The Big Lebowski (HD DVD)
By Ross Forbes, Blockbuster.co.uk

The Dude, likes to take things easy, his life is a busy blend of bowling with his friends Walter and Donnie, relaxing at the bar, bowling and listening to The Credence Clear Water Revival. But life takes a little turn for the worse when The Dude is assaulted in his own home by two men who accuse him of letting his wife run all over town and run up debts.

To drum home the point, one of the men decides to relieve himself on The Dudes living room rug. After the men leave, two things occur to The Dude, one of them is that he is not married and the other is that the rug really tied the room together and now it’s ruined.

While the home invaders were holding the Dudes head down the toilet, they were calling him Jeff Lebowski, but no one ever calls him that. True; his name is Jeff Lebowski, but people call him The Dude. With the aide of his Vietnam obsessed friend Walter, The Dude comes up with the idea that there must be another Jeff Lebowski out there, one with a wife that’s running all over town running up debts.

One meeting later with the Big Lebowski and The Dudes world is suddenly turned up side down. The Big Lebowski’s wife has been kidnapped and he asks The Dude if he will be the bag man with the ransom. Of course when Walter invites himself along on the drop, things go wrong and it appears that the kidnappers are now after The Dude for the money for the failed drop. Its going to be a long day before The Dude can even think about getting his run back.

The Cohen brothers weave together a story that appears to be about social out casts and socialites, but what is buried beneath the sharp dialogue and brilliantly crafted characters is a detective story that a 1930’s New York Private eye would be proud to have been a part of. The Cohen brothers assembled a cast that any director would have been proud to have on board; Jeff Bridges: The Dude is so spot on that you wouldn’t believe that he wasn’t a real person.

As dislikeable as John Goodman’s Walter is, everyone will have a friend or know someone who is just like him. Someone with an unwavering belief that they are right even in the face of overwhelming evidence, a great supporting cast as well. Will The Dude figure out what’s happening before the nihilists get him?

The transfer to HD-DVD of The Big Lebowski is extremely well done, considering that it is a film that is not cinematically amazing, but it is in the detail that this film comes to life. The quality of the picture really shows you what state The Dudes bathroom is really in, and it’s not a place that you would want to relax in the tub.

But it is also the contrasts in colour and shade that really make this transfer remarkable. The neon lights on the front of the bowling lanes look so real that you almost want to book a lane. Something else that comes across in this transfer that it didn’t on the DVD was the soundtrack. The blending of the songs and score throughout the surround speakers has you looking behind you for the Credence Clearwater Revival.

This title has been rated 37 times.