The Big Lebowski

After watching The Big Lebowski, the Coen brothers' latest tale of a kidnapping scheme gone bonkers, I spent hours spelunking for themes, tropes and symbols. As a satire of the 1980s, it's ripe with allusions; it's also less a story than an exercise in intellectual and aesthetic calisthenics, creating so much distance from the characters that you're left with congratulating yourself because you got the jokes. Of course, if you're willing to surrender yourself to the Coens' characteristic oddball flourishes--such as a trio of marmot-wielding nihilists or hallucinatory Busby Berkeley-style production numbers--you certainly won't be completely unhappy. Still, as undeniably amusing as many of The Big Lebowski's oddball flourishes are, the film is almost nothing but oddball flourishes, wandering along with a theme or two in tow. A strong optional purchase. (S. Renshaw) [DVD Review—Oct. 6, 2005—Focus, 118 min., R, $19.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1998's The Big Lebowski sports a nice transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include a 25-minute 'making-of' featurette, an exclusive introduction to the film with the ostensibly fictitious 'Mortimer Young, a practitioner of ‘non-uptight' film preservation' (5 min.), a photo gallery photographed by costar Jeff Bridges, production notes, and trailers. Bottom line: a rather small extras package for one of the Coen brothers' lesser efforts—but also one with a significant cult following.] [DVD Review—Sept. 16, 2008—Universal, 2 discs, 118 min., R, $19.98—Making its third appearance on DVD, 1998's The Big Lebowski (10th Anniversary Edition) features a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Previous DVD extras carried over include a 25-minute 'making-of' featurette, an exclusive introduction to the film with the ostensibly fictitious 'Mortimer Young, a practitioner of ‘non-uptight' film preservation' (5 min.), a photo gallery photographed by costar Jeff Bridges, production notes, and trailers. New extras to the '10th Anniversary Edition' include 'The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever's Story' on the annual convention (14 min.), 'The Dude's Life' (10 min.) production featurette, 'The Dude Abides: The Big Lebowski Ten Years Later' retrospective featurette (10 min.), 'Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of the Dude' segment with star Jeff Bridges and the Coen Brothers discussing scenes (4 min.), and an interactive map showing locations of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a contemporary cult classic.] [Blu-ray Review—Aug. 16, 2011—Universal, 119 min., R, $29.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1998's The Big Lebowski features a fine transfer and DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras carried over from previous DVD releases include a 'making-of' featurette (25 min.), a photo gallery by costar Jeff Bridges (18 min.), 'The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever's Story' on the annual convention (14 min.), 'The Dude's Life' production featurette (10 min.), 'The Dude Abides: The Big Lebowski Ten Years Later' retrospective featurette (10 min.), 'Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of the Dude' segment with Bridges and the Coen Brothers (4 min.), a tongue-in-cheek intro (5 min.), a photo gallery (2 min.), and an interactive location map. Packaged in a 28-page digi-book, new to this Blu-ray release are U-Control features including a 'Scene Companion' with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews viewable during the film, a 'Mark It, Dude' onscreen counter (of 'F-bombs,' 'Dudes,' and Lebowski-isms), a music identifier and customizable playlist, the 'Worthy Adversaries: What's My Line?' trivia game, a bonus digital copy of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a modern cult classic makes a welcome Blu-ray debut.] [4K/Blu-ray Review—Nov. 13, 2018—Universal, 86 min., R, 4K/Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its debut on 4K, 1998’s The Big Lebowski features a fine transfer and a DTS:X Immersive Audio soundtrack. All extras are included on the accompanying 2011 Blu-ray release (which is the same as reviewed above). Bottom line: although this Coen Brothers cult film is no one’s idea of a visual spectacle, it does look better than ever on 4K.]