--- description: The movie was released on Mar. 6, 1998 title: Read TIME's Original Review of The Big Lebowski image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42049a9bb6e71793/69885571f887dc1713e9104b/lebowski.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read TIME's Original Review of _The Big Lebowski_  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 10, 2015 6:00 PM CUT  Poster for the movie 'The Big Lebowski,' 1998. Poster for the movie 'The Big Lebowski,' 1998.Buyenlarge / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jul 10, 2015 6:00 PM CUT Starting Friday, Louisville, Ky., will be host to the 14th annual [Lebowski Fest](https://lebowskifest.com/ "undefined"), a super relaxed celebration of _The Big Lebowski_, the 1998 Coen Brothers classic. The fest’s longevity is evidence that the movie inspires devotion both extreme and enduring. But, when it was first released, the reaction was somewhat more subdued. TIME’s critic Richard Schickel found that while _The Big Lebowski_ had its high points, it was far from the filmmakers’ best work: --- > “” --- **_Read the full review, here in the TIME Vault:_** [A Bit Off Their Game](http://time.com/vault/issue/1998-03-02/page/81/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3928367/lebowski-fest-review/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3928367/lebowski-fest-review/"},"headline":"Read TIME's Original Review of The Big Lebowski","datePublished":"2015-07-10T18:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:22:03.069Z","description":"In honor of Lebowski Fest","url":"https://time.com/3928367/lebowski-fest-review/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42049a9bb6e71793/69885571f887dc1713e9104b/lebowski.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42049a9bb6e71793/69885571f887dc1713e9104b/lebowski.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Movie Poster For 'The Big Lebowski'","caption":"Movie Poster For 'The Big Lebowski'","creditText":"Buyenlarge / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3928367/lebowski-fest-review/","name":"Read TIME's Original Review of The Big Lebowski"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The 10 Greatest Movies of the Millennium (Thus Far)","description":"TIME movie critic, Richard Corliss lists his top films of the millennium (Thus Far). For the full, list go to time.com/entertainment","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/S3M25t5U/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2012-05-17T00:06:49.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/S3M25t5U.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3928367/lebowski-fest-review/","duration":"PT4M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3928367/lebowski-fest-review/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```