The cast of The Big Lebowski (1998) were recently reunited on stage in New York.
Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro and Julianne Moore all spoke about the cult classic to promote the new Blu-ray release.
The Q&A was moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Clark Collis and was streamed over Livestream.
> The Big Lebowski at IMDb and Wikipedia
> NY Times report on the reunion
> Buy the Blu-ray from Amazon UK
DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS
The Big Lebowski (Universal Pictures): The 1998 Coen Brothers comedy about an LA stoner called The Dude (Jeff Bridges) initially struggled to find a mainstream audience, but over time became one of the most significant cult films of its era. The circular plot revolves around a kidnapping but is chiefly memorable for its fantastic array of characters, expertly played by a cast including John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, John Turturro, Julianne Moore, Ben Gazzara and Peter Stormare. [Buy it on Blu-ray from Amazon UK]
The Blues Brothers (Universal Pictures): The 1980 musical comedy about two brothers, Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Ackroyd), going on a journey to save their orphanage, features various R&B and soul singers including James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and John Lee Hooker. Famous for its car chases it also co-stars John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Charles Napier, and Henry Gibson. This new Blu-ray transfer was overseen by director John Landis. [Buy it on Blu-ray from Amazon UK]
ALSO OUT
Blues Brothers 2000 (Universal Pictures) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Brotherhood of the Wolf (Optimum Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Final Destination Quadrilogy (EV) [Blu-ray / Box Set]
Little White Lies (Lionsgate UK) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Our Day Will Come (Optimum Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Red Riding Hood (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Revelation of the Pyramids (Optimum Home Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Scream 4 (EV) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Supernatural: The Complete First Season (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Box Set]
Supernatural: The Complete Second Season (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Box Set]
The Vampire Diaries: Seasons 1 and 2 (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal]
The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season (Warner Home Video) [Blu-ray / Normal]
> UK Cinema Releases for Friday 19th August 2011 including Cowboys & Aliens
> The Best DVD & Blu-ray releases of 2010
Reddit user Samzo has created a special Monopoly board based on The Big Lebowski (1998).
(Click here for a larger version)
I particularly like the ‘Stay out of Malibu deadbeat’ in place of the ‘Go to jail’ square.
> The Big Lebowski at Wikipedia
> Monopoly
A new PBS documentary about Jeff Bridges takes its title from The Big Lebowski.
Is it just me or has the character of the Dude stayed with Bridges after all these years?
Watch the full episode. See more American Masters.
I remember seeing the Coen Brothers film at a press preview back in 1998 and it went down a storm with the audience.
It was soon apparent that it wasn’t going to be a box office smash, but over time its reputation has grown to such an extent that it is now one of the major cult films of the 1990s.
The film not only spawned a loyal following, but also led to a book (I’m a Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski), a festival, a Shakespearean version, an online newspaper (or ‘Dudespaper’) and even an adult version.
This clip from “Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides” shows Bridges visiting a shop in New York’s Greenwich Village called The Little Lebowski, which is dedicated to items inspired by the film.
My favourite line is when Bridges says: “Cool shop man!”
Watch the full episode. See more American Masters.
> American Masters at PBS
> The Big Lebowski at Wikipedia
> Jeff Bridges official site (which almost entirely consists of hand drawings by the man himself)
Someone has created an amusing chart of characters based on The Big Lebowski. (Click the image to enlarge)
[Via BuzzFeed]
Have you ever laughed or sighed when a film on TV has a ridiculous piece of editing to replace ‘offensive’ language?
This Basic Instinct video that compares the original film with the badly dubbed version altered for sensitive TV audiences.
Check out the differences between Scarface and the US TV cut (“this town is like one big chicken, just waiting to get plucked!”):
How about the safe-for-TV version of Die Hard 2? (“Hey turkey!”):
Or what about this scene from the TV edit of The Big Lebowski, with possibly the strangest substitute line ever? (“This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps!”)
And what about Casino, where the f-word is said 422 times?
This scene with De Niro and Pesci in the desert finds a way of avoiding it completely (“You better get your own fighting army pal!”):
Den of Geek has noted some other TV dubbing disasters:
Goodfellas: “Go fu*k your mother” bizarrely becomes “Go feel your mother”.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “Pardon my French but you’re an AARDVARK!'”(????)
Field of Dreams: “We were going to ask Ty Cobb to play, but none of us could stand that son of a squid”
Robocop: “You’re gonna a bad mothercrusher…”
Lethal Weapon: “We bury the funsters!”
The Last Boy Scout: “I POPPED your wife, and later I’m gonna POP her again”
If you know of any others, just leave them in the comments below.
> Melon Farmers reprint an official BBC response as to why Thelma and Louise was cut for TV
> Bad TV Edits
> More edited-for-TV movies at Den of Geek