When was the big lebowski set

It's been 20 years since indie film legends the Coen brothers released The Big Lebowski — a film that got a mediocre reception at the box office, but later achieved feverish cult status. The story is one of mistaken identity, where a pot-smoking, bowling-loving, slacker dude named Jeff Lebowski Jeff Bridges — friends know him simply as "The Dude" — gets beaten and tangled in a kidnapping and extortion plot involving a millionaire and his wife.

Entire online communities have sprung up around the film, and its stars — among them John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and John Turturro — still have people come up to them quoting their favourite Lebowski lines. There's even a travelling Lebowski Fest that includes a screening of the film and a white Russian-fueled Lebowski-themed bowling party.

This week, The Big Lebowski turns 20, so here are 10 fascinating facts that you may not know about the legendary film. As well as having a hopelessly complex plot that's ultimately unimportant," said Joel Coen in an interview. The Coen brothers have said the film's central character, Los Angeles slacker Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, is an amalgam of people they knew — but one of the biggest inspirations was American film producer and Vietnam War activist Jeff Dowd.

John Goodman plays the tough-talking Vietnam-obsessed veteran Walter, a character loosely based on script editor Peter Exline whom the Coens met while making their film Blood Simple. They called him "Uncle Pete, the philosopher king of Hollywood.

The Coens made one key change, however: Exline wasn't a bowler; he played softball. Actress Julianne Moore plays Maude, the daughter of the millionaire Jeffrey Lebowski — the actual target of the kidnapping and extortion attempt — and when she first read the script, Moore loved the language. Next she had to define a distinct voice for Maude, who creates "vaginal" art. The Coen brothers say that, like The Dude he played, Bridges was very low-key and low-maintenance — but there was one key piece of information he wanted to know before shooting each scene.

And that was kind of the extent of what you had to do to direct Jeff. A friend of the Coen brothers, Peter Exline, was also an inspiration for the film. It was Exline who coined the phrase "It really tied the room together", referencing his own rug, and also once found a schoolboy's homework in his car after it had been stolen, later confronting him with it.

Though Donny wears several personalised bowling shirts during the film, none of them bear his name. The word "dude" is said times during the film. It is spoken times and appears once in text, during the credits for 'Gutterballs'. Despite being part of the bowling team, The Dude is never seen bowling during the movie.

Even in the 'Gutterballs' dream sequence it is Maude that throws the ball. Even more spooky, George Bush Sr can be heard on the TV, making his "This aggression will not stand" speech, in reference to the war. The film was made in When filming the briefcase scene, it proved impossible to get Walter's undie-filled case to be thrown correctly.

Eventually this was shot in reverse, with a crew member throwing the case into the car as a stunt driver reversed at high speed. Keeping in the tradition of a film noir, The Dude appears in every scene of the movie.

Even when the Nihilists are ordering pancakes, you can see the van containing The Dude and Walter drive past. A lot of the Dude's clothes came from Jeff Bridges' own wardrobe. In the edited TV version of the film, Walter's line, "This is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass!

The F-word or its variations is said times during the movie - which is more than in Scarface. Walter's character is partly based on legendary screenwriter, John Milius, a right-wing gun nut with a love of the military.

John Turturro originally thought the role of Jesus would be bigger, but the Coen brothers allowed him to put his own spin on the character, such as shining the bowling ball and his dance moves, which he claims were inspired by Muhammad Ali. Two cars were used during filming - one was destroyed, the other later destroyed in a X-Files episode. When writing the film, the Coen brothers created roles specifically for John Goodman and Steve Buscemi, but at first did not know who would play The Dude.

To create the POV bowling ball shot, the Coen brothers mounted a camera on something closely resembling a barbecue spit, and rolled it down the lane. John Goodman originally thought Walter should sport a different style of beard, but the Coen brothers insisted on the 'chin strap' as it would match Walter's buzzcut hairstyle. Rated R for pervasive strong language, drug content, sexuality and brief violence. Did you know Edit. Trivia In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, John Goodman stated that The Dude referring to The Big Lebowski as a "human paraquat" was one of the only improvised lines to make it into the final film.

Virtually every other line, including every "man" and "dude", was scripted. Goofs When The Dude is at Jackie Treehorn's and he rubs the pad of paper with a pencil revealing Treehorn's drawing of a naked man, The Dude tears the page off the pad and quickly crumples and shoves the paper into his pocket. Later while in the Chief of Police of Malibu's office and the Chief is going through The Dude's wallet, the same paper he tore off of Treehorn's pad is neatly folded in the wallet, with no sign of previous crumpling.

Alternate versions The version which premiered on USA Network in September, has been severely cut aside from the usual edits for content. Among the story lines excised are virtually all the scenes involving Jesus Quintana John Turturro , the private eye from Minnesota Jon Polito looking for Bunny Lebowski and the scene where Maud is trying to conceive The Dude's child.

User reviews 1. Top review. The film with the highest rewatchability factor of all time. It's actually kind of hard to describe this movie and what's so great about it to people who don't already know it and love it; as with many cult films, The Big Lebowski will either speak to you in which case you will become a fervent follower of His Dudeness and abide by his code for the rest of your life or, if it doesn't, the film will either leave you completely indifferent or you'll even downright hate it.

I believe it's a very funny film and I'm sure it can be rightfully called a comedy, but don't expect punchlines, gags, jokes or slapstick - it's not that kind of comedy. If you want to enjoy this film, you have to meet Jeffery "The Dude" Lebowski on his terms, hang out with him and his bowling buddies and follow them at a their perhaps somewhat leisurely pace through this weird and unbelievable tale about nihilism, theft of a car and, more importantly: a Creedence Clearwater Revival tape , kidnapping, abstract art, porn and - of course - bowling.

The story is actually kind of simple. You see, some no-good German nihilists urinated on The Dude's rug - and this kind of aggression just won't stand against The Dude.

With the help of his bowling buddies, he will do everything in his power to get someone to pay for his rug - or possibly get a new one because that rug really tied the room together.

So he embarks on this worthy quest during which he will encounter many wondrous things and fascinating people even Jesus - who is NOT the messiah but a very naughty man.

With Jeff Bridges in the leading role, the Coen brothers have found the perfect actor to incorporate one of the most iconic characters that has ever been created.

But it's not just The Dude that makes this a winner; the whole film is such an inspired folly and simply inventive filmmaking at its finest the hilarious dream sequence alone is worth the price of admission. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources.

Study Guide. Previous Next. Setting Los Angeles: Noir-ish Mythology The Coen Brothers wanted to pay homage to Raymond Chandler's gritty Los Angeles of the '40s and '50s, but they also wanted to put a new spin on it: instead of a sly gumshoe and rainy nights, they'd feature a confused stoner and sunny days.

The Wonderful '90s The movie is set in the early '90s, right around the time of the first Gulf War. A Room of Dude's Own The movie takes us across the socioeconomic spectrum, from The Dude's sad little apartment to Big's mansion and Jackie's swank Malibu house, and it allows the Coen Brothers to show two very different sides of Los Angeles.