10 Greatest Films Within Films

2. Logjammin' (The Big Lebowski)

logjammin The title alone deserves an award. As does its soundtrack. But its real genius lies in the reaction of its audience: from The Dude's (Jeff Bridges) mild interest upon recognising one of its stars, ''I know that guy, he's, uh.. a nihilist'' to the bored, almost disdainful expression on Maude's (Julianne Moore) face. An unwilling detective, The Dude follows the money - via mistaken identity, rugs and White Russians- to Maude, who plays him a film called Logjammin'. It's a substandard soft- porn video, and, just beyond the point where the cable repair man knocks at the door, she rolls her eyes and drawls, ''Lord, you can imagine where it goes from here.'' ''He fixes the cable?'' suggests the Dude. A standout scene in a superb film from The Coen brothers.
 
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Yorkshireman (hence the surname). Often spotted sacrificing sleep and sanity for the annual Leeds International Film Festival. For a sample of (fairly) recent film reviews, please visit whatsnottoblog.wordpress.com.