25 years later, The Dude continues to abide.
It is hard to believe it’s been 25 years since The Big Lebowski arrived in theaters and became one of the comedy hallmarks of ’90s cinema. Written and directed by the Coen brothers, it features one of the all-time great performances by Jeff Bridges as Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, who gets mixed up in a very complicated mystery plot.
The movie was not an immediate smash; in fact, when it first opened in theaters on March 6, 1998, it was sort of seen as a bit of disappointment, coming off of the Coens’ Oscar-winning 1996 movie Fargo. At the time, the reaction was mostly “Wait, the Coen brothers went from making this ultra-dark crime story and now they made this quirky comedy?” Within a few years, though, the film’s off-kilter humor and quotable dialogue had made it once of the Coens’ most beloved works, inspiring film festivals, bowling competitions, and a million stoners’ Halloween costumes. The movie also stars John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, Ben Gazzara, and John Turturro as eccentric bowler Jesus Quintana — who, many years later, got his own spinoff movie, The Jesus Rolls, which was … not very good.
It all happened 25 years ago — and in honor of this momentous anniversary (man), The Big Lebowski is headed back to theaters for several Fathom Events screenings. The screenings will feature “exclusive commentary from feature film historian and critic Leonard Maltin who will provide insights into the films, sharing his one-of-a-kind expertise with fans.”
READ MORE: 25 Hilarious Bootleg DVD Covers For Classic Movies
Ready for a blast from the past? Here’s the film’s original trailer:
The 25th anniversary Big Lebowski screenings will be Sunday, April 16 at 4PM and 7PM local time and Wednesday, April 20, at 7PM local time. You can get more info and tickets at the Fathom website.
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