This film is currently unavailable
The Big Lebowski
Arguably one of the greatest comedies of modern times; the Coen brothers’ deconstructed film noir following slacker hero ‘The Dude’ (Jeff Bridges).
Director: Joel Coen
Overview
Arguably one of the greatest comedies of modern times, this dazzlingly inventive successor to The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye sees Jeff Bridges as slacker hero ‘The Dude’, a far from efficient or even willing gumshoe, up to his stoned eyes in a surreal mystery involving kidnapping, blackmail, porn-kings, feminist artists, rug-running and bowling contests.
The definition of a cult film, the Coen brothers’ film was only a moderate success upon release but has since gone on to inspire fervent devotion, legions of fans (‘achievers’) and its own religion (Dudeism). Critical respectability has followed suit; it’s been selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry and Paul Schrader has argued its place as the 40th greatest film of all time in a piece for Film Comment. Its durability is largely down to its sheer consistency of laughs (and its endless quotability), but in the end The Big Lebowski is also a wry meditation on masculinity, heroism and friendship.
Contains strong language and sex references
Related
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
Seven Psychopaths Seven Psychopaths
Comedy 2012 110 mins Director: Martin McDonagh
Three Billboards' director Martin McDonagh spins an epic and twisted tale of pets and gangsters, with an all-star cast.
The Day Shall Come The Day Shall Come
Comedy 2019 88 mins Director: Christopher Morris
An impoverished Miami preacher is lured into terrorism by the FBI, in the latest explosive satire from comedy genius Chris Morris.
Tamara Drewe Tamara Drewe
Comedy 2010 111 mins Director: Stephen Frears
The return of beautiful journalist Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) awakens destructive passions in a Dorset village.
The Edge of Seventeen The Edge of Seventeen
Comedy 2016 104 mins Director: Kelly Fremon
Kelly Fremon Craig’s coming-of-age comedy eschews quirkiness for genuine warmth, while boasting a hilarious supporting turn from Woody Harrelson.
Withnail & I Withnail & I
Comedy 1988 107 mins Director: Bruce Robinson
Richard E. Grant steals the show in the indomitable cult classic following two washed-up actors as they embark on a booze-filled getaway to the Lake District.
Bridesmaids Bridesmaids
Comedy 2011 125 mins Director: Paul Feig
Much more than a girls-being-bad comedy, this matrimonial farce finely captures female friendship in all its glory.
Duck Soup Duck Soup
Comedy 1933 69 mins Director: Leo McCarey
The Marx Brothers' lunatic satire of international relations finds Groucho in his his most memorable role as Rufus T. Firefly - leader of Freedonia. A comic masterpiece.
Citizen Ruth Citizen Ruth
Drama 1996 106 mins Director: Alexander Payne
Laura Dern is hilarious an addict unwittingly caught in the midst of America's culture wars, in Alexander Payne's superb first feature - previously unreleased in the UK.
Chasing Amy Chasing Amy
Comedy 1996 113 mins Director: Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith's quirky charmer features an early-career Ben Affleck as the comic-book artist who discovers the girl of his dreams is a lesbian.
The Associate The Associate
Comedy 1996 114 mins Director: Donald Petrie
Whoopi Goldberg plays an investment banker forced to invent a male superior in this unjustly forgotten, feminist workplace satire.
Hell or High Water Hell or High Water
Crime 2016 102 mins Director: David Mackenzie
Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine star in David Mackenzie’s acclaimed crime drama about two brothers who rob the banks that seized their ranch, and the sheriff on their heels.
Trumbo Trumbo
Biopic 2015 124 mins Director: Jay Roach
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Argo) gives a cracking performance as Dalton Trumbo, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who became a Hollywood outcast.
Patriots Day Patriots Day
Thriller 2016 133 mins Director: Peter Berg
A nerve-shreddingly intense, multi-stranded account of the Boston marathon bombings of 2013 and the race-against-time to find the perpetrators.
Inside Llewyn Davis Inside Llewyn Davis
Drama 2013 100 mins Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
The Coen brothers’ funny, melancholic elegy to early 1960s folk music follows a struggling songwriter through a winter’s worth of misdeeds, mishaps and lost cats.
Inside Llewyn Davis Inside Llewyn Davis
Drama 2013 100 mins Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
The Coen brothers’ funny, melancholic elegy to early 1960s folk music follows a struggling songwriter through a winter’s worth of misdeeds, mishaps and lost cats.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.
The Coming War on China The Coming War on China
Documentary 2016 113 mins Director: John Pilger
John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.