TGME Round 1: The Big Lebowski Vs. Fight Club

[GregMcduck]

How it works: Each poll will be open for two weeks, giving all of you time to watch each film. New polls added every Sunday and Wednesday.

The Big Lebowski (1998) vs. Fight Club (1999)



The Big Lebowski is an American comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges plays Jeffrey Lebowski, a burnt-out, unemployed Los Angeles slacker, who calls himself the "Dude." After he is mistaken for a millionaire with the same name (David Huddleston), Lebowski must turn to the help of his best friend Walter (John Goodman) and others to make things right.

While not a commercial success (the film grossed only $17 million domestically, just above its $15 million budget), it received generally positive reviews from critics. Known for its idiosyncratic characters, surreal dream sequences, unconventional dialogue and eclectic soundtrack, The Big Lebowski has become a cult classic and has been called "the first cult film of the Internet era".[1] Fans' devotion to the film has even spawned the Lebowski Fest, an annual festival that started in Louisville, Kentucky in 2002, and has since expanded to several other cities.




Fight Club is an American feature film adaptation of the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, adapted by Jim Uhls and directed by David Fincher. The nameless protagonist, portrayed by Edward Norton, is an everyman and an unreliable narrator who becomes involved in a fight club with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and is conflicted in a relationship triangle with Durden and Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter).

Studio executives were not receptive to the film, and they altered Fincher's intended marketing campaign to try to recoup perceived losses. Fight Club failed to meet expectations at the box office, and the film received polarized reactions from film critics. The film was cited as one of the most controversial and talked-about films of 1999. It was perceived as crossing a milestone for visual style in cinema and introducing a new mood in American political life. The film later found commercial success with its DVD release, which established Fight Club as a cult film. The film has also permeated American society, inspiring people to set up fight clubs.

Please take the time to watch or re-watch these two films before voting. You can use this thread to post reviews after having watched them, campaign for your preferred movie, or just discuss the movies in general.

[bettertomorrowamy]

The Dude.

[ScottotD]

WOW.  Tough choice, both movies with lifestyle advice and both brilliant and quotable.

I'll have to watch Lebowski again I think, I hope people can see past the violence of Fight Club.

[anais.jude]

Fight Club is a good look at consumerism and masculinity, but it wasn't the masterpeice everyone says it is.


The Big Lebowski, on the other hand, had its catchphrase in the first five min!


I think i should watch that today

[Petey Wheatstraw]

I enjoyed both, but Lebowski.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

well, it's the Iron Dude vs the hulk, what a tough choice, seriously

I guess I'll just do the old tough choice decision.........

[RoninFox]

Just watched Fight Club recently, but it's been a couple years since I sat down for Big Lebowski.  Looking forward to seeing again.

[mrbasehart]

Lebowski all the way.  Fight Club is good, but I'm thinking it might look really silly in about 20 years, while The Dude is ageless.

[Tripe]

The Big Lebowski all the way.

And if the vote goes the wrong way I have a nice marmot to introduce everyone to.

[ScottotD]

Watched Lebowski last night and while it's fun it's not Fight Club.

[bettertomorrowamy]

Watched Lebowski last night and while it's fun it's not Fight Club.

The Dude does not abide!

[Tripe]

I always liked this version of Fight Club better:

[Shinigami]

I honestly have no idea what people thought was so great about Lebowski.  I thought it was a moderately entertaining movie with a few funny scenes, almost all of which involve John Goodman.  Other than that, it's pretty meh.

[Ortega]

hmm.  This is a tough one.  I remember liking the Big Lebowski when i first saw it( This is what happens when you fuck a man in the ass!!), but i like Fight Club better.  While this might sounds schmaltzy or insipid, Fight Club changed my life.   No, i didn't start oddly homerotic fights in basements.  But something about that film made me take stock of my life, and made me want to change it.

I remember it was around 2000, and it was about 7 months after graduation, and i was still living in my parents home, with a shitty dead end job at the corner gas station.  And while i was watching the movie, the main theme i got from it was : " Don't be complacent. Don't be passive.  Get off your ass!"  And it also got eerily prophetic when Tyler Durden holds a gun to a gas station attendants head.  About 2 months later, i had acquired a new job as a butcher, which allowed me the financial independance to finally get the hell out of my parents house, and into my own. 

Yes, stupid and kinda sappy, but this movie fired me up enought to finally start my journey to adulthood.  So Fight Club for me
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plus, i have a odd attraction to Helena Bohman Carter.

[Tripe]

plus, i have a odd attraction to Helena Bohman Carter.

Ain't nothing odd about that , Sexiest soap dodger alive.