THE DUDE ABIDES

One of my all-time favorite movies. IFC puts it on every couple weeks. It’s one of those movies I can watch over and over. The others include: Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, Apocalypse Now, Godfather I & II, Patton, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Via Marketwatch

‘Big Lebowski’ trivia you should know as cult classic heads to National Film Registry

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Sixteen years after its release, cult classic “The Big Lebowski” is headed to the National Film Registry, among 25 films selected by the Library of Congress to be preserved as important parts of American history.The film, written and directed by the Coen brothers, flopped at the box office but then radiated as a cultural phenomenon, spawning annual festivals in dozens of cities, late-night movie showings and even its own religion built on the laid-back slacker philosophies of The Dude. The unemployed and always quotable Dude, played by Jeff Bridges, has even been cited in academic research papers over the years. Will Russell, the co-founder of Lebowski Fest, who has watched the film hundreds of times, told the Washington Post, “It’s only after 10 or 12 viewings that the film’s true beauty emerges.”

The other films added to the registry this year include “Saving Private Ryan,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

So sit back, grab a White Russian and enjoy a few surprising gems about the 1998 classic.

Sources: IMDB.com, Rolling Stone

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The Dude says “man” 147 times in the movie, or about 1.5 times a minute. The word “dude” is used roughly 161 times. The F-word can be heard 292 times, which reportedly tops the word’s frequency in “Scarface.”

Gramercy Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

 

Jeff Bridges used most of his own wardrobe for The Dude, including the Jellies sandals. One of the shirts he wore also appears in “The Fisher King.”

GramercyPictures/Everett Collection

 

Through the course of the film, The Dude consumes nine White Russians.

Gramercy Pictures/Everett Collection

 

In case you were wondering, the phone The Dude uses is a Motorola 4500X.

GramercyPictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

 

The line “The Dude abides” is a reference to The Bible’s Ecclesiastes 1:4: “One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but the Earth abides forever.”

GramercyPictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

 

Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann makes a cameo in the film. And of course, Flea, bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, plays a German nihilist.

Everett Collection

 

The character of The Dude was modeled after film producer Jeff Dowd (pictured). Walter’s character, played by John Goodman, was based on right-wing screenwriter John Milius, a big fan of guns and the military.

Magnolia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

 

Charlize Theron was considered for the role of Bunny Lebowski.

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Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro and Julianne Moore (pictured) have all made appearances at Lebowski Fests through the years.

GramercyPictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

 

“Rolling Stone” proclaimed “The Big Lebowski” the “Best Stoner Movie of All Time,” beating out “Friday,” “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie,” “Pineapple Express,” “Harold & Kumar Go To Whitecastle” and “Dazed and Confused.”

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Tommy

I’d have to add ‘SNATCH’, ‘THE COMMITMENTS’, ‘GRAN TORINO’, and ‘TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE’.

dilligaf

A River Runs Through It
Dances with Wolves
Legends of the Fall

Bea Lever
Bea Lever

“Oh hell ADMIN, let’s go bowling”.

Bea Lever
Bea Lever

“Well that’s like your opinion man.”

raptorman
raptorman

Never seen it, but in 1984 I rode in a car with chris kopeski-deak as he flicked a joint out the closed window resulting in one hell of a car crash. Just like in that best scene ever filmed clip.

Winston
Winston

“It’s gotta be down there somewhere. Let me take another look” The toilet scene. I always piss myself laughing at that. Sometimes it feel like my life…

TE
TE

To your list I would add Good Fellas and A Christmas Story, but I agree with most of the rest.

Oh yeah, The Princess Bride too.

My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, now prepare to die.

Classics all

IndenturedServant

I’ve never actually watched that whole movie. I’ve seen parts of it but was never inspired to watch it. I’m off until the second week of January so I think I’ll watch it before I go back to work.

My favorite Christmas movie is Bad Santa. Favorite all time movie is Pulp Fiction. I have just about every movie acted in or directed by Eastwood. I like Gran Torino but that Asian kid could not act his way out of a wet paper bag.

dilligaf says:
“A River Runs Through It
Dances with Wolves
Legends of the Fall ”

Funny, I just bought all three of those plus Raising Arizona to watch over my Christmas break.

If you all want to see a really fantastic movie over the next week or two check out The Monuments Men with George Clooney, Bill Murray and Matt Damon. You will not be disappointed.

dilligaf

Thanks for the heads up IS. In addition to my annual Christmas tradition of Godfather I and II, Monuments men is in the queue…..

dilligaf

….. and TE your picks also rank in the ‘watch over and over’ file.

The Dude

No it’s Not the phone from Lebowski was a fujitsu commander, just saying

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