Critic Reviews
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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.
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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.
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Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
Refn's electrifying debut soon morphs into something far more opaque and unsettling than a mere genre retread.
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Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
First in a series of 3 films about Copenhagen drug dealers. Sardonic comedy in the "Goodfellas" vein.
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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.
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Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
...like a Copenhagen cinema verité edition of Mean Streets
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Noel Murray, AV Club
A pulpy, twisty crime story
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Dragan Antulov, Draxblog Movie Reviews
The best asset of the film is Kim Bodnia
Read all 8 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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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
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 young age only makes it more so. I love the pace, the style in which it was filmed, the excellent soundtrack and it's believable spiral into chaos. When I look back at the films that were so celebrated back in the mid 90's I never remember anything about Pusher, watching it now that seems so stupid. Treat yourself if you haven't already and check out the Trilogy.
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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
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 because years later in 2011 Drive came out!
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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
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 atmosphere and has this raw energy that makes it energetic and very authentic. It builds into a desperately helpless situation that give no easy way out for it's characters or viewers. At the same time Pusher is also a film that suffers from it's cliched script. This is a story we have seen so many times on screens before. It offers absolutely nothing new in a form of story. But i have to say that Refn still makes it all work with his uneasy approach to material.
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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
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. The camera follows Frank wherever he goes in the seven days it takes his world to disintegrate as all of his "friends" betray and turn on him once they sense weakness; the ultimate price of way of life that revolves around self interest. All the characters are completely believable, particularly the mildly unpleasant and emotionally repressed Kim Bodnia who won't even kiss his "girlfriend" because of his refusal to associate with whores, and the beautiful Laura Drasbaek who stubbornly refuses to accept that that is in fact what she is. The rather unlikable characters do make it rather difficult to relate to them and a bit of humour would've gone a long way to temper this, but I would have to say that the big weakness of the film is the finale; or rather the lack of it. I usually prefer a story to let you draw your own conclusions as to the outcome but at the end of this film I just felt that I'd been abandoned and left hanging there. It did make me want to watch the next instalment however.
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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
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The first instalment of a gritty crime trilogy from Danish writer-director Nicolas Winding Refn, this is set in the Copenhagen underworld where its central character, Frank, is a small-time criminal and drug dealer who is having a run of bad luck. Pusher combines a fast plot with an… More
The first instalment of a gritty crime trilogy from Danish writer-director Nicolas Winding Refn, this is set in the Copenhagen underworld where its central character, Frank, is a small-time criminal and drug dealer who is having a run of bad luck. Pusher combines a fast plot with an almost documentary attention to the characters' daily routines and extra-criminal activities. Surprisingly good intro to a trilogy I really look forward to completing
<a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=pusher.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/pusher.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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An extremely depressing but thrilling examination of a drug pusher's inevitable spiral into hell on earth.
Kinetic direction, convincing performances and a realistic portrayl of a criminal underworld elevate this low budget flick above the usual glorification-of-crime films… More
An extremely depressing but thrilling examination of a drug pusher's inevitable spiral into hell on earth.
Kinetic direction, convincing performances and a realistic portrayl of a criminal underworld elevate this low budget flick above the usual glorification-of-crime films of this genre. I'm not sure I'd want to watch it again in a hurry, and that's meant as a compliment - this is powerful stuf.
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Character-driven Danish drug drama is refreshingly realistic.
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An impressive feat by someone who had no experience whatsover on the making of movies. The way the movie transforms from a silly bro comedy into darker, tenser territory is very well made, though it wastes a bit too much time on pointless improvised scenes and trying to be more… More
An impressive feat by someone who had no experience whatsover on the making of movies. The way the movie transforms from a silly bro comedy into darker, tenser territory is very well made, though it wastes a bit too much time on pointless improvised scenes and trying to be more realistic than it should be.
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It's gritty and realistic. Definitely worth a watch if you're into crime dramas.
Read all 10 featured audience ratings
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