Everybody loves The Big Lebowski right? It’s got it all – Creedence Clearwater Revival, white russians, Vietnam references and of course bowling. It’s just one of those ‘cult’ movies that when it’s on TV you just have to watch it all, even if it’s on really late (which it usually is) and you have to get up really early, and it will probably be the movie that Jeff Bridges is most remembered for. It’s a lot better than Tron: Legacy anyhow.
But what a lot of people don’t know is that the icon known as The Dude was actually based on a real person and his name is Jeff Dowd, but he’s also referred to as The Dude in real life too, meaning it’s pretty hard for anyone to deny that the Coen Brothers got their inspiration for The Dude from him. Now some other dude called Jeff Feuerzeig (great name guy) has decided to film a documentary about the real Dude. Here’s what Feuerzeig had to say about the matter:
‘The Dude and I never did work together, but over the years we’d cross paths on the festival circuit, and it always warmed my heart that such a character, this true believer, was still carrying the torch for Independent film. When the Coen Brothers made The Big Lebowski in 1998, I sat in a darkened theater trying to reconcile the Dude I knew with the fictitious character Jeff Bridges was playing on screen – Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski – but I was not surprised in the least that the Coens found inspiration in the Dude. Jeff Dowd is a right of passage in the indie film world – baptism by the Dude – his spittle and good vibes setting you free to create a world of your own.’
The movie is only about twenty minutes long and mainly features The Dude talking about his life and some of his experiences – from beng involved in Vietnam war protests as a kid to becoming involved in the independent film scene (and Robert Redford) until finally becoming the inspiration for The Big Lebowski. The documentary is only 20 minutes long so you might as well check it out on your lunchbreak or whilst you’re smoking a doob before you go to bed, he’s a pretty interesting guy and you also get to see him recreate some of the scenes from the movie which is pretty aweseme. Check it out below:
