Monday, November 19, 2018

THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) (4K UltraHD Review)


THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) 

Label: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: R
Duraton: 117 Minutes
Audio: English DTS:X, DTS-HD MA 7.1 with OIptional English Subtitles 
Video: 2160 UHD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: The Coen Brothers
Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, John Turturro

The Coen Brothers carpet-caper comedy classic stars Jeff Bridges (Tron) as L.A. based slacker Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a bowling enthusiast who als0 enjoy the occasional White Russian beverage and smoking a joint. He along with his gun-waving 'Nam-vet buddy Walter (John Goodman, Barton Fink) manage to get caught up in a kidnapping plot after a pair of dim-witted thugs break into his home and piss on his beloved rug. This insult that brings the Dude to the home of a wheelchair-bound millionaire who is also named Lebowski, and he's the reason why the thugs pissed on his carpet. The Big Lebowski hires the Dude as a bag man to deliver a large ransom to a group of nihilist kidnappers, who have seemingly abducted the millionaire's much younger trophy wife, played by Tara Reid (American Pie). The film also features notable supporting roles from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman (Happiness), Sam Elliott (The Legacy) and John Turturro (Barton Fink) as a ball-licking pederast bowling-competitor you won't soon forget. This here film is pure fried-gold, a movie that alongside the original Ghostbusters are my go-to films when I am feeling blue and need a laugh to cheer me up, and it works every time, this movie is comedy-magic for the soul.. 

Audio/Video: The Dude abides the brand new 4K presentation on 4K UltraHD, it looks fantastic, nicely detailed and filmic with a present layer of fine film grain - it really wipes the floor with the old Blu-ray releasen, it's definitely like seeing the film for the first time. Audio comes by way of an English DTS:X audio track that has some nice real nice depth, with the sweet 70's tuneage from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, and of course "the fucking Eagles, man" sounds awesome. 

The 4K UltraHD disc is bare bones, there are no extras, but the accompanying Blu-ray - which is actually the same exact disc as the previous Limited Edition Blu-ray -  which has not been remastered, carries over the extras from that LE release, meaning that if you're not 4K enabled yet there's no need to upgrade to this release. Notable, the digital redemption code is the restored 4K version of the film.  

Special Features: 

- Movies Anywhere Digital Code of The Big Lebowski 
- U-Control: Scene Companion – Watch behind the scenes footage, interviews and more while you watch the film
- U-Control: Mark It, Dude – This on-screen counter keeps track of the “F-bombs,” “Dudes” and Lebowski-isms during the film
- U-Control: The Music of The Big Lebowski – Identify the songs in the film and create a custom playlist
- Worthy Adversaries: What’s My Line Trivia – Test your Lebowski knowledge with this interactive game
- The Dude’s Life (10 min)
- The Dude Abides: The Big Lebowski Ten Years Later (10 min)
- Making of The Big Lebowski (24 min)
- The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever’s Story (14 min)
- Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of The Dude (4 min6)
- Interactive Map
- Jeff Bridges Photo Book
- Photo Gallery
- An Introduction (4:40)
- BD-Live
- My Scenes
- Pocket BLU
- No Kid Hungry PSAs

The Big Lebowski is truly one of my favorite films of all times, I fucking love it, man, it really holds up, and I totally abide the new 4K UltraHD celebrating the film's 20th Anniversary, highly recommended.