Pusher II 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Pusher II 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 13, 2025

Nicolas Winding Refn's "Pusher" (2004) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Second Sight. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by Nicolas Winding Refn and critic Catherine Shoard; Phie Ambo's documentary "Gambler"; and Poul Nyrup's film "Copenhagen Call Girls" (1964). In Danish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Frank is gone. It is Tonny’s (Mads Mikkelsen) turn now. But he does not know where or how to start, and does not have the money that wannabe drug dealers need to launch an operation. Tonny has just been released from prison and is broke, without even a single bill in his pocket.

To avoid doing something stupid and head right back to prison, Tonny ends up before his father, Smeden (Leif Sylvester), an old-fashioned, street-smart gangster, well-known in Copenhagen and across Scandinavia, who operates a garage where stolen cars and precious goods are delivered and reshipped on demand. Smeden reluctantly agrees to let Tonny join his crew on a small job, but repeatedly makes it clear that he does not think highly of him because he is neither intelligent enough nor reliable enough to be trusted in the highly competitive underworld where he makes ends meet. It is for this reason that Tonny agrees to do a different job with his old pal Kurt the Cunt (Kurt Nielsen), another wannabe drug dealer, who leads him back to Milo (Zlatko Buric). The job seems like a walk in the park until Kurt the Cunt panics and loses Milo’s product like a true amateur. Because he has agreed to escort Kurt the Cunt, Tonny helps his friend fool an unnamed business partner who has loaned him the money for the job, but their improvisational work creates several other problems. In the ensuing chaos and drama, Tonny then accidentally learns that Charlotte (Anne Sorensen), a girl he has slept with, has given birth to a baby that she and her best friend insist is his.

It is not difficult to argue that Pusher II is the most important film in Nicolas Winding Refn’s career. Pusher II, which was released in 2004, effectively relaunched Refn’s career, after his previous film, Fear X, performed so badly at the box office that it bankrupted his production company, Jang Go Star. Had Pusher II tanked as well, more than likely it would have remained Refn’s final film.

Despite the presence of many similarities, thematic and stylistic, Pusher II does not just follow the steps of its predecessor, which had already acquired the reputation of a contemporary cult film. Pusher II is a significantly better-polished hybrid project that does a range of things to appeal to local and international crowds that had fallen in love with Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and it is why its twisty sense of humor, while undeniably Danish, is an essential element of its identity. The original film is not devoid of humor, but it channels a bleakness and raw cynicism, packaged with striking realism, that makes its presence utterly irrelevant.

Mikkelsen is the undeniable star of Pusher II. However, Refn surrounds him with several outstanding supporting actors and twice as many non-professional actors, who create the same realistic environment in which Kim Bodnia was unleashed. What is different is how the environment is managed to reveal that Mikkelsen’s character is just another doomed performer in the same destructive game where drug dealers are constantly replenished.

Pusher II 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Second Sight's 4K Blu-ray release of Pusher II does not have a Blu-ray copy of the film. If you need one, you should consider acquiring this Blu-ray release.

Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray disc and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

The release introduces a 4K makeover of Pusher II, which was completed under the supervision of Nicolas Winding Refn. In native 4K, the 4K makeover cannot be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades.

The overall quality of the native 4K presentation of Pusher II is virtually identical to that of Pusher. Obviously, in parts of Pusher II, select sequences reveal slightly different stylistic preferences, but I still think that a conscious effort was made to ensure that nothing looks drastically different. Delineation, clarity, and depth are very good, and I think that some darker areas tend to look slightly better than their counterparts from the first film. However, here there are again a few spots that appear a tad too noisy in native 4K, so I am quite certain that they would be more pleasing in 1080p on the Blu-ray. Image stability is outstanding. It is great that Dolby Vision and HDR grades were not applied because there is quite a bit of dark indoor and nighttime footage that would have become problematic. (The nightclub wedding celebration, for instance, already looks too dark). I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report.

Pusher II 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: Danish Dolby Atmos and Danish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with small portions of Serbian). Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Once again, I chose the original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track to revisit Pusher II and then switched to the Dolby Atmos track in a couple of random areas. When the cars are stolen from the dealership, I think that the Dolby Atmos track might be preferable, but I cannot write that, as an option, it is an undisputable upgrade. I simply do not feel that there are any areas of Pusher II where the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is underperforming in any meaningful ways. On the contrary, I have an old DVD release of Pusher II and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a pretty substantial upgrade in quality when compared to the lossy track from it.

Pusher II 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by Nicolas Winding Refn and critic Catherine Shoard.

• Gambler (2006) - this documentary film takes a closer look at Nicolas Winding Refn's film's Fear X, which bankrupted his production company, and his struggle to rebound after it. The documentary was produced by Phie Ambo. In Danish, with English subtitles. (82 min).

• Copenhagen Call Girls (1964) - a little-seen Danish film about a somewhat popular brothel in Copenhagen during the 1960s. Directed by Poul Nyrup. Fully restored in 4K. B&W. In Danish, with English subtitles. (94 min).

• Book -120-page book with new essays by Jamie Graham, Justin LaLiberty, Janine Pipe, Ariel Power-Schaub, Alison Taylor and Nadine Whitney, plus an excerpt from Scandinavian Blue by Jack Stevenson on the films of Poul Nyrup.

• Cards - five collectible art cards.

Pusher II 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

After Fear X bankrupted Nicolas Winding Refn's production company, Jang Go Star, Pusher II and Pusher III were conceived to relaunch his career. Both are good, effective films, but they do not blindly follow the steps of their predecessor, which had acquired quite a reputation. If you look closely and carefully enough, you will discover that Refn was emulating some of Guy Ritchie's tricks, plus borrowing from a few other places. However, these films still have strong Danish identities, which is why they performed as expected and became proper entries in The Pusher Trilogy. (A Blu-ray version of it is available here). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.