DR marked Sunday, August 30, 2026, as 30 years since Nicolas Winding Refn’s debut feature “Pusher” premiered in Danish cinemas. The gangster film is still celebrated at home and abroad.
According to reporting by DR, the film had its cinema premiere three decades ago this Sunday. It follows the debt-ridden drug dealer Frank and his friend Tonny through the criminal margins of 1990s Vesterbro in Copenhagen.
Claus Christensen, editor in chief of Filmmagasinet Ekko, told DR that the film landed like a hand grenade in the Danish film scene. He described it as a breakthrough for a new generation of filmmakers.
DR notes that the film set new standards for raw realism in Danish cinema. In one scene, Frank, played by Kim Bodnia, beats Tonny with a baseball bat. Christensen pointed out to DR that stars of older Danish family comedies would never have done that.
The film also drew attention outside Denmark. As noted by DR, it was reviewed by The New York Times and the trade magazine Variety, which found that Refn avoided the clichés of the genre and praised Bodnia. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a score of 83 percent, and it has been remade twice in the United Kingdom.
From Vesterbro to Cannes
“Pusher” was the first feature film role for Mads Mikkelsen, who has since taken on a long list of major international parts. Bodnia had already appeared in Ole Bornedal’s horror film “Nattevagten”. Christensen told DR that Refn could have cast better known actors, but chose a completely new name instead.
Nicolas Winding Refn now works regularly on the international scene. Per DR, his most recent film, the horror title “Her Private Hell”, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. He won the festival’s best director prize for “Drive” in 2011.
Eight years passed before the sequel “Pusher 2” arrived, with Mikkelsen in the lead as Tonny. “Pusher 3”, centered on the dealer Milo played by Zlatko Buric, followed the year after.
Christensen explained the long wait to DR. Refn’s second film, “Bleeder”, did well, but his first international production, “Fear X”, sold few tickets. The company behind it went bankrupt, and Refn was declared personally bankrupt as well.
Refn then returned to the “Pusher” universe, where he knew he could sell tickets and secure public funding, Christensen said. Thirty years on, he told DR that the film left lasting marks on Danish film history and opened the way for later titles such as “Nordvest”, “R” and “Underverden”.
