Pusher

Pusher (1997)

  • 81% of critics liked it
    (16 reviews)

  • 84% of users liked it
    (6,733 ratings)

Frank is a small-time pusher who sells heroin together with his friend Tony. The heroin is supplied by an ex-Yugoslav dealer, Milo, and safely kept at his hooker girlfriend Vic's apartment. When a heroin deal goes wrong and Frank is busted by the police, he is released because of a lack of… More

Unrated,
Directed By
Written By
Nicolas Winding Refn, Jens Dahl
Genres
Art House & International, Drama
In Theaters
May 7, 1999 Limited
First Run Features

Critic Reviews

  • Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

    The film practically vibrates with youthful aggression, sly humor and gathering tension, hurling itself forward like a junkie toward the next fix.

  • Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

    Outstandingly well-done for a first-time director with no formal training on a shoestring budget, but something about it is unappealingly typical.

  • Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

    Refn's electrifying debut soon morphs into something far more opaque and unsettling than a mere genre retread.

  • Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews

    First in a series of 3 films about Copenhagen drug dealers. Sardonic comedy in the "Goodfellas" vein.

  • Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals

    The biggest surprise is how you give a damn about what happens to Refn's bad guy--a testament to Bodnia's native likeability.

Read all 8 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Anthony L


    Pusher isn't for everyone but it's definitely my kind of film. Guy Richie can stick his films up his bum, Nikolas Winding Refn made Pusher 2 years before Richie made Lock Stock and he was only 25 years old at the time. It's an impressive debut film as it is but his… More

  • paul o


    I liked it but seemed so simple and not as fast paced as I expected. He lost drugs and is screwed...thats about it? I mean theres nothing deep about a drug dealer and the violence wasn't the most brutal thing in the film. Either way, a good entry for Nicholas Winding Refn… More

  • Emil K


    Gritty and very realistic crime-film about Copenhagen drug dealers. It is quite amazing talent that director Nicolas Winding Refn shows here with his debut-film. Pusher is no easy film to watch. It is also not without it's flaws. It succeeds in creating a extremely unpleasant… More

  • xGary X


    A day by day account of a week in the life of Copenhagen drug dealer Frank whose life falls apart when a deal goes bad. Pusher is the portrait of a small time criminal filmed in documentary style that reminded me a lot of Shane Meadows in it's unflinchingly realistic approach.… More

  • Stella D


    a tough realistic crime thriller about a bad week in the life of a small time drug dealer. there's a palpable atmosphere of dread that keeps u on the edge of your seat. good performances all around. i look forward to the sequels

Read all 10 featured audience ratings

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