Archive of films Bronson / Bronson

United Kingdom
2008, 92 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2009

A stylized biopic of the notoriously violent and celebrated British prisoner who changed his name to Charles Bronson. Many at this year’s Sundance festival considered this gripping movie, by the maker of the cult film Pusher, the hands-down most significant film experience of the fest.

Synopsis

Michael Peterson, better known under the nickname Charles Bronson, was born in Aberystwyth, Wales in 1952. He was first sent to prison 22 years later for holding up a post office. With the exception of being released for short periods, he has remained behind bars, with nearly three decades of his life spent in solitary confinement or a high-security psychiatric hospital. Today this notoriously violent and celebrated British prisoner is best known for his exceptional physical condition, as well as his well-regarded poetry and art. Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has stylized the brutal aggression and over-the-top madness of an uncontrollable sociopath into a bewitchingly surreal biopic. He transforms episodes from Bronson’s life, acted with utter conviction by the outstanding Tom Hardy, into a kind of vaudevillian nightmare. This artistically gripping explosion of style, interlaced with a generous dose of irony, is accompanied by a soundtrack which includes the works of Wagner, Verdi, and Pet Shop Boys.

About the director

Nicolas Winding Refn (b. 1970, Copenhagen), Danish screenwriter, director, and producer, was accepted at Copenhagen’s Danish Film School after spending his late childhood in New York. While at school he shot a short film which earned him a grant to turn the short into a feature. The cult movie Pusher (1996) was the result, one of the most noteworthy debuts of the 1990s. Bleeder followed three years later (shown at the KVIFF in 2000), a no less controversial horror flick starring two of the director’s favorite actors, Kim Bodnia and Mads Mikkelsen. Pusher’s success led to two sequels, in 2004 and 2005 respectively. In the meantime, Refn managed to shoot his first English language film, Fear X, with John Turturro playing the lead (KVIFF 2003). Since 2006 he has been working on an adventure spectacular set in Viking times, Valhalla Rising, a project he laid aside when unexpectedly offered the chance to shoot the life of a man nicknamed Charles Bronson.

Contacts

Protagonist Pictures
48-48 Great Portland Stcy, W1W 7NB, London
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 207 734 9000
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.protagonistpictures.com

Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.aerofilms.cz

About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Another View

Director:	Nicolas Winding Refn
Screenplay:	Brock Norman Brock, Nicolas Winding Refn
Dir. of Photography:	Larry Smith
Music:	Lol Hammond
Editor:	Mat Newman
Producer:	Rupert Preston, Danny Hansford
Production:	Vertigo Films
Cast:	Tom Hardy, Matt King, James Lance, Kelly Adams, Amanda Burton
Contact:	Protagonist Pictures, Aerofilms
Distributor:	Aerofilms

www:	www.bronsonthemovie.com

Guests

Zuzana Pudilová

Distributor

Ivo Andrle

Distributor