Lebowski has to stop. It's already robbed us of Groundhog Day and Boogie Nights, IMHO BOTH of which are better than Lambs.
And so for those crimes, as well as for the fact that I have NEVER 'got' Lebowski, not even on a recent rewatch, and despite the fact I love almost everything Jeff Daniels, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and John Turturro do. I simply cannot allow it to continue.
Andrew Howell - 6 years ago
Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion man. The Dude’s rewatchability can’t be denied. The cast, the story, and the rug just ties everything together.
Jim Pallini - 6 years ago
I am the walrus
JM Bossy - 6 years ago
From Vancouver
I'll say it. The Big Lebowski is the Coen's most overrated film. It's a farce equal to Burn After Reading and Raising Arizona, which means it pretty fantastic, but not nearly enough to stand against the genius of Doctor Lecter or the late Mr. Demme.
Both of these films are fantastic, and iconic in their own ways. However, I went with the more technical film in Silence of the Lambs. As endlessly quotable as the Dude is, he cannot top the pure creepiness of Hannibal Lecter. Swap out the White Russian for a nice Chianti and maybe we can talk.
Dave from Atlanta - 6 years ago
As much as I like Silence of the Lambs, The Big Lebowski holds a special place in my heart and in my head. Yes, I'm one of those people who consistently remember lines from the movie at odd times and sometimes say them out loud, to both the delight and horror of my friends. Frankly, I'm pulling for Jeff to take it all, but I don't know if he can beat the Royale with Cheese.
From one Sam Van Halgren’s LAMBS Letterbox review: “But the story? Preposterous. B-movie schlock.”
Not that I needed the extra push to vote for LEBOWSKI but here we are.
Elijah Davidson - 6 years ago
Vote for Lambs, because you can still vote for the Coens' best film next year.
Joel Karpowitz in Raleigh, NC - 6 years ago
Sigh...maybe I need to see The Big Lebowski again. I just don't have the soft spot for it that so many do. It was funny, but Raising Arizona is funnier. It was fun, but O Brother is more fun. Yes it's quotable and weird, but . . . that's pretty much all Coen films.
Silence of the Lambs elevated genre fare to a level that it rarely achieves. It's smart, funny, and still tense-as-hell. Add to Demme's style Anthony Hopkins' inimitable Lecter (before he turned it into a parody in the movie's sequel and prequel) and Jodie Foster's pitch perfect Clarice (a role even an actress as good as Julianne Moore couldn't find the right notes for in Hannibal) and you've got a movie worth praising.
I fear the soft spot people have with Lebowski will give it the win, but I think Lambs is the better film.
David from Chicago - 6 years ago
I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in that, knowin’ he’s out there. The Dude. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners. - We need the dude now more than ever.
Probably beyond all belief, The Dude abides.
Neil Mitchell - 6 years ago
Finally I can vote for a Coens movie (even if it should have been knocked out last round).
Mike H. - 6 years ago
For all its enduring strengths, I think it has to be said that Silence of the Lambs suffers from the same fundamental problem as a long list of great horror/thriller films before it......which is one of diminishing returns on the fear factor as each new generation gets more desensitized than the last. As much as I'm sure filmgoers in the 70's probably held old Hitchcock era shockers from the previous decade in high regard as artistic landmarks and incredibly well made films, I'm positive they also chuckled a bit when watching Psycho and The Birds and trying to imagine how their parents passed out from fright in the theater aisles. But those same people in the 70's were legitimately scarred for life by The Exorcist......which in turn almost looked more like a comedy to me when I saw it for the first time as a young kid in the 90's. I knew it was a very well made movie and very entertaining, but my sensibilities were just so drastically different that I couldn't quite connect with whatever it is that makes a movie scary.
Hannibal Lector scared the bejeezus out of me as that same 90's kid. His dead eyes and quiet cunning burned into my brain, as did the suggestion of an unknown number of scattered serial killers like Buffalo Bill hiding in plain sight in every small nowhere town in the country. The film didn't have anywhere near the same effect on my 16-year-old nephew when he watched it with me a few years ago. And to be completely honest, it didn't have the same effect on me, either. If you take away the shock factor of this decadent cannibal and a crossdressing psychopath (itself a pretty embarrassing relic of a past time), all you have left is a fairly straight-forward procedural with better-than-average atmosphere and acting.
As for the other contender here, even if Lebowski is a "lesser Coens" film as the hosts and a huge portion of the Filmspotting audience seems to so misguidedly feel.......I think you would still have to be honest with yourself and admit that even a lesser Coens has a lot more going on than the best Jonathan Demme film.
Tom Schutzer - 6 years ago
As much as I'd love to see The Dude in the Final Four, I do believe it's time for Hannibal Lecter to have an old friend for dinner... perhaps with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Lebowski has to stop. It's already robbed us of Groundhog Day and Boogie Nights, IMHO BOTH of which are better than Lambs.
And so for those crimes, as well as for the fact that I have NEVER 'got' Lebowski, not even on a recent rewatch, and despite the fact I love almost everything Jeff Daniels, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and John Turturro do. I simply cannot allow it to continue.
Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion man. The Dude’s rewatchability can’t be denied. The cast, the story, and the rug just ties everything together.
I am the walrus
From Vancouver
I'll say it. The Big Lebowski is the Coen's most overrated film. It's a farce equal to Burn After Reading and Raising Arizona, which means it pretty fantastic, but not nearly enough to stand against the genius of Doctor Lecter or the late Mr. Demme.
It's Silence of the Lambs, no question.
Both of these films are fantastic, and iconic in their own ways. However, I went with the more technical film in Silence of the Lambs. As endlessly quotable as the Dude is, he cannot top the pure creepiness of Hannibal Lecter. Swap out the White Russian for a nice Chianti and maybe we can talk.
As much as I like Silence of the Lambs, The Big Lebowski holds a special place in my heart and in my head. Yes, I'm one of those people who consistently remember lines from the movie at odd times and sometimes say them out loud, to both the delight and horror of my friends. Frankly, I'm pulling for Jeff to take it all, but I don't know if he can beat the Royale with Cheese.
From one Sam Van Halgren’s LAMBS Letterbox review: “But the story? Preposterous. B-movie schlock.”
Not that I needed the extra push to vote for LEBOWSKI but here we are.
Vote for Lambs, because you can still vote for the Coens' best film next year.
Sigh...maybe I need to see The Big Lebowski again. I just don't have the soft spot for it that so many do. It was funny, but Raising Arizona is funnier. It was fun, but O Brother is more fun. Yes it's quotable and weird, but . . . that's pretty much all Coen films.
Silence of the Lambs elevated genre fare to a level that it rarely achieves. It's smart, funny, and still tense-as-hell. Add to Demme's style Anthony Hopkins' inimitable Lecter (before he turned it into a parody in the movie's sequel and prequel) and Jodie Foster's pitch perfect Clarice (a role even an actress as good as Julianne Moore couldn't find the right notes for in Hannibal) and you've got a movie worth praising.
I fear the soft spot people have with Lebowski will give it the win, but I think Lambs is the better film.
I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in that, knowin’ he’s out there. The Dude. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners. - We need the dude now more than ever.
Probably beyond all belief, The Dude abides.
Finally I can vote for a Coens movie (even if it should have been knocked out last round).
For all its enduring strengths, I think it has to be said that Silence of the Lambs suffers from the same fundamental problem as a long list of great horror/thriller films before it......which is one of diminishing returns on the fear factor as each new generation gets more desensitized than the last. As much as I'm sure filmgoers in the 70's probably held old Hitchcock era shockers from the previous decade in high regard as artistic landmarks and incredibly well made films, I'm positive they also chuckled a bit when watching Psycho and The Birds and trying to imagine how their parents passed out from fright in the theater aisles. But those same people in the 70's were legitimately scarred for life by The Exorcist......which in turn almost looked more like a comedy to me when I saw it for the first time as a young kid in the 90's. I knew it was a very well made movie and very entertaining, but my sensibilities were just so drastically different that I couldn't quite connect with whatever it is that makes a movie scary.
Hannibal Lector scared the bejeezus out of me as that same 90's kid. His dead eyes and quiet cunning burned into my brain, as did the suggestion of an unknown number of scattered serial killers like Buffalo Bill hiding in plain sight in every small nowhere town in the country. The film didn't have anywhere near the same effect on my 16-year-old nephew when he watched it with me a few years ago. And to be completely honest, it didn't have the same effect on me, either. If you take away the shock factor of this decadent cannibal and a crossdressing psychopath (itself a pretty embarrassing relic of a past time), all you have left is a fairly straight-forward procedural with better-than-average atmosphere and acting.
As for the other contender here, even if Lebowski is a "lesser Coens" film as the hosts and a huge portion of the Filmspotting audience seems to so misguidedly feel.......I think you would still have to be honest with yourself and admit that even a lesser Coens has a lot more going on than the best Jonathan Demme film.
As much as I'd love to see The Dude in the Final Four, I do believe it's time for Hannibal Lecter to have an old friend for dinner... perhaps with some fava beans and a nice chianti.