The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film

Rating:
Summary: Do More than Go Behind the Scenes. Get Inside Two Craniums.
Review:

You've Seen the Movie. Now Read About Fluxus, Googie, and Noir.

Read about bowling noir and orange night and method Munsingwear. Read about micturating on rugs, howling fat men, blustery titans, peculiar haircuts and lost hats. Read, if you dare, about the mutating aspects of Exline, Milius and Doud. But most all, read about the brightly funny, widely acclaimed Academy Award-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen--and their very serious and deliberate approach to bringing their wacky slant on art and life to the silver screen.

"The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film," edited by Tricia Cooke, with text by me, William Preston Robertson, and illustrations by John Todd Anderson and Rafael Sanudo, is the first-ever behind-the-scenes look at how the filmmaking Coen brothers create their cinematic masterpieces of quirk. Edited by longtime Coen film-editing crew member (and Ethan's wife!) Tricia Cooke, and featuring prolix, chuckleheaded text by me, longtime Coen compadre (and Amazing Voice) William Preston Robertson, "The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film" from W.W.Norton offers an insightful and entertaining look at the Coen Filmmaking Process, from noggin-bobbing ideation to flickering celluloid. Providing insightful gum-flapping sessions with both Coens, as well as illuminating jawings with essential members of their crew, this one-of-a-kind book takes you step-by-step through the Coens' cinematic methodology from screenwriting to storyboarding to cinematography to production design to costuming.

More than just a "Making Of" book, really, "The Big Lebowski: The Making of a Coen Brothers Film" is a "How-To" book brimming with photos and original sketches, including pitifully rendered preproduction thumbnail sketches by Ethan himself! By the time you finish this slim but magnificent volume, you'll have everything you need to know in order to make your very own Coen brothers film!

You heard right! Who needs those two skinny Minnesotan oddballs? After you've read this paginated treasure trove of Coenana, you'll be able to create your very own offbeat, inaccessible, yet exquisitely crafted cinema that will leave audiences everywhere stupefied with delight!

So order now! You won't regret it!

And remember--the Dude abides.

Rating:
Summary: Gotta love...
Review: Got to love the Coens, and thheir style of filmmaking. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: Gotta love...
Review: Got to love the Coens, and thheir style of filmmaking. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: more about the Coens than the film
Review: The Big Lebowski is my all-time favorite movie; I bought this book hoping to read lengthy interviews with the cast, see behind-the-scenes photos and stills from the film, etc. Instead, this book deals with the technicalities of the Coen brothers' film making in general, with The Big Lebowski only serving as the most-often referenced case-in-point. So I'd say read this if you're interested in the Coens' film making technique, but if you're interested in The Big Lebowski specifically you won't really find much here.

Rating:
Summary: more about the Coens than the film
Review: The Big Lebowski is my all-time favorite movie; I bought this book hoping to read lengthy interviews with the cast, see behind-the-scenes photos and stills from the film, etc. Instead, this book deals with the technicalities of the Coen brothers' film making in general, with The Big Lebowski only serving as the most-often referenced case-in-point. So I'd say read this if you're interested in the Coens' film making technique, but if you're interested in The Big Lebowski specifically you won't really find much here.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books written about the Coens
Review: This book was co-written by William Preston Robertson who is someone, if you've studied the end credits of the Coens' early film, who has worked on their films in various capacities. He's often provided voiceovers where needed and even offered a place for them to crash when they developed writer's block while working on the screenplay for Miller's Crossing.

So, he writes this book with an insider's perspective. At every opportunity he makes fun of them (as only a close friend can) and spends the first part of the book tracing their career up to The Big Lebowski. The rest of the book plays out as a quasi-Making Of that is quite an entertaining read. For example, he places their film in the grand tradition of bowling noir, a very rarified subgenre of the film noir. Robertson is quite funny as he pontificates about this subgenre at some length.

If I had one complaint about the book is the amount of detail that is gone into about the storyboarding process which I could have done without. But this is a minor quibble at best.

Robertson's style of writing is very casual and easy to read--it won't take you long to get through this book. If you are a hardcore fan of the Coens, then you will definitely enjoy this book and all the little, inside jokes. It will certainly deepen your appreciation for the film and acts as a great companion-piece.

Rating:
Summary: Buy it
Review: This is a terrific book for anyone interested in the Coen brother's films, or indeed anyone interested in the filmmaking process. While the book is true to its title, other Coen films such as 'Raising Arizona', 'Miller's Crossing' and 'Barton Fink' are also briefly discussed. Along with spotlighting Joel and Ethan's work practises, the book looks in detail at the storyboards, cinematography, set and wardrobe design on 'The Big Lebowski'. Of particular interest is the comparison of still frames with their orginal storyboards during a detailed breakdown of 4 Lebowski scenes. Also appreciated is Robertson's practise of actually explaining many of the film terms used is the book, recognising that not all his reader's are Directors!

Rating:
Summary: Buy it
Review: This is a terrific book for anyone interested in the Coen brother's films, or indeed anyone interested in the filmmaking process. While the book is true to its title, other Coen films such as 'Raising Arizona', 'Miller's Crossing' and 'Barton Fink' are also briefly discussed. Along with spotlighting Joel and Ethan's work practises, the book looks in detail at the storyboards, cinematography, set and wardrobe design on 'The Big Lebowski'. Of particular interest is the comparison of still frames with their orginal storyboards during a detailed breakdown of 4 Lebowski scenes. Also appreciated is Robertson's practise of actually explaining many of the film terms used is the book, recognising that not all his reader's are Directors!