Over time, reviews have become largely positive, and the film has become a cult favorite, noted for its eccentric characters, comedic dream sequences, idiosyncratic dialogue, and eclectic soundtrack. The Big Lebowski received mixed reviews at the time of its release. Joel Coen stated, 'We wanted to do a Chandler kind of story – how it moves episodically, and deals with the characters trying to unravel a mystery, as well as having a hopelessly complex plot that's ultimately unimportant.' The original score was composed by Carter Burwell, a longtime collaborator of the Coen brothers. The film is loosely inspired by the work of Raymond Chandler. Sam Elliott, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, David Thewlis, Peter Stormare, and Ben Gazzara also appear, in supporting roles. The millionaire Lebowski's trophy wife is kidnapped, and he commissions The Dude to deliver the ransom to secure her release the plan goes awry when the Dude's friend Walter Sobchak ( John Goodman) schemes to keep the ransom money. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken identity, then learns that a millionaire also named Jeffrey Lebowski ( David Huddleston) was the intended victim. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. The Big Lebowski ( / l ə ˈ b aʊ s k i/) is a 1998 black comedy crime film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
