The Big Lebowski: An Illustrated, Annotated History of the Greatest Cult Film of All Time - Hardcover

Jones, Jenny M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0760342792 ISBN 13: 9780760342794

Publisher: Voyageur Press, 2012

Synopsis

Whether contending with nihilists, botching a kidnapping pay-off, watching as his beloved rug is micturated upon, or simply bowling and drinking Caucasians, the Dude—or El Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing—abides. As embodied by Jeff Bridges, the main character of the 1998 Coen brothers’ film The Big Lebowski is a modern hero who has inspired festivals, burlesque interpretations, and even a religion (Dudeism). In time for the fifteenth anniversary of The Big Lebowski, film author and curator Jenny M. Jones tells the full story of the Dude, from how the Coen brothers came up with the idea for a modern LA noir to never-been-told anecdotes about the film’s production, its critical and commercial reception, and, finally, how it came to be such an international cult hit. Achievers, as Lebowski fans call themselves, will discover many hidden truths, including why it is that Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) is so obsessed with Vietnam, what makes Theodore Donald “Donny” Kerabatsos (Steve Buscemi) so confused all the time, how the film defies genre, and what unexpected surprise Bridges got during filming of the Gutterballs dream sequence. (Hint: it involved curly wigs and a gurney.) Interspersed throughout are sidebars, interviews with members of the film’s cast and crew, scene breakdowns, guest essays by prominent experts on Lebowski language, music, filmmaking techniques, and more, and hundreds of photographs—including many of artwork inspired by the film.

About this title

About the Author

Jenny M. Jones is the author of The Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay. She has worked in film exhibition at the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon, and the late, great Oak Street Cinema and the Walker Art Center, both in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the Walker, she helped organize a complete 35mm retrospective of the work of Joel and Ethan Coen and an onstage conversation with the brothers. Like Ethan, her work history also includes a brief stint at the legendary Embers Restaurant. She currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her daughter Madeline.

From the Back Cover

Mark it eight, Dude.

What do you do for recreation? If your answer is that you bowl, drive around, and have the occasional acid flashback, you are probably the Dude, the hero of the Coen brothers ingenious 1998 film The Big Lebowski.

If your answer is instead, I watch The Big Lebowski, then this book is for you. This is the first comprehensive, illustrated history of the film, complete with never-been-told stories from members of the cast and crew, sidebars on everything from the Dudes drink of choice (the White Russian, or, as he calls it, the Caucasian) to Marty the Landlords interpretive dance, and guest essays by such Lebowski experts as the founder of the religion of Dudeism and the owner of the Little Lebowski Shop in New York. Richly illustrated throughout, this book is funny, insightful, and will make you appreciate Lebowski on a whole new level.

Trust us when we (the royal we, you know, the editorial) say that this book will really tie your room together.

Edition details

• Publisher: Voyageur Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0760342792
• ISBN 13: 9780760342794
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216