The fisrt time I watched Miller’s Crossing I hated it. I was actually angry that the Coen brothers let me down. For whatever reason, I saw it years later and came to appreciate it for what it is. It’s in my top 5 favorite movies of all time. It’s really a perfect movie - every line of dialog drives the plot forward.
Another favorite Coen movie of mine is The Man Who Wasn’t There.
My favorite Big Lebowski scene is this one:
Which movie version is best?
If you find The Big Sleep confusing, just remember that the screenwriters once called Chandler because they couldn’t figure out who had killed one of the characters - and he didn’t know, either.
To me, The Big Lebowski occupies the same space in popular culture as Napoleon Dynamite. Which is to say, you have to come at it with zero expectations – including expecting it to be similar to any other movie you’ve ever seen. It also helps (quite a bit) if you’re high AF. Lean into the film’s absurdity when you watch it. The comedy derived from, for example, The Dude dropping his roach on his dick and freaking out is a feature, not a bug.
My favorite part of that book. He dies is a strange way that MUST be important.
Nope. It isn’t even a Red Herring, it’s a world and the people in it don’t necessarily have anything to do with your plot or any reason.
The Big Sleep (1946) I do not recognize another version on film, it’s gotta be Bogart.
“Nice marmot…eyaaahhhh!” 
Yeah, the Bogie version is the best. Martha Vickers was great, and I loved the bookshop scene with Dorothy Malone.
I’ve got information man! New shit has come to light! And shit…man, he kidnapped himself. Well sure, man. Look at it…a young frantic troublemaker, in the parlance of our times, you know, and he, uh, uh, owes money all over town, including to known pornographers, and that’s cool…that’s, that’s cool, I’m, I’m saying, he needs money, man. And of course they’re going to say that they didn’t get it, because…he wants more, man! He’s got to feed the monkey, I mean uh…hasn’t that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
Stranger
No Mr. Stranger, that had not occurred to me. 
I’ve watched an interview with the Coens wherein they talk about the non-existent plot. I couldn’t find it, but I did find this:
“The Coens have described the film as a “plot to nowhere,” meaning the elaborate, mysterious plot is ultimately meaningless. This structure is a way to parody the classic detective and film noir genres, which are typically driven by a search for answers and resolution.
The Coen brothers have stated that the movie doesn’t have a single “meaning,” but it is a tribute to the laid-back, folk-music scene of the 1960s and uses the detective novel genre as a framework for a plot that ultimately goes nowhere.”
Fuck it, Dude. Let’s go bowling.
I think few movies manage to combine good cinematic narrative, great acting, and self-referential humor as brilliantly as The Big Lebowski.
ETA: For what it’s worth, in my mental movie vault The Big Lebowski and Tropic Thunder share the same shelf.
That had not occurred to us, Dude.
Dressed up as The Dude for Halloween. Wife went as Jesus. Also had Walter, Maude, The Stranger, and girl from the dream sequence. Donny was in a Folgers can.
Good times.
This is my second-favorite* comedy movie.
I’ll never get enough of John Goodman’s “Shut the fuck up, Donny” or “Donny, you’re out of your element”.
mmm
*(one millimeter behind Spinal Tap)
Okay, you know, you guys aren’t privy to all the new shit, so…uh, but, hey, that’s what you, uh, what you pay me for. Speaking of which, do you think, uh, you could, uh, give me my $20,000 in cash? Uh, my concern is, and I’ve got to check with my accountant, but that this might bump me into a higher tax, uh…
Stranger
Of all the roles he’s played, I think The Dude might be the one closest to Jeff’s real-life personality. (Bill Django from The Men Who Stare At Goats might be a close second)
That rug really tied the room together.
Back in a prior century, AOL used to have member profiles that had a field for a phrase of some type. I had put in mine “I just want my rug back, it really tied the room together.”
The number of people who IM’d me or emailed me asking about my rug was both horrifying and hystericalally funny. Clearly not golfers.