Glory! Magnolia Pictures Has Bought Rights To The Entire Pusher Trilogy!

That's great news.I'd be cool if they put out a nice boxset.

Well the first film is a classic but the second one did not live up to the original. Refn only made nr. 2 and 3 to make som cash, and only because he know that they would be seen. "best trilogy of crime films ever made" - I don`t think so.

I disagree wholeheartedly. The second is the best of the lot followed by the first and then the third.

The Pusher films are awesome. I just love the rawness of the films. Never a dull moment. I haven't seen the third one yet. Can't wait to see it!

I also believe the second film is the best of the trilogy...but they are all fantastic.

It was a rare treat indeed for the Toronto Film Festival to show all three films back to back to back in one sitting.

I just get a big grin on my face when they run the opening credits for any of those films. Fantastic Stuff.

what i wanna know is how can i see these things? any good dvds with english subs?

Readers eager to watch the first installment of Refn's trilogy can find it listed at most online retailers. Todd's recommendation was spot-on for the gritty Norwegian drama Uno, I'm counting on Pusher to deliver the goods as well! Below are the spec's for the US release (those in the UK can purchase Metrodome's R2 version).

• Format: Anamorphic, Widescreen, Color
• Region: NTSC All Region
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Anchor Bay
• DVD Release Date: October 10, 2000
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• DVD Features:
o Available Subtitles: English (optional)
o Available Audio Tracks: Danish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
o Commentary by: director Nicholas Winding Refn
o Featurette: On the Edge: Making Of "Pusher"
o Original Theatrical Trailer
o TV Spots/Previews
o Text/Photo Galleries
o Biographies: Cast and Crew

I seem to recall that there was supposed to be a subtitled release of the entire trilogy in the 1Q of 2006. Vertigo Films? It's in the archives here. But don't know if that was shelved or not.

As far as I know the Vertigo box is still on, though I haven't seen a date for it yet. Personally I'd recommend holding off on purchasing the first one until Magnolia makes their plans known ... the current version isn't the greatest release in terms of quality and with Magnolia being a subset of 2929 and those folk messing around with day and date releasing I don't think we'll be waiting long for the complete set here.

And Jon ... if you like UNO you'll love these. Hennie explicitly references Pusher in his film and seems to be lifting a lot from Refn's style.

I just finished watching Bleeder. What powerful filmmaking! Refn's actors don't act, they live & breathe their roles. Even though there's a lot of violence (physical and emotional), everything is pitch-perfect. Some viewers may think Refn goes out of his way to be shocking, but he's no shock-jock like Gaspar Noe. And though subtlety isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind while watching Bleeder, the concise dialogue rings truer than Vinterberg's verbosity. Cf. Leo's (Kim Bodnia) erupting over his expectant wife's rearranging the house to Michael's tirade in Festen when his wife forgets to pack his shoes. Refn's black humor (something many of his peers lack) manages to keep the proceedings from becoming mind-numbingly oppressive. I enjoyed the whole subtext about film within the film, & how the four buddies would spend the evening watching slasher flicks together. From what I'd read, I was under the impression that there'd be tons of loud, noisy music, but the score by Peter Peter fits the situations like the tattoos on Leo's brother-in-law's forearms. Lastly, I thought the wideangle camerawork would overstay its welcome, but it works just fine, and is less obtrusive than say, Moodysson's sudden zooms. Recommended to all but the Merchant/Ivory crowd.

T
Thomas Vinterberg Festen guerilla filmmaking
Michael and wife shouting over pair of shoes