PUSHER – Second Sight Blu-ray Review
Pusher is a debut that drags you by the throat into Copenhagen’s underworld – raw, relentless, and still startling nearly thirty years on.
Pusher is Nicolas Winding Refn’s opening salvo, and it arrives with venom. Frank, played with volatile energy by Kim Bodnia, is a small-time dealer suddenly on the hook to Serbian crime boss Milo, after a botched deal. The narrative is simple – seven days of mounting pressure, debts spiralling, loyalty tested – but the execution is ferociously effective.
Second Sight’s 4K restoration of Pusher is the strongest the film has ever looked. This was always a film born out of grit: handheld camerawork, dim interiors, Copenhagen’s grey streets. What this transfer does is not beautify, but clarify. Grain is present, but organic, giving it that tactile, unpolished texture which fits the story perfectly. Detail is surprisingly strong, faces etched with sweat and fear, small gestures that carry so much weight, all now visible in ways softer editions obscured. Colours lean cooler, drained, but the contrast lands. Black levels are deep without smothering shadow detail, a crucial improvement for a film so often set in the murk of night.
On the audio side, the new Atmos mix adds subtle but effective immersion. The soundscape – cars, muttered conversations, the heavy silence of dread – feels present. Dialogue is clean and anchored. The original 5.1 remains included, and for purists, it captures the scrappy directness of the film’s production, both make the chaos feel close.
What sets Pusher apart from countless 90s crime thrillers is tone. There is no Tarantino cool here, no Guy Ritchie flash. Instead, Refn embraces documentary-like realism. Deals are messy, arguments overlap, violence is brutal not stylised, and the characters feel less like genre stereotypes than people you might genuinely fear running into at a Copenhagen bar. There’s an air of Mean Streets via The Wire about it, and that’s not a bad thing. Bodnia’s Frank is no hero, he’s brash, selfish, spiralling and insanely unlucky, yet the film’s cruel brilliance lies in making us sweat with him anyway.
Mads Mikkelsen, in his first film role, is unforgettable as Tonny: brash, tattooed, full of bravado masking insecurity. Zlatko Burić’s Milo radiates charm and menace in equal measure, setting the stage for his expanded role later in the trilogy. There’s a restless energy to it all, a sense that at any moment things could implode and usually, they do.
The restoration is faithful, but by its nature, this is not a glossy 4K showcase. Grain is heavy, lighting often rough, and there’s only so much polish that can be applied to a film shot on 16mm and a tight budget in the mid-90s. Some viewers might find it abrasive, but that’s baked into Pusher’s DNA.
Pusher II deepens things: Tonny, post-prison, striving, failing, trying to navigate a world that seems to stay the same or perhaps got worse. Its tone is quieter in parts, but no less harsh.
Pusher III rounds things out with Milo’s struggle – pride, age, addiction, existential threat from younger, bolder criminals. It’s less frenetic, more oppressive, especially as mortality and legacy loom large.
Second Sight go all in as usual with the special features. The commentary on the first film with Refn and Peter Bradshaw is a highlight – candid, sharp, and reflective, giving a clear sense of how precarious the production was and how much of himself Refn put on the line. The inclusion of Gambler, the documentary chronicling Refn’s early career and financial struggles, feels almost like an extension of Pusher itself both about desperation and survival.
All of the new commentaries are meaningful and pair Refn well with critics or writers who can contextualise. Pusher – Refn + Peter Bradshaw. Pusher II – Refn + Catherine Shoard. Pusher III – Refn + Alan Jones
The Gambler documentary on disc 2 adds useful backdrop and gives us a feeling of who Nicolas Winding Refn is.
The inclusion of Poul Nyrup’s trilogy is a really nice touch: it helps situate Pusher historically, showing what influenced Refn – marginal lives, social realism, youth disaffection.
Disc 1 includes the first of these “Mellem Venner”.
Disc 2 has “Call Girl Centralen – Villa Vennely”.
Disc 3 has Stenbroens “Helte” all are restored in 4K.
Nearly thirty years on, Pusher hasn’t dulled. If anything, the years have amplified its raw edge. Refn’s debut is uncompromising, messy, electric – a film that captures the panic of spiralling debt and looming violence with unflinching clarity. Second Sight’s restoration honours that energy, refusing to sand off the rough edges, instead presenting Pusher at its most authentic.
For crime cinema fans, this edition is essential.
The Pusher Trilogy is available now from Second Sight Films
