogue that aren't punchlines. The cast is perfect, the writing is perfect... this movie has both Julianne Moore and Flea in it, what other movies can you say that about? Well, there was the Gus Van Sant "Psycho" remake, but that doesn't count. I found this movie by accident and I haven't let go of it since. I may not be a stoner but I will say I've found more happiness since I embraced my inner Dude.

Every time I go back to "Lebowski" I come away with something new that wasn't there before. Like the realization, this time around, that Jeff Bridges is not seen to throw a single bowling ball in the entire movie. And that Steve Buscemi's character rolls a strike every time we see him... except for the very final scene, for reasons that become clear a few moments later.

The rest of the cast is just superb. Remember Philip Seymour Hoffman as an unctuous PR man? I'd forgotten about that. Jon Polito (late of "Homicide") shows up as a P.I. in a familiar-looking purple VW bug. Even Aimee Mann is in one scene, speaking German. Oh, and Tara Reid, before her career completely and utterly collapsed. Top supporting honors go to Sam Elliott, who according to the DVD documentary wasn't even sure what he was doing in the movie, but his opening narration gets funnier every time out ("And in English, too!").

Another great thing is the dialogue. You'd think the whole movie was done by improv, the way the dialogue is so natural. Every character has their own particular jargon, and just like in real life, people keep repeating phrases they've heard elsewhere. Jeff Bridges can't seem to finish a sentence, and neither can Steve Buscemi, although that's because John Goodman won't let him. George Bush gets quoted a lot ("This aggression will not stand, man").

Finally, I love the totally unglamorous portrayal of L.A. and Hollywood, limited to tiny theaters, a seedy bowling alley, a weapons store in the barrio, and the In 'n Out Burger (on Camrose). The actor and artist type characters who show up are all obnoxious or pathetic, particularly David Thewlis's "video artist", and the chubby dancer/landlord who forgoes collecting rent from the Dude so long as the Dude shows up for his performances. Not to mention Karl Hungus and the great Ben Gazarra cameo.

But in the end, Jeff Bridges is the glue holding this movie together... and John Goodman... and John Turturro... and... and... aah! Lost my train of thought here. But... ah, , I've done introduced 'em enough.

Buy The Big Lebowski (1998) Now

Picture and sound quality is a bit improved, but other than that you are spending money on the exact same DVD. Usually, when a "Collector's Edition" is released, especially after a movie gains such a huge cult following like Lebowski has, people actually go through the effort of including cast commentaries, more bonus features, and...well, more than just repackaging the old DVD with a new name, a new cover, and a higher retail price.

Shame on Universal and Focus Features.

Read Best Reviews of The Big Lebowski (1998) Here

In what has to be the most brilliantly disjointed and anarchic look at the alienation, apathetic stupor, and pedestrian self-absorption of the pathetic Southern California lifestyle ever filmed, the two Coen brothers (`Fargo') produced and directed this near `cult' film to explore the plethora of cultural cop-outs parading as lifestyles in this zany yet affectionate look at a totally burned out and yet eminently likeable basket case by the name of Jeff Lebowski, who is played masterfully by Jeff Bridges, in yet another of his consistently underestimated character portrayals. Lebowski prefers to go by his street name of "Dude", and seems to be the ultimate California case of a one-time fairly intelligent `n'er-do-well' now perpetually down on his luck and reduced to only occasional flashes of clarity and full functioning after way too many years of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and then some more drugs tossed in on the side.

The Coens' penchant for offbeat characters is having a field day here, with everyone in the cast allowed to vent in a kind of wacko 'Disneyland on the strip' approach to making the endless days of gorgeous LA sunshine pass, as our protagonist finds trouble in the promised land. Particularly memorable here is John Goodman weighing in as the paranoid and unpredictably violent Walter Sobchak, the `Dude's' best friend and perpetual bowling partner. The holy ceremony of bowling and the seriousness that it plays in the lives of the several losers like the Dude, Sobchak, and the preening eccentric Jesus Quintana (a wonderfully over-the-top John Turturro) and the rest of the motley crew on the Dude's team provides a kind of key that unlocks the mystery of their uniformly alienated, pointless, and directionless lives, as each tumbles from crisis to crisis, and with each attempt that Dude makes to cope with the circumstances that mysteriously start to swirl around his drug addled self-absorption and wake him into a groggy yet sober recognition that something very serious and potentially deadly is going on around him, he is repeatedly sabotaged and blind-sided by the myopic and near-psychotic antics of his friends.

Dude seems to approach crisis management as an exercise in spin control, and tries, sometimes quite ingeniously, to talk his way out of the staccato violence that punctuates his days with increasingly urgent frequency. But as the mystery deepens and Lebowski is sucked farther into the quicksand of coincidences, mistaken identities, and sheer madness that lurks just beneath the cover of these friendly skies, we are introduced to the powers and the principalities that are driving the madcap antics and the increasing shrill intensities of everyone but the Dude. The plot often seems disjointed, yet in a macabre way that seems to shout that not only is truth sometimes stranger than fiction, it is sometimes absolutely insane. Yet it eventually resolves itself into a semi-rational resemblance to plausible reality, or at least almost. And one walks way from the outstanding ensemble cast's performance thinking that something magic and allegorical has happened here, and it is perhaps exactly the insanity of the proceeding activity that is the point. They are indeed, every last one of them, just California crazy! This is a wild roller coaster of a film experience, but one absolutely worth the taking. Buckle up, kids, you're in for a bumpy ride! Enjoy!

Want The Big Lebowski (1998) Discount?

The Big Lebowski doesn't need a review, so if you're here to read about the film, this won't be helpful. This is a review of the Blu-ray Limited Edition with book.

That being said, this is a very nice edition. The photographs in the book are great and are fun to see behind the scenes action, especially Jeff Bridges' photos. He's a talented photographer utilizing his unique pano camera.

The Blu-ray conversion is clean, crisp and well done. The picture and sound are excellent. The digital copy is a nice plus, but consider that the coupon expires on 12/31/12. Its more than a year away, but its worth noting in case it's something you forget to take advantage of.

However, my biggest complaint is this. The size of the book (which holds the physical disc) is actually just a little larger than standard Blu-ray cases. While this may not be a big deal to most people, if you're like me and have bookshelves fit to the height of a Blu-Ray, this movie can't stand on end. It has to be laid flat, or sideways on the shelf. It's a little thing, but for those with extensive collections on shelves, it can be annoying.

Overall, the Blu-ray edition is a nice step-up for those looking to upgrade their DVD or add it to their collection.

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