"The Big Lebowski"

[Narrator] Sometimes, there's a man, well,

he's the man for his time and place.

He fits right in there.

And that's The Dude in Los Angeles.

[Richard] I'm Richard Brody, and this clip

is from The Big Lebowski, a 1998 film

by Joel and Ethan Coen.

Jeff Bridges plays the ultimate slacker,

Jeffery Lebowski, otherwise known as, The Dude.

[The Dude] You know, El Duderino, if you're

not into the whole brevity thing, uh--

Are you employed, sir?

Employed?

(Lookin' Out My Backdoor by Creedence Clearwater Revival)

[Richard] His tranquil life of drinking,

pot smoking, and bowling, is suddenly

overturned by a case of mistaken identity.

(shouting)

A couple of knuckleheads break into his apartment,

give him a swirly--

Where's the money, Lebowski?

[Richard] And pee on his rug, in an attempt to get him

to pay debts that are in fact, owed by another,

and wealthy, Jeffery Lebowski.

Your name's Lebowski, Lebowski.

[Richard] The Dude is all ready to shrug off

his misfortunes and cut his losses.

So that there's no reason,

there's no fucking reason, why his wife should go out

and owe money all over town, and then they come,

and they pee on your fucking rug, am I wrong?

No, yeah, but-- Am I wrong?

[Richard] But his best friend, Walter Sobchak,

played by John Goodman--

That rug really tied the room together, did it not?

[Richard] A Vietnam vet with a perpetual,

and militaristic chip on his shoulder,

eggs The Dude into action.

I could find this fuckin' Lebowski guy.

[Richard] All The Dude really wants,

is compensation for his rug.

But his involvement with the wealthy Lebowski,

soon plunges him into a dizzying,

and increasingly violent array of subplots.

But the one theme that remains constant

throughout the film, is the American way of war.

This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait.

[Richard] The story, is very explicitly set

in the early '90s, at the time of Operation Desert Storm.

Over the line!

[Richard] Walter's experience as a Vietnam War vet,

is set against another character's experience

as a conscientious objector.

Smokey, this is not 'Nam,

this is bowling, there are rules.

[Richard] The Second World War, the Korean War,

and for that matter, the Wild West,

all crop up as recurring elements throughout the film.

(Spanish guitar music)

[Richard] But who is The Dude?

And what does he have to do with the conflicts of the ages?

He gives a little hint early on, in his encounter

with Jeffery Lebowski's manservant, Brandt,

played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

You never went to college, please don't touch that.

Yeah, no, I did, but uh, you know,

I spent most of my time, um, occupying various

administration buildings, smoking a lot of Thai stick,

breaking into the ROTC, you know, bowling.

♫ I woke up this morning with the sundown, shining in

[Richard] The prevalence of 1960s music,

as the soundtrack to The Dude's quasi-comatose,

Busby Berkeley-ish fantasies, gives a further hint.

♫ I broke my mind, I just dropped in

♫ To see what condition my condition was in

(guitar plays)

[Richard] But in the end scene, we get a clearer idea.

He finds himself employed as an unwitting sperm donor,

by Maude Lebowski, Jeffery's daughter,

played by Julianne Moore.

Love me.

[Richard] And in their post-coital conversation,

he divulges to her, his backstory.

[Maude] Tell me about yourself, Jeffery.

Well, not much to tell.

I, um, I was one of the authors of the Port Huron Statement,

uh, the original Port Huron Statement,

not the compromised second draft.

Uh, and then I, uh,

you ever hear of the Seattle Seven?

(Maude murmurs)

That was me.

Um, and those six other guys.

[Richard] The historical events, that The Dude

refers to here, are real and crucial moments

in the American New Left of the 1960s.

The subject of the film is, what remains of the 1960s,

of the spirit of protest,

of the anti-militarism of that period.

And the Coen brothers provide an answer.

No matter how burnt-out and gone-to-seed

its heralds may seem, its spirit abides.

What do you do for recreation?

Oh, the usual, bowl, drive around,

the occasional acid flashback.

(The Dude coughing)