Film writer, editor, and podcaster Jake Tropila joins from Los Angeles to discuss the Coen Brothers' 1998 comedy 'The Big Lebowski', starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Though middlingly received both critically and commercially upon release, the film has gone on to become a genuine cult classic, launching a cottage industry of fan screenings, conventions, and even a religion.

We discuss the film's patchwork of influences, including larger-than-life characters withing the Coens' orbit and the works of author Raymond Chandler, especially as adapted by Robert Altman for his 1973 film 'The Long Goodbye'. Then we discuss the film's unrivaled cast, including a superb John Goodman, who turns in an awards-caliber performance as the gun-toting, militant bowling enthusiast Walter Sobchak. Finally, we discuss the film's windy, inarticulable plot, and the way that its mechanics might conceal a deeper level of criticism about the sociopolitical landscape of America on the eve of The End of History.

Watch the trailer for The Big Lebowski.

Watch Mortimer Young for Forever Young Films #1 - The Grand Lebowski.

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