NOTES: A lot of the clothes Jeff Bridges wears as The Dude were actually his own- including the Jelly Bean shoes!

For the scene where The Dude floats down the bowling lane between the Busby Berkely chorine's legs during thr Gutterballs drewm, he had to be digitally shrunk to 80% in order for his wide shoulders to fit through.

The Dude is based on a real person the Coen brothers knew, one Jeff "The Dude" Dowd.

The screenplay was written with Jeff Bridges (The Dude), John Goodman (Walter Sobchak) and Sam Elliot (The Stranger) in mind.

The blue Volkswagen Beetle driven by the private investigator, DaFino (Jon Polito) is a nod to the same vehicle driven by the PI in Blood Simple.

The band that Ulee the Nihilist was a member of, Autobahn, is a parody of Kraftwerk (obviously). The album sleeve you see in the movie is also very close to Kraftwerk's album cover for Man Machine.

Bunny's porn movie co-star (you know, the one who just popped over to use the shower) is played by real porn star Asia Carrera.

Just after The Dude receives his rectal examination by Maude's thorough doctor, he is seen listening to a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune in his car. The title of said song? Looking Out My Backdoor. Co-incidence?

The work "fuck" and varients thereof is spoken a massive 281 times during the movie.

In a film largely about bowling Jeff Bridges as The Dude is never seen to roll a ball, yet in a film where he plays the American President (The Contender) you DO see him bowl!!!

Apparently the reason Steve Buscemi's character Donny is forever being told to "shut the fuck up" is because his character in Fargo, the brother's previous movie, just would not ever shut up.

Donny is a consistent striker when he bowls except for his last roll before the confrontation with the Nihilists.

For the Norwegian release of the movie the posters bore the text "anbefales av Norsk bowling forbund", which translates to, recommended by the Norwegian Bowling Association.

The Dude loves his White Russians. He down a total of 9 during the movie. Wanna make one? 2 parts Vodka, 1 part Kalhua, 1 part milk.

The Dude utters the word "man" 144 times.

The Dude is a great character. He borrows nearly all of his lines from other characters. Watch and listen carefully and you will notice that he tries to pass himself off as a little more intelligent by repeating sentences he's heard elsewhere. Examples- "This aggression will not stand, man" and "...in the parlance of our times".

The "nice" marmot is in fact a ferret. It is illegal to keep ferrets as pets in California.

Musician Amiee Mann (she did the soundtrack for the terrific Magnolia) has a cameo as the nine-toed Nihilist.

The second time we see Jackie Treehorn's heavies (Woo and the blond guy) they have swapped clothes.

The Dude's car is a 1973 Ford Gran Torino.

The Cartoon Network show The Powerpuff Girls episode Something A Ms features a parody/homage to the scene in The Big Lebowski where The Dude is shown the ransom note in The Big Lebowski's library. In the cartoon the Mayor's secretary Ms. Bellum has been kidnapped. The scene is almost word-for-word but instead the Mayor says he's achieved everything without the use of his brain and, obviously, the "sure, that and a pair of testicles" line was removed. You can view a couple of images from it here, here, here and here.

A guy called Alex Belth served as Assistant Editior on The Big Lebowski and has penned an article about his experiences during the 12 months he worked with the Coen brothers. You can read it, in it's entirety, HERE.

In an early draft of the script when DaFino (Jon Polito's private Dick) shows up he reveals Bunnie Lebowski's real name in the line, "The Gundersons. It's a wandering daughter job. Bunny Lebowski, man. Her real name is Fawn Gunderson. Her parents want her back." (by the time the movie was shot it was changed to Knutsen). This surname is shared by Norm "Son of a" Gunderson in Fargo and Clarence "Buzz" Gunderson, the lift operator from The Hudsucker Proxy. Clearly the Coen's like the name!

In the introduction to the 2005 Collector's Edition DVD, George Ives played a fictional film historian from fiction film restoration company, Forever Young. He performed the same part in the intoduction to the 2001 re-release of Blood Simple too, both times to hilarious effect. He has also played a lawyer for the Coens in both The Man Who Wasn't There and Intolerable Cruelty.