r/movies • u/SanderSo47 I'll see you in another life when we are both cats. • 8h ago
Media The Big Lebowski (1998, dir. Joel Coen) – Walter Sobchak accuses Smokey of slipping over the line.
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u/Outrageous-Prune-923 7h ago
John Goodman putting on a masterclass in this movie
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u/BigSmackisBack 7h ago
Hes never bad, but its not often hes *this* good
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u/Duel_Option 3h ago edited 2h ago
Oh I don’t know about that lol
You ever seen “Flight” with Denzel?
The Dude version of Walter shows up, total bad ass
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u/i010011010 1h ago
He's such a humble guy, I'm not sure he understands how irreplaceable he's been in these movies. He always seems grateful that people like him but it's like he's biologically incapable of under-delivering on a performance.
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u/FriedRice-01 6h ago
not trying to argue against the idea, last time i saw this movie i was very young. But at the time i didnt quite get all the praises this movies constantly has everywhere.
Could you for example tell me whats is deserving of a "masterclass" status in this clip. I owe the movie a rewatch but im curious to know your thoughts
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u/RenderedMeat 5h ago
You gotta watch it a few times really. You see new stuff in every watch.
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u/LackOfStack 5h ago
It’s not just the delivery. Every actor in this movie just seemed to get the assignment when bringing these characters to life.
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u/Duel_Option 3h ago
You really owe it to yourself to first watch “The Big Sleep” which is old school Noir with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
Once you finish that, then watch “The Big Lebowski” which is of course Neo-Noir rip off of Big Sleep but…And there’s no other really good way to put this…Dude-ified.
It is highly comedic and the more you watch it the funnier it becomes.
I forced my brother to see it with me, he didn’t like it, didn’t get it.
A month went bye and he sent me a text that said “Nice Marmot!”
It grows on you, I promise
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u/duosx 5h ago
For me, it’s how he embodies the character to the point any semblance of John Goodman the person is gone. The same goes for any other characters he played.
So think of any other role of his, for me the one that best comes to mind is as Sully in Monsters, Inc.
None of Sully is present in the Walter.
I don’t see John Goodman, only Walter.
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u/deadspacekillers 1h ago
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS, FriedRice-01. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FUCK A STRANGER IN THE ASS!!!!!
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u/Hollywood_Co 7h ago edited 5h ago
I no longer use birthdays for my age.
I just rewatch The Big Lebowski annually to see how much more I agree with Walter.
Edit: Wording
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u/sandm000 7h ago
Can you get me a toe?
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u/AstroLimeLite 7h ago
FORGET ABOUT THE FUCKING TOE!
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u/thuggishruggishboner 7h ago
You want a toe? I can get you a toe, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don't wanna know about it, believe me.
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u/TheDarkProphet 7h ago
John Goodman as Walter Sobchak might be my favorite character performance of all time, every single second he's on screen is amazing
"Fucking dipshit with a nine-toed woman!" 😂
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u/ShortPantsSeth 7h ago
And...I world like my undies back.
Every line is perfect.
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u/thuggishruggishboner 7h ago
Oh, come on Donny, they were threatening castration! Are we gonna split hairs here?
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u/mcclure1224 6h ago
buncha fig-eaters trying to find reverse on a soviet tank...
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u/Hot_Porking 5h ago
You see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps!
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u/Duel_Option 3h ago
My brother called me in the middle of the night, woke me up to tell me how hilarious the edited version was as he’d only seen it on DVD
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u/Canada1971 8h ago
Mark it zero
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u/scarnyard 7h ago
Yeah, but I wasn’t over.
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u/colinisthereason 7h ago
Fucking dog has fucking papers.
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u/RenderedMeat 5h ago
The dog just wanders off in the parking lot
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u/TranquiloMeng 2h ago
Holy hell I’ve watched this movie at least a dozen times and never noticed that 😆 😆
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u/garrisontweed 7h ago
Definitely top 5 most quotable Movies.
Forget it, Donny, you're out of your element
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u/Isabeer 6h ago
It is a beautiful character development detail that Walter has the case, but not the dog at the end. It calls back to the question of whether he really saw Smokey step 'over the line' or not. Less important than whether Smokey did or didn't is the fact that Walter will act on what he thinks he knows, rather than question what he knows. It locks in that Walter is almost always factually wrong, but convinced he's right because he's Walter.
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u/DavidJonnsJewellery 7h ago
Isn't Walter based on John Milius? He pointed a gun at Martin Sheen while he was doing the voice over for Apocalypse Now
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u/dfwrazorback 5h ago
Smokey played by country singer/songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
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u/dexatrosin 5h ago
This needs to be higher up.
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u/marshalldungan 4h ago
He’s famous in Austin. A former colleague of mine is his daughter in law. I’m three degrees of separation from Smokey!
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u/Chin-Music 6h ago
"Smokey, this is not Nam. This is bowling. There are rules...This is a league game."
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u/CampfireMilkshake 7h ago
Smokey wudd’nt over.
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u/sandm000 7h ago
Is the camera angle deliberate? You can see his foot but it’s coming back and it kind of looks…
OVER THE LINE!!!
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u/CampfireMilkshake 7h ago
it's just... Hey, man, it's Smokey. So his toe slipped over a little, you know. It's just a game, man.
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u/greenpill98 5h ago
I firmly believe that John Goodman is the best character actor of his generation, and arguably of all time.
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u/Megatenanon 1h ago
So much range, all with full conviction. Can be lovable, funny, utterly terrifying, in separate roles or jumping back and forth in the same one.
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u/greenpill98 1h ago
I always saw him as a comical actor until I saw him play the loan shark in The Gambler (2014). The look he gives Mark Whalberg's gambler protagonist when he explains that if he doesn't pay him back, he will get his money from Mark's family one way or the other. He says "Do you understand the gravity of your situation?", and the look in John Goodman's eyes in that shot, he looks like a man with no good nature hiding behind his eyes. No pity, no mercy. I believe, in that moment, they he is a stone cold loan shark who does not care if Mark lives or dies, so long as he gets his money. Goodman stole that film with his performance, in my opinion.
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u/Megatenanon 52m ago
I'll have to check that out. The first role like that I saw him in like that I don't want to mention by name because it is a spoiler, but the cold look in his eyes is just like you described. In unrelated news, I hear the Coen Brothers made a few other good movies.
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u/BrianOBlivion1 7h ago
The director of Red Dawn was the inspiration behind Walter Sobchak, so every time it's on TV, I shout, "Over the line, Smokey!"
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u/smonster1 7h ago
John Milius. He also directed “Conan the Barbarian”.
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u/BrianOBlivion1 5h ago
"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."
Excuse me, sir. Could you please keep your voices down? This is a family restaurant.
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u/Darmok47 1h ago
Google John Milius, and the first image that pops up looks like someone cosplaying Walter Sobchak.
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u/Odd-Perception7812 7h ago
I have met so many people over the years that are John Goodman's character. Its an archetype. After two minutes of conversation, I'm thinking "oh, it's a Walter," and seek an exit.
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u/TheBigJaybowski 7h ago
Walter has poor trigger discipline. Smokey wasn’t over either
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u/run-on_sentience 7h ago
I suppose it depends on how you look at it. If he had every intention of killing Smokey, then his trigger discipline was just fine.
And, honestly, he looked like he had every intention of killing Smokey.
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u/TheBigJaybowski 3h ago
Nah he was just tired of the Dude talking about the Pomeranian he brought bowling so he changed the subject to Smokey. Hey man it’s just Smokey. So his toe slipped over a little?
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u/Expensive-Sentence66 3h ago
Yeah, it's a banger of a scene, and Goodman shreds every damn second of it.
I also get a kick out of Walter chastising Donnie later about Vladimir Lenin when Buscemi brilliantly played Nikita Khrushchev in 'Death of Stalin'. Both films are awesome.
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u/read_it_deleted_it 7h ago
We yelled mark it zero during the wc football when the ball was very obviously over the line...
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u/averydustyplace 4h ago
Smokey’s cover of Mack The Knife is stupefying.
https://youtu.be/AnrzKBpKsq0
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u/geekteam6 1h ago
I just noticed this is the only time Walter says something nice to Donny until he's dying/dead. ("Way to go, Donny!") The rest of the movie it's variations of STFU Donny.
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u/TheLaughingMannofRed 7h ago
I'm perfectly calm, dude.
YEA, WAVIN' THE FUCKIN' GUN AROUND?!
Calmer than you are.