Pusher (1996 film)

Pusher
Theatrical poster
Directed byNicolas Winding Refn
Screenplay byJens Dahl
Nicolas Winding Refn
Story byNicolas Winding Refn
Produced byHenrik Danstrup
Starring
CinematographyMorten Søborg
Edited byAnne Østerud
Music byPovl Kristian
Peter Peter
Production
company
Balboa Entertainment
Distributed byRCV Film Distribution
Release date
  • 30 August 1996 (1996-08-30)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryDenmark
LanguagesDanish
Swedish
Serbian
BudgetDKK 6 million

Pusher is a 1996 Danish crime thriller film[1] co-written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, in his film debut.[2] A commercial success considered to be influential in Danish film history, it marked Mads Mikkelsen's film debut.

The film is set in the criminal underground of Copenhagen, Denmark, and tells the story of the drug dealer Frank (Kim Bodnia) who, after losing a large amount of money in a drug deal gone wrong, falls into desperation as he only has a few days to raise the money he owes.

Although Pusher was not intended to become a franchise, financial difficulties forced Refn to produce two sequels: Pusher II, focusing on Mikkelsen's character after the events of the first film, and Pusher 3, focusing on another secondary character introduced in Pusher; both were financial and critical successes. A Hindi remake of the same name was released in 2010,[3] as well as an English-language remake in 2012.[4]

  1. ^ "Pusher (1996) - Nicolas Winding Refn, Nicolas Winding Refn | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. ^ Catherine Shoard (8 September 2011). "Nicolas Winding Refn: 'Film-making is a fetish'". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :KM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference SF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).