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The Big Lebowski
Arguably one of the greatest comedies of modern times; the Coen brothers’ deconstructed film noir following slacker hero ‘The Dude’ (Jeff Bridges).
Comedy 1998 117 mins
Director: Joel Coen
Overview
Arguably one of the greatest comedies of modern times, this dazzlingly inventive successor to The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye sees Jeff Bridges as slacker hero ‘The Dude’, a far from efficient or even willing gumshoe, up to his stoned eyes in a surreal mystery involving kidnapping, blackmail, porn-kings, feminist artists, rug-running and bowling contests.
The definition of a cult film, the Coen brothers’ film was only a moderate success upon release but has since gone on to inspire fervent devotion, legions of fans (‘achievers’) and its own religion (Dudeism). Critical respectability has followed suit; it’s been selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry and Paul Schrader has argued its place as the 40th greatest film of all time in a piece for Film Comment. Its durability is largely down to its sheer consistency of laughs (and its endless quotability), but in the end The Big Lebowski is also a wry meditation on masculinity, heroism and friendship.
Contains strong language and sex referencesAccessibility
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