I am going to see "The Big Lebowski" next Friday!

[teela_brown]

@Talon Karrde

The telephone is a recurring plot device. People get phone calls a lot of times in this film. Two examples off the top of my head are when he’s visiting Maude the second time, and when he’s visiting the pornographer guy.

Good point.

And when the police are visiting the Dude about his stolen car, and he gets a call from Maude telling him that she has his rug.

[Miller]

@teela brown

Good point.

And when the police are visiting the Dude about his stolen car, and he gets a call from Maude telling him that she has his rug.

Also, the giant portable phone the Dude carries with him when he’s waiting for the kidnappers to call.

[MovieMogul]

@Talon Karrde

I have to say, I enjoyed the movie a lot more when I didn’t try to analyze it in depth.

As a film major, there are some movies I still acknowledge as great, but having seen them at least 4 or 5 times in a short period (say, 2 weeks), I’m always hesitant about ever revisiting them because they evoke specific academic memories

The telephone is a recurring plot device. People get phone calls a lot of times in this film. Two examples off the top of my head are when he’s visiting Maude the second time, and when he’s visiting the pornographer guy.

Compare this to the noirs of the 40s, where you constantly see Bogie, et al. dipping into diners or bumming dimes off colleagues so they can use a pay phone.

[Judith_Prietht]

@Manduck

“You can imagine what happens next.”
“He fixes their cable?”

Don’t be fatuous, Manduck.

[Ins_Outs_What-have-yous]

Holy shit. I was doing an unrelated Google search on a local business to check their closing time when one of my top search results linked to a page discussing the annual Lebowski Fest. Apparently, the main festival is held every year in Louisville, KY. It would be very unDude of me not to make the 5 mile trek to attend this event coming up in July.

[Manduck]

@Talon Karrde

The telephone is a recurring plot device.

Another is the series of indignities suffered by The Dude’s car, culminating in its fiery death. “They killed my car!”

[Miss_Purl_McKnittington]

So, Hey You!, are you taking your lady friend?

[B.Serum]

As a matter of fact I am bringing my special lady friend.

[outlierrn]

Far out, man

[Elendil_s_Heir]

“Hey, careful, man, there’s a beverage here!”

You’re in for a treat. Enjoy!

[Pushkin]

@Manduck

Another is the series of indignities suffered by The Dude’s car, culminating in its fiery death. “They killed my car!”

You know, my car suffered a series of unfortunate events, before someone with no concern for society (no ethos?!) broke into it and wrote it off. And then my ladyfriend, who had my baby, dumped me and I’m unlikely to see her socially. If I swap my whale tapes for the sounds of the lanes, am I the dude?

[Elendil_s_Heir]

We are all the Dude on some level, my friend. All of us. The Dude abides.

[BMalion]

@Elendil's Heir

We are all the Dude on some level, my friend. All of us. The Dude abides.

I don’t know about you, but I take great comfort in that.

[Trunk]

@Talon Karrde

So, what are you guys talking about?

---

In the Intro to Film class I’m taking now I had an assignment a couple of weeks ago to write about a movie of my choice. I went with The Big Lebowski. I watched it, often pausing to write down notes. I was going to then write a paper the next day.
I have to say, I enjoyed the movie a lot more when I didn’t try to analyze it in depth. The day after I watched it I decided to write a paper about the short film “Film” instead. I noticed some interesting things in The Big Lebowski though. I’m new to analyzing films so this probably isn’t very insightful (SPOILERS might be here) :

The telephone is a recurring plot device. People get phone calls a lot of times in this film. Two examples off the top of my head are when he’s visiting Maude the second time, and when he’s visiting the pornographer guy.

They reused the fake kidnapping thing from Fargo, but they do it in a self-referencing way instead of a lazy, derivative way.

I like the part where we get into Don’s head: he’s bowling, and you can hear Walter and The Dude talking in the background but their voices are muffled. I thought that was subtly clever.

What I always liked about the movie was the “framing” done by Sam Elliott. He occurs at the beginning, the end, and right about in the middle, seaparting similar elements of the movie.

I’ve always liked how much of what the Dude says to other characters in the film is something that he heard, or was said to him previously. . .

“This aggression will not stand, man.” (Bush says it on the TV at Ralph’s)

“It really tied the room together.” (obviously)

“We’ll cut off your johnson.” (to Larry Sellers)

And then even the classic, “The Dude abides” refers back to, and counterpoints, Lebowski telling him, “I will not abide another toe.” (Well, it always struck me as funny. . .I mean, who uses the word “abide”?)

I really think the screenplay for this is one of the most well-thought out, well-balanced screen plays of all time. Some of the details are almost easily overlooked. . .like the fact that they have in-n-out Burgers after seeing Larry. Or when they first cut to Jesus is right after Dude is talking to PS Hoffman and he blows smoke out of his nostrils, like a bull, right as they start the Spanish music, and Jesus is depicted like a matador. I always liked the fading neon lights of the bowling alley when Donnie dies.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Quite true. I always thought Jeff Bridges and John Goodman should’ve been up for Oscars. What a great, great movie - far and away my favorite Coen Bros. flick.