In the early 1960s, Danish film director Poul Nyrup created a trilogy of youth films that, in many ways, were ahead of their time. The films spoke directly to an emerging youth culture marked by economic prosperity and cultural liberation. Cinema had become one of the most significant sources of inspiration for young people, and especially “juvenile delinquency” films like Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and The Wild One (1953) had struck a chord with the youth. These films introduced iconic, rebellious characters who challenged societal norms and conformity. They represented a revolt against the established system and embodied the youth’s desire for liberation from the authoritarian structures that had previously been unassailable. Inspired by these trends, Nyrup created his three works—anti-authoritarian tales laced with rock music, sex, and violence. Although he managed to depict youth life with a raw authenticity and social awareness rarely seen before, his contribution to Danish film history has largely been forgotten.

In the late 1990s, while filming Bleeder, Nicolas Winding Refn discovered Nyrup’s films on faded bootleg VHS copies. The thematic similarities between Nyrup’s films and Refn’s own approach to filmmaking were striking, and a decade later, Refn acquired the rights to the films from Nyrup’s daughters with the mission of presenting them to a modern audience.

Poul Nyrup (1934–1982) began his career as a sound engineer at Radio Mercur and worked as a sound technician on several Danish films. Among the more well-known titles he was involved in are the science fiction cult film Reptilicus (1961) and the popular comedy Soldaterkammerater på sjov (1962). To create his films on his own terms, Nyrup founded his own production company, Pingvin Film, with support from his network from the Mercur days, both in front of and behind the camera.

In Nyrup’s debut film, Mellem Venner (1963), we follow a group of young men in a Danish provincial town who turn to crime as a survival strategy in their quest for respect. The film depicts youth in an unsentimental way, using sex and violence to provoke emotional and social reactions. In addition to its raw realism and willingness to explore moral gray areas, its appeal to audiences—much like in the following two films—also lay in the promise of eroticism and scantily clad women.

Call Girl Central “Villa Vennely” (1964) became the Nyrup film that reached the broadest international audience. Despite its provocative content for the time, it found its way to American theaters under the title Copenhagen Callgirls. This time, Nyrup tells the story of a young woman trying to free herself from her conservative family. The film addresses themes such as gender roles, sexual liberation, and the youth’s search for meaning in a world struggling to uphold traditional values. With scenes that challenged contemporary norms, Call Girl Central “Villa Vennely” was a bold and provocative film that highlighted the growing generational divide.

The final installment, Stenbroens “Helte” (1965), takes place in Copenhagen’s impoverished working-class neighborhoods, providing a harsh backdrop for the youth’s daily struggle to find their place in the world. Nyrup portrays how young people turn to sex, drugs, and crime in an attempt to break free from their circumstances. At the same time, the film raises the question of whether it is even possible to escape society’s oppressive structures.

Poul Nyrup was undoubtedly an enterprising and defiant maverick. So how could a filmmaker who so innovatively captured the essence of a generation on the brink of change vanish completely from the radar? Nyrup’s films belonged to the genre of exploitation films, primarily created with the aim of quick commercial success, often by attracting audiences through controversial and explicit content. He operated outside established film circles and received no support from major film companies or the Danish film industry, which tended to celebrate directors with more conventional or “artistically safe” productions. The established film industry and Danish media simply looked down on Nyrup’s work, and perhaps for that reason, his trilogy—despite its cinematic qualities—was relegated to the shadows.

The newly restored release of the Pusher trilogy gives us a unique opportunity to shed new light on Nyrup’s work. What connects these two trilogies is not only an interest in the outsider but also their ability to portray life on society’s fringes without romanticizing it. Both show how marginalization affects the human mind—how it shapes, distorts, and can ultimately destroy.

Beyond thematic commonalities, there are also clear parallels in the anti-authoritarian approach of both NWR and Nyrup to filmmaking. They share a preference for using amateur actors, a naturalistic style of acting, and sharp, confrontational dialogue. Their films speak to us—not only about the youth of the past but also about our own time and the challenges we face today.

Mie Albæk Nielsen holds a master’s degree from Designskolen Kolding and co-founded the design studio Femmes Régionales, which operated from 2005 to 2021. After transitioning from design and fashion to the film industry, she currently serves as Creative Director at byNWR. Simultaneously, she is studying script development at the University of Southern Denmark.