The Big Lebowski (1998) on Netflix
Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is attacked at home by enforcers hunting a different Jeffrey Lebowski, who ruin his rug. He asks the millionaire who shares his name to pay for it.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb8.1/10924,708 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes79%
Trailer
Plot summary
Two men in Los Angeles answer to the name Jeffrey Lebowski: the Dude, a slacker who smokes marijuana, drinks White Russians and bowls, and a philanthropist paralyzed from the waist down who lives in a mansion with his assistant Brandt. Enforcers working for pornographer Jackie Treehorn come to the Dude's apartment over a debt owed by the millionaire's wife, Bunny, and one of them urinates on the Dude's rug. The Dude bowls with Walter Sobchak, a Vietnam veteran, and Donny Kerabatsos, and consults them about the damage. He asks the millionaire Jeffrey Lebowski to pay for the rug; refused, he tricks Brandt into letting him take a replacement, and outside he meets Bunny and her German nihilist friend, Uli. Bunny is then apparently kidnapped, and the millionaire asks the Dude to deliver a ransom.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Big Lebowski (1998)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Dudeism, a religion devoted largely to spreading the philosophy and lifestyle of the film's main character, was founded in 2005; also known as The Church of the Latter-Day Dude, it has ordained over 220,000 "Dudeist Priests" around the world through its website.
- Two species of African spider are named after the film and its main character: Anelosimus biglebowski and Anelosimus dude, both described in 2006.
- The Dude is mostly inspired by Jeff Dowd, an American film producer and political activist the Coen brothers met while trying to find distribution for their first feature, Blood Simple. Dowd had been a member of the Seattle Seven, liked to drink white Russians and was known as "The Dude".
- The Coens contacted Robert Duvall, who did not like the script, Anthony Hopkins, who was not interested in playing an American, Gene Hackman and Jack Nicholson. They even floated non-actor public figures such as Jerry Falwell and Norman Schwarzkopf, with Marlon Brando as their ideal, before deciding on David Huddleston within a month of filming.
- Bridges was hesitant to play the Dude, worried the role would be a bad example for his daughters, until one of them convinced him after a meeting. The Coens had originally considered Mel Gibson for the part, but he did not take the pitch too seriously.
- In the original script the Dude's car was a Chrysler LeBaron, the car Dowd had once owned, but it was not big enough to fit John Goodman, so the Coens changed it to a Ford Torino.
