Pusher (1996)

Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers:

Jens Dahl (writer)
Nicolas Winding Refn (writer)

Release Date:

30 August 1996 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

You don't have a chance. Seize it!

Plot:

Frank is a drug pusher on the roll, until he makes a huge deal with dope that he hasn't payed for, and he gets busted by the police...

Plot Keywords:

Pusher | Drug Pusher | Drugs | Techno Rave | Drug Dealer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kim Bodnia	...	Frank
Zlatko Buric	...	Milo
Laura Drasbæk	...	Vic
Slavko Labovic	...	Radovan
Mads Mikkelsen	...	Tonny
Peter Andersson	...	Hasse
Vanja Bajicic	...	Branko
Lisbeth Rasmussen	...	Rita
Levino Jensen	...	Mike
Thomas Bo Larsen	...	Junkie
Lars Bom	...	Cop
Michael Hasselflug	...	Cop
Nicolas Winding Refn	...	Brian (as Jang Go Star)
Jesper Lohmann	...	Mikkel
Steen Fridberg	...	Lasse
Gordon Kennedy	...	Anders
Gyda Hansen	...	Mother
Kenneth Schultz	...	Steff
Coco C.P. Dalbert	...	Theis
Karsten Schrøder	...	Karsten
Keith C. Stanley	...	Jamaica-Guy
Lisa Lach-Nielsen	...	Betina
Thomas Aagren	...	Marten
Eva Nauman	...	Prostitute
Thomas Herschel	...	Receptionist
Kenneth Herschel	...	Bartender
Gunner Clemann	...	Junkie
Alex Nielsen	...	Man in Car
Laust Balskov	...	Cop
Kim Maali	...	Rita's Friend
Morten Pay	...	Steff's Friend
Per Leth	...	Bodybuilder
John Kalmar	...	Bodybuilder
Thor Nielsen	...	Bodybuilder
Evald	...	Bodybuilder
Jesper Staal	...	Bodybuilder
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Liv Corfixen	...	Receptionist (voice)

Directed by
Nicolas Winding Refn

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jens Dahl		writer
Nicolas Winding Refn		writer

Produced by
Martin Abildgaard	....	promotion producer
Henrik Danstrup	....	producer
Teddy Gerberg	....	executive producer
Peter Aalbæk Jensen	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Povl Kristian
Peter Peter

Cinematography by
Morten Søborg

Film Editing by
Anne Østerud

Production Design by
Kim Lovetand Julebæk

Costume Design by
Loa Miller

Makeup Department
Trine Cordes Berg	....	assistant makeup artist
Louise Bruun	....	hair stylist
Louise Bruun	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Christel C.D. Karlsen	....	production manager (as Christel C.D. Hansen)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Linda Krogsoe Fogh	....	assistant director
Xenia Lach-Nielsen	....	assistant director

Art Department
Michael Köhl	....	property master
Louise Trampedach	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Jim Skau Andersen	....	sound re-recording mixer
Klas Baggström	....	sound recordist
Petur Einerson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Anders Hörling	....	sound recordist
Anne Jensen	....	sound re-recording mixer
Claus Krainer	....	sound assistant: second unit (as Klaus Krainer)
Julien Naudin	....	foley artist
Peter Schultz	....	sound designer
Eddie Simonsen	....	sound effects editor
Henning Wedege	....	sound recordist: second unit

Special Effects by
Louise Bruun	....	special effects
Lasse Spang Olsen	....	special effects
Michael Spooner	....	special effects (as Mike Spooner)

Visual Effects by
Peter Jerris	....	opticals

Stunts
Stig Günther	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Rasmus Arrildt	....	assistant camera
Philip Forbes	....	assistant camera: second unit (as Phillip Forbes)
Martin Lerche	....	lighting: second unit
Sune Lolk	....	concert lighting designer
Dick Lyngsie	....	still photographer
Jacob Østergaard	....	lighting technician
Jens Bo Poulsen	....	lighting assistant
Helene Sandberg	....	still photographer
Ian N. Tomkins	....	clapper loader

Casting Department
Laust Balskov	....	casting assistant
James Bjørnholdt-Larsen	....	casting assistant
Xenia Lach-Nielsen	....	casting assistant
Oliver Winding	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Grith Rahbek	....	assistant costumer

Editorial Department
Pernille Bärnheim	....	assistant editor
MajBritt Holm	....	color timer
Margit Jensen	....	negative cutter
Tove Jystrup	....	post-production coordinator
Rikke Selin	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Peter Peter	....	soundtrack producer

Other crew
Louise Bruun	....	tattoo designer
Heini Grünbaum	....	production coordinator
Rikke Guldstad	....	script supervisor
Tine Gybel	....	script consultant
Ann Køj	....	production accountant (as Ann Slemming)
Jens Kruse	....	logo designer
Marie Trolle Larsen	....	script consultant
Eva Nauman	....	extras coordinator
Eva Nauman	....	script supervisor: second unit
Maren Pilgaard	....	production assistant
Mikaela Preiesleben	....	production assistant
Erik Reime	....	tattoo consultant
Nikolaj Scherfig	....	script consultant
Hans Kristian Simensen	....	production assistant
Stine Spang-Hansen	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Balboa Entertainment

Distributors

• Les Acacias (2006) (France) (theatrical)
• Bo Casper (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• First Run Features (1999) (USA) (subtitled)
• Galileo Medien AG (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Magnolia Pictures (2006) (USA) (all media)
• Metrodome Distribution (UK)
• Officine UBU (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• Prime Films S.L. (Spain)
• RCV Film Distribution (Belgium)
• RCV Film Distribution (Luxembourg)
• RCV Film Distribution (Netherlands)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (Argentina) (video)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish | Swedish | Serbo-Croatian

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | France:-16 | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Germany:16 | Denmark:15

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

Balboa Entertainment

Trivia:

Ranked #16 in FHM's (DK) "100 Best Male Movies Ever" (7 October 2004 issue).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Frank and Tonny are in the drugstore to buy vitamins (just before the drug-deal with the Swede), the cameraman is reflected in a mirror.

Quotes:

Vic: What are you watching?
Frank: Just some stupid movie with Johnny Depp.
Vic: Who's that?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Spot: Zlatko Buric (#3.6)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Beautiful Day

"You've got no chance! Grab it!" Yes, I love it and its personal!

Wow, I've just watched it. Probably, it'd be better to just lay back, think about the movie and, only after cooling down on emotions, review it.

But not this one.

"Pusher" tells us the story of, perhaps, the worst week of Frank's life, a 'middleweight' dealer caught in an unpayable debt to pay to Eastern European type mafia. And as his story unfolds, your blood pressure will rise just like the incredible tension increasing throughout the movie. No wonder, the debt grows higher and higher every day. Will Frank be able to ever repay it? Its just like the tag-line says:

"You've got no chance! Grab it!"

The fresh thing about this movie is that it shows what is actually happening somewhere in the middle of the 'food-chain' of drug dealing. Not at the top, covered by movies such as Casino, Scarface, Blow, or any other high budget movie made in Hollywood. After all Copenhagen is just not a world of amazing luxury and incredible piles of coke here and there. But the movie doesn't follow another cliché' either. It doesn't show us the bottom, where junkies scavenge on each other, sell their mothers for a gram of heroin, a topic which is usually covered by some low-budget off-movies.

Pusher is the ultimate, pure, refined truth about drug dealing. I have a personal experience, myself being for a time an immigrant into Denmark (I've never been a criminal or ever wanted to be, though, just to clarify that matter). And some guys, that I've came across upon coming here, went into this businesses and well, they all hit rock bottom. OK, the movie is hard to get into with its dramatic realism, but I assure you: this movie is as close to coarse truth and gritty reality as it gets!