The Big Lebowski (1998) Reaction & Review! FIRST TIME WATCHING! 

The Dude has no character arc. The story just washes over him and the Dude abides.

"Jackie Treehorn treats objects like women, man." Anyone who dislikes this film is a human paraquat.

This is one of those movies that gets better with each viewing.

“Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.” P.S. Love the channel!

*Video Notification:* "The Big Lebowski: FIRST TIME WATCHING!" *Me:* Yeah, well...I look forward to hearing, like, your opinions, man.

2:35, "it's down there somewhere, let me go get it." Lol!

"Has the whole world gone CRAZY?!?" says the man pointing a loaded gun in someone's face over a bowling match. The overly complicated plot was actually done on purpose. The basis for this story was a straight satire of noir mysteries such as Chandler's THE BIG SLEEP (which is where this film gets its name). In such stories the audience is bombarded with information directly related to the plot, most of it wrong and contradictary, with the desired effect of enhanced realism, confusion and fear. The only drawback is that the protagonist has to be extremely competent to sort everything out and save the day, and ends up becoming a cartoon. By complimenting the story structure with a ridiculous plot and a protagonist who is characteristically useless (or at least an unlikely hero), the Coens elevated the satire and created something wholly original, and absolutely hilarious.

I saw Jeff Bridges and John Goodman in an interview describing the scene with the crowbar and the fancy red sports car. They did that scene in a real neighborhood and apparently didn't notify the people in the area that they were filming a movie. Goodman said he felt very awkward and bad for doing that, but both were laughing their butts off describing the scene... LOL

Peter Stormare was also in Coen Brothers's Fargo and they wrote a role for him in Miller's Crossing, a character called Eddie the Swede, but sadly Stormare had to decline because he was busy doing a broadway play (which I believe was Hamlet) and therefore the character was written out of the movie. I've actually meet him in real life in 2008, he was a guest singer for a 80's rock-esque band and they were playing in my hometown. I was star struck when I saw him! I went up to him, saying I was a big fan of his work and that the best role he ever did was in Fargo, I was trying to explain how great he played his character and all, but I was so nervous. And out of nowhere, he gave me a hug! =D I didn't expect that and in my mind I was like; Oh my god, Peter Stormare is giving me a hug! He's a really nice guy, a real down to earth person =)

We need to get you watching more comedies, your laugh is a cure all tonic to all the bad news in the world.

Dude, you're making my day with this reaction.

This movie is an homage to film noir, which explains the complicated nature of the plot. There's a gullible sucker who gets pulled into a nefarious plot, a couple of femme fatales to distract him, the rich guy with the oily manservant - hell, they've even got the Sidney Greenstreet character in a white suit! It's classic noir, and so of course it must be labyrinthine. :)

4:48, Walter is based on filmmaker John Milius, right down to the wire rim glasses and vest.

"OVER THE LINE!!! MARK IT ZERO!!" "I'm not Mr. Lebowski, you're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. Can't you at least call me duder, his royal dudeness, El duderino?" "The bums have lost! The bums have lost!"

The classical music around 5:39 is Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem in D Minor.

I was actually assigned to see this movie in a film class in college. I was already a huge fan of the Coen bros after Fargo. I was actually a little disappointed in the movie at first. But after a couple of more viewings it became one of my favorite flicks of all time. The Coens are absolute geniuses and my favorite writer/director alive today.

I'd say Fargo and The Big Lebowski are the best movies of the Coen brothers. It's a movie that needs repeated viewings to sink in fully. I'd put it next to the Princess Bride as one of the most quotable movies of all times. The acting by Bridges and especially John Goodman was phenomenal. It's not a laugh loud comedy, Zucker brothers' style, but the quirky characters, situations and the snappy dialogue makes this movie a classic for the ages.

what a great film. Youre gonna appreciate the hell out of all the quality filmmaking, story and acting in this one.

4:16, "The old man told me I can take any rug in the house "

“Obviously not a golfer”, perhaps my favourite line in a movie where every line is gold. The script is immaculate, the delivery is note-perfect and it improves with each viewing. Walter Sobchek is just an incredible creation

4:26 "That kind of wife..." :D 6:48 I have always liked how ordinary that other guy is. 13:50 That is visually wonderful scene, where he first comes in slowmotion and then says "Hello Dude, thanks for coming. I'm Jackie Treehorn." My favourite scene in the movie. 18:30 It's so funny that now he says the same line for the third time. :D

19:30 Just remember, Walter(who had been in combat), is a guy you want on your side in a fight.

As Riley would say, "One more time..." This is a re-make of "The Big Sleep," (1946 Dir Hawkes, Story Chandler, Screenplay Faulkner) and the legend around the filming: Hawkes was so confused about the plot he had to call Faulkner while filming. Nice legend, though hard to believe. The Coen's like that stuff.

This is my favorite movie, perhaps all time. So colorful, shot well, amazingly acted, meant for additional viewings. Some of the best story telling I'm my opinion. I'm glad you had such fun watching it.

21:12 When I came back from Iraq, rented this VHS and heard Walter talk about, "Vietnam." I remember thinking, "Walter, the past is the past." I was so young. The past is the past, but only with Bourbon-combat will change you.

I watched someone else reviewing the film and he described it as like a plot keeps trying to form around the Dude, but keeps failing because he's, well, the Dude.

0:49 - Roger Deakins is one of few longest collaboratest with Coen brothers. He's first movie working together was Barton Fink from 1991 and from this take cinematographed every Coens movie (except Burn After Reading - he was replaced by Emmanuel Lubezki; Inside Llewyn Davis and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - both made by Bruno Delbonnel as DP).

This movie is a masterpiece, nothing else needs to be said! Also Jeff Bridges made a role that will be remembered for eternity 🙂

Never has an actor better fit a role. Bridges was born to be The Dude.

My favorite Coen Brothers film and one of my favorite films period. Best way to explain the film is a Stoner Noir, with The Dude filling in for the hard boiled private detective like Sam Spade or Phillip Marlow. Brilliant film.

Cohen brothers definitely addressed your comments about the plot. "You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. And, uh, lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder's head". Has to be watched multiple times. Fortunately, it never gets old because it's so good.

Oh man, I hope you keep watching Coen bros movies! O Brother Where Art Thou is absolutely amazing.

Actually, the plot being complicated or not is pretty irrelevant, just as life is for an entity like the Dude. Thanks for the reaction, though there are some details you can't catch on the first lecture.

Check out a movie called Galaxy Quest. That's a fun one from around the same time as this

For more Jeff Bridges , watch ‘the Fisher King’

Is it now time for the Cohen brother's adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, O'Brother, Where Art Thou?

Burn After Reading might be my personal favorite of theirs, but I also love one that everyone seems to hate, The Ladykillers.

I watched this 7 times in the theater when it came out. Hilarious film. I'm a grown man but I still tear up every time Walter finally begins to apologize for being a fuck. He stared at his feet while The Dude tells him he's had enough. After Donnies passing, Walter; the Veteran who is continuously not afraid to stare death in the face, couldn't even look his best friend in the eye. In that moment, the child in Walter speaks for him and he just keeps on apologizing hoping it will be okay. He's no longer apologizing for fucking up but rather who he is. The one thing he can't control.

This was one of those movies that I didn't like the first time I saw it but it was in the back of my mind the following weeks, nagging me to watch it again. I've seen it a good 15 times now and it keeps getting better!

The dude abides 🤘🤘

Two interesting facts: the f-bomb is dropped 260 times and you never see the Dude bowl !

When he says Lennon, he is saying Lenin, as in communism. The giggling ninny actor is a well known actor David Thewlis, you may recognize him from Harry Potter or Fargo third season. There is also a sequel to this from John Turtoro from 2020 called The Jesus

Awesome reaction! You pick up on things that so many reactors don’t on first watch, and I really appreciate it. This movie gets better the more you watch it.

THANK YOU for doing this film. THis is an absolutely ESSENTIAL watch! Such a quotable movie. And the acting from EVERYONE in it is amazing.

One of my fav quotes not shown here but everyone can probably guess where it is, "Well they finally did it, they killed my fcuikng car".

Jeff Bridges said that all he'd ask the Coen brothers before a scene was, "Did the Dude burn a J before this scene happens?" and if he did, he'd just rub his eyes really hard for a few seconds to get in character.

Another film that shows how versatile Turturro is: Secret Window costarring Johnny Depp.

In case you haven't seen them yet, I am hoping you check out the rest of the Coen Brother's best ... "Fargo" and "No Country For Old Men" ...

You have to watch the video of John Goodman getting his store on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Jeff Bridges gives a speech, and he dresses up as the Dude.

One of my top few films and surely the film I've watched the most, probably over 60 times I'd guess. You should definitely go for a few views to really appreciate it. Such a good story, wonderful soundtrack and for a long time it held the award for the most amount of swear words in a film.

The Big Lebowski is probably in my top three movies of all time, and a magnificent deconstruction of noir by the Coen Brothers. The second I saw that you had reviewed this one, I knew I had to drop everything and watch along with you.

Great movie, one of my favorite scenes is after the corvette owner beat up the Dudes car, and they are driving back with the broken windows, they are quietly eating In&Out Burgers.

If nobody's mentioned this, the Nihilists feature a couple of amazing recording artists: The shortest nihilist, the one Walter hit with the ball in the final fight, is played by the legendary bassist Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And the blond woman with them at the diner, the one who cut off her toe, is a cameo by Aimee Mann, the former lead singer of Til Tuesday and an accomplished and award-winning solo artist.

What's really great about this movie that took me one or two extra viewings to realize, is that it follows all the beats of a noir, subverting tropes basically throughout the whole thing. Once that clicked, the movie made a lot more sense. In general, it's a noir themed shaggy dog story.

Another great movie from the Coen Brothers. They won the oscar for best picture with 'No Country for Old Men.' Javier Bardem won the oscar for best supporting actor

ONE OF MY 10 FAVORITE MOVIES..AND AS FOR BRIDGES AND GOODMAN THEY BOTH DESERVED AN ACADEMY AWARD!

One of the bits I really like in this film is the use of a barking dog in a scene to increase the tension. They use that technique in Miller's Crossing as well.

This is my favorite movie of all time! you should do Hail Ceaser! next

If you haven't seen it give "o brother where art thou" a watch. It's one of my favourite coen brothers films. It's a modern adaptation of the odyssey and its absolutely hilarious. George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Nelson are brilliant.

For some reason it gets funnier each time I watch it. There are loads of small details, for instance a Captain Beefheart song! One of my favorite films.

Everyone loves Lebowski and No Country, but I hope you check out: O Brother Where Art Thou (for the immaculate cinematography by Deakins), Barton Fink (for the sublime performances by Goodman, Tuturro, Michael Lerner, and Judy Davis), Fargo (I'm sure you've seen), and Intolerable Cruelty (perhaps their greatest screenplay ever in my opinion). Great video.

The moment with Donny's ashes is still the funniest thing I've seen on film. Great reaction!

The complexity of the plot keeps it new. I've seen it 25 times and I still spot nuances and jokes that I previously missed.

Another great review and reaction Shan! Regarding the confusing plot: This movie was an homage of Raymond Chandler, particularly Big Sleep (and especially the 1946 movie of the same name). This movie was legendarily confusing. There is a famous story about when the movie was being made, nobody knew who killed a chauffeur. Finally they called Chandler and he admitted to not knowing either.

The adult actress is in fact a genius with a membership in Mensa. Saw her in a blue film today in fact. Great film, funny as f... Now enjoy a white Russian

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" directed by Wes Anderson and starring Ralph Fiennes and an All-Star cast.

This film is so influential, it inspired a religion...

Please react to "The Jerk" (Directed by Carl Reiner...Rob Reiner's Father)

Like most people, I classify my friends and acquaintances in little groups in my head. I have hockey friends; I have weightlifting friends; music friend, and The Big Lebowski friends. Me and my Big Lebowski friends, with no planning involved, communicate to one another using lines from this movie. When we make plans: "Mark it, dude." When I didn't quite catch what you're saying: "Who's got your undies, Walter?" When we find ourselves in the middle of a rant: "AND I SURE AS SH*T DON'T F*CKING ROLL! SHOMER SHABBOS!" When we see a stranger fail in some way: "Get a job, sir." This movie is as close to perfect as one can get (for my sensibilities). Every syllable, every gesture, every subtlety is well prescribed. The only "flaw" I've found is when Maude is talking about $1M of the foundation's money, she says "dollars" with a hard R, like she's from the south. Just that one word in the middle of a sentence doesn't fit her character's accent. That and Liam's inability to not look at the camera during Jesus' first rant. Flea didn't need to be in it. This movie will get even better over the next few times you watch it. Good reaction!

Yours is my favorite film reaction channel. I truly enjoy your very thoughtful analysis each and every time.

"The Narrator's" language request was the biggest tell of "The Cowboy" being the deity looking over "The Dude" as he travels aimlessly through the creator's chaos.

This film is an emotional roller coaster of epic proportions.

8:12, the Uzi is self firing!! Lol!!🤣

I'm so happy you enjoyed this movie! It somehow gets better with each viewing. My favorite movies with Jeff Bridges must be Starman, Tron and The Big Lebowski. What an actor!

Peter Stormae... a Swedish countryman, whom I have met. Very nice man.

This was my favorite movie in the 90s!!!

Another quality reaction, you deserve a lot more views and followers.

*Dude:* _"It's all a goddamn fake. Like Lenin said, look for the person who will benefit. And you will, uh, you know, you'll, uh, you know what I'm trying to say--"_ *Donny:* _"I am the Walrus."_ *Walter:* _"That fucking bitch!"_ *Dude:* _"Yeah."_ *Donny:* _"I am the Walrus."_ *Walter:* _"Shut the fuck up, Donny! V.I. Lenin! Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov!"_ *Donny:* _"What the fuck is he talking about?"_ Donny truly was a man *_ALWAYS_* out of his element. Even in death, his ashes ultimately refused to be committed to the bosom of the Pacific Ocean.

That man is David Thewlis from 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' as Professor Lupin

I would argue that the rug is a bigger McGuffin than the money. The money doesn't actually exist, but the rug does..."All the Dude ever wanted was his rug back."

The musical director for this movie was T. Bone Burnett. Any time you see that name attached to a movie, know that it will have a top notch soundtrack. So keep in mind, the Coen Brothers did NOT choose the music for the film...they just knew who to hire for that job.

There is a little bit of foreshadowing in that something bad may happen to Donnie, hence the one bowling pin remained standing when he's used to always getting strikes. There's a look of shock and uncomfort on his face to that happening. It's basically a warning. And not 5 minutes later, he has a heart attack and dies.

Fun trivia The Coen Brothers were inspired by several sources and stories. Possibly the leading source was their friend Peter Exline, who coined the phrase "It really tied the room together" to describe one of his own rugs. Pete and a friend of his "Big" Lew Abernathy (a private detective whom the Coens didn't know) are considered to be the partial basis for the character Walter. Pete, a Vietnam veteran and college professor, once jokingly tried to scare his students by exclaiming "First Vietnam, now this?!" while hitting a chair, similar to the way Walter (non-jokingly) inappropriately compares everything to Vietnam. Pete also told the Coens about a story where his car was stolen and Abernathy helped him investigate. They found the homework of a fourteen-year-old, and instead of telling the police, they put the homework in a plastic bag and drove out to the kid's home to confront him (though unlike the movie, the kid did not actually steal the car, and Abernathy did not end the confrontation by bashing a car outside the kid's house). Another story related by Pete was the time that Abernathy was arraigned by a Santa Monica Sheriff, who, as in the movie, insulted him and told him to "stay out of my beach community!" Fun trivia 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 Coen, 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. CGI was used to create the vantage point of the thumb hole in the bowling ball. Fun trivia The "f" word or a variation of it was used 292 times Fun trivia T Bone Burnett acted as music consultant for the movie, and helped Joel Coen and Ethan Coen establish the Dude's taste in music. Burnett selected many of the existing songs in the movie, and also suggested the Dude's hatred towards The Eagles (Burnett himself is not a fan either). One of the band's members, Glenn Frey, was reportedly so dismayed about this that he once even angrily confronted Jeff Bridges when they met at a party. Fun trivia John Turturro originally thought he was going to have a bigger role in the film. When he read the script, he realized the part was quite small. However, the Coen brothers let him come up with a lot of his own ideas for the character, like shining the bowling ball and the scene where he dances backwards, which he says was inspired by Muhammad Ali. Fun trivia Think about the many things you love about The Big Lebowski: the performances, the musical sequences, the endless onslaught of brilliantly quotable lines, the Jesus. Strangely, the actual plot of the movie is secondary (or fifth-dary) to most people’s enjoyment of the movie. Do you remember what happens to the missing money in the end, or if there even was missing money to begin with? According to Joel Coen, they knew the plot would probably be a bit confounding to most viewers on the first watch, and they also knew that it probably wouldn’t matter. “The plot is sort of secondary to the other things that are sort of going on in the piece," he said in a DVD extra for the film. "I think that if people get a little confused it’s not necessarily going to get in the way of them enjoying the movie.”

When I first saw this film, I didn't get it. Then I watched it an unplanned second time totally out of the blue, and it just clicked. The first time, I think I was fixating on trying to track the story. The second time I was just absorbing the tone, personality, and craftsmanship. And like so many others, that absorbing has evolved with multiple interactions with the work (viewings, clips, quotes, discussions, etc.) into a feedback loop, that has amazing resonance and harmony. Thanks for another great video Shan. Thank you for sharing. Your work continues to both impress and provide great enjoyment.

I love, when other people love this movie. Everything you said in this video I thought "this guy gets it"

Okay, Shan, you set me up. Weird protagonist, John Turturro, the Coen brothers, and we might even throw Rodger Deakins in but I'm too lazy to check. Barton Fink (1991). [Edit] Fink came to mind first, but another one which also checks the boxes, would be O Brother Where Art Thou (2000). Though, I have a suspicion you might have seen that one. Best. Leo.

What a treat here, you're reaction and review to one of my top 10 favorite comedy movies, right next to Young Frankenstein, All Of Me, and ALL the Abrams movies including Airplane. The Coen Brothers do have other best comedies including one with action called Raising Arizona starring Nicolas Cage (need I say more). Of course another comedy classic,, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. All recommended. Oh I forgot this movie became as popular like a Star Trek convention they have some where a Great Lebowski week or weekend.

Great reaction! Literally every line of this movie is quotable. I must have seen it 50 times and I think I might be close to being able to recite the whole thing start to finish.

another reactor said "a movie is trying to form itself around the dude, but he just doesn't care enough" to be the protagonist. it makes a lot of sense

Dammit Shan, I wanted to go to bed, I have work in the morning and then you post one of my favourite films.

The next Coen Brothers movie, Raising Arizona? It's a hoot and a half.

Greatest movie ever.

The shortest nihilist is actually played by Flea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He also played Needles in the Back to the Future trilogy.

05:35 So basically this movie is the Coen Brothers doing a film noir in the style of Humphrey Bogart (The Big Sleep, The Big Lebowski) but with their eccentric buddy as the protagonist. The plot hits every film noir cliche if you think about it. That’s what’s kind of brilliant about it.

its a tiny detail but my favorite little thing is Phillip Seymour Hoffman dramatically opening and closing the big double doors

Fun fact: John Goodman played Sully and Steve Buscemi played Randall in the Disney Pixar movie "Monsters Inc."

I love this reaction, it really ties the channel together.

The greatest line from the movie: "He fixes the cable?"

Glad you liked this as much as me, Shan. FYI it gets better with rewatches too, since the many-faceted plot gets in the way less. Bit of trivia for you, Steve Buscemi’s surname is not pronounced ‘Boo-shemmy’, it’s pronounced ‘B’skeemy’. No one gets this right, though it is quite amusing hearing Buscemi talk about how no one gets it right in certain interviews!

This movie is one of those rare ones that gets funnier the more times you watch it. Knowing the characters, and picking up on the subtitles that are littered throughout the film, just make it funnier with each viewing. Fun Fact: The Coen Brothers loosely based the Walter character on John Milus (whom they are friends with in real) who wrote Apocalypse Now and directed Conan: the Barbarian.