Way out west there was this fella… fella I wanna tell ya about. Fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least that was the handle his loving parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. Mr. Lebowski, he called himself “The Dude”. Now, “Dude” – that’s a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then there was a lot about the Dude that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
The Big Lebowski. One of the Coen Brother’s best films and one of my favourite films of all time. Almost every line is quotable and it gave Jeff Bridges his defining role as The Dude. So good it started a religion. Then you have John Goodman who doesn’t bowl on Shabbos, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Peter Stormare, Sam Elliot, David Thewlis, Flea, Aimee Mann, Mark Pellegrino, David Huddleston and….er…Tara Reid. All but one of them are brilliant actors and all brought their A-game to the tale of Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski on his private detective journey around LA.
When it came out The Big Lebowski was not the most successful of films, but since then it has become a cult film and is now part of the pop culture conciousness. It even has its own Festival – The Lebowski Fest.
A more perfect film about not much in particular can not be found.
All The Dude wants to do is go bowling with his buddies Walter and Donny, drink White Russians and smoke some pot.
I would go into details of the plot yet I am sure you already know it and if you don’t then get the Blu-ray which is due out on 22nd August.
It has been a long time coming to Blu-ray, but it has been worth the wait.
The transfer is phenomenal by Universal and the film is in widescreen (1.78:1) with DTS-HD 5.1 surround. It looks as if the film was made yesterday.
The colours are rich making the scenes in the bowling alley shiny in a good way and John Turturro’s purple jumpsuit looks especially fetching. The dream sequences look incredible and you could count every hair in the Dude’s beard if you wanted to.
Thankfully there is none of that plastic looking skin effect that can happen with some transfers to Blu-ray (Predator I am looking at you).
It is the sound I find most improved on Blu-rays and The Big Lebowski is no exception. The wonderful soundtrack wraps you in an audio rug of comfort and joy and every line of dialogue zings out to be quoted all the more.
The opening Menu screen even has the pattern of The Dude’s rug which really ties the whole menu together.
What about the extras?
You get three U Control options:
- Scene Companion – Watch behind the scenes footage, interviews and more while you watch the film
- Mark It, Dude – This on-screen counter keeps track of the “F-bombs,” “Dudes” and Lebowski-isms during the film
- The Music of The Big Lebowski – Identify the songs in the film and create a custom playlist
The Mark It, Dude one is perfect for a Big Lebowski drinking game.
There is also a trivia game where you can test out your knowledge of the film and its many great quotes against your friends.
Other extras include an “exclusive introduction” which was on the previous special edition. Then there is some new features including The Dude’s Life – This has new interviews with the cast who all seem to have loved being part of the film. John Turturro in particular would love to return as Jesus in a sequel. One question that was raised is what happened to John Goodman’s eye? They all return for The Dude Abides: The Big Lebowski Ten Years Later, another new feature.
The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever’s Story shows us how the festival came about and Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of The Dude goes into detail on how those scenes came about.
For those of you who want to know where the different scenes of the film take place there is an interactive map which can show you and, best of all is Jeff Bridges Photo Book which has the photos Bridges took on set and, as usual, they look lovely.
I cannot recommend this Blu-ray enough. If you are a fan of the film you need to have it on Blu-ray. Go and buy a Blu-ray player if you haven’t got one. It is that good. Once you’ve got it whack it on, get yourself a beverage and enjoy.
“The Dude abides. I don’t know about you but I take comfort in that. It’s good knowin’ he’s out there. The Dude. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners.”
The Big Lebowski Blu-ray is out on 22nd August 2011 and you can pre-order it below.
