thing is, Lebowski seems like a mess at first, but really requires more than one viewing (or 50).
characters with more than bit parts...
dude, walter, danny, lebowski, house boy, bunny, the artist lady, the nihilists, karl hunugs, the porn producer, the landlord, Jesus, the stranger. every one of them has at least 2 or 3 scenes.
then, throw in the indian bowler, the waitress, the other detective, funeral director, the high school kid, the lady's doctor, the two cops (funny scene...), the artists ladys friend.
its chaos, but it really all does hold together.
the dude is just a classic classic character.
Shamrock -- seen "once upon...america". liked it but not as much as leone's other stuff. great cast, but it was almost too ambitious. didn't hold me like "once upon...west", but I did like it.