VULTURE: When The Big Lebowski premiered in 1998 as Joel and Ethan’s first film after their critically beloved Fargo, it was not a blockbuster. It cost twice as much to make as Fargo and made a quarter less. Over the past 15 years, though, it’s grown a loyal underground following. At age 13 in 1998, I was an early adopter (or, I should say, early Achiever, or Lebowski fan). It’s an honor and a pleasure to get to reminisce about my favorite movie a decade and a half after its release. Here are fifteen thoughts, large and small, on the occasion. MORE
YAHOO SPORTS: During my last day visiting the Cactus League and, having missed my first opportunity, I wanted to make sure and ask Sandy Koufax about him being mentioned in the movie “The Big Lebowski.” Obviously. MORE
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I love Doctor Who like the British time travel show’s fourth Time Lord loves handing out jelly babies and I love The Big Lebowski like the Dude loves drinking “Caucasians.” And if that previous sentence didn’t read like incomprehensible gibberish then I wager you will love this fake trailer for The Big Whobowski, a mash-up of Doctor Who and the Big Lebowski in which “El Duderino” makes way for “the 4th Doctor,” the Brigadier stands in for Walter Sobchak, and the roles of the “nihilists” are portrayed, appropriately, by Cybermen. MORE
THE ATLANTIC: Since its release in 1998, The Big Lebowski has become a cult classic, spawning fan conventions (Lebowski Fests) across the U.S. There, superfans might have a chance to meet the guy Jeff Bridges’s character, Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, is based on: Jeff Dowd. This documentary portrait by Jeff Feuerzeig tracks him down and tells his life story, from sixties anti-war radical (he was one of the Seattle Seven) to indie film promoter (he helped Joel and Ethan Coen distribute their first film, Blood Simple). Feuerzeig describes his own first meeting with The Dude on his Vimeo page, “Jeff Dowd is a right of passage in the indie film world — baptism by the Dude — his spittle and good vibes setting you free to create a world of your own.” MORE