In a few short years, two decades will be between Nicolas Winding Refn and his second feature film, “Bleeder.” While the director’s works before his breakout “Drive” — the “Pusher” trilogy, “Bronson,” and “Valhalla Rising” among them — are mostly easily seen, for whatever reason, “Bleeder” has fallen to the side over time. But Refn has given the movie a new coat of paint and is bringing it to the world all over again.
At the upcoming Lumiere Film Festival in Paris, Refn will unveil a sparkly new restoration of “Bleeder.” The filmmaker bought back the rights to the movie a couple of years ago, and has since given it both a new digital transfer and restoration.
“The 35mm elements have not been restored directly. But the transfer is beautiful, and it will allow audiences from all over the world to be able to discover this movie which, to me, will allow NWR’s fans to understand where he comes from and who he is: a true and uncompromising artist with an accurate eye on the world that surrounds us, with an extreme sensibility and a powerful [desire] for excellence,” said Manuel Chiche, an executive at the film’s French distributor La Rabbia (via Variety).
Starring frequent collaborator Mads Mikkelsen, we’ve described “Bleeder” as “Clerks” mixed with “High Fidelity” with a dash of “Eraserhead” and a crazy violent streak, as the movie tracks two stories: a romance between a movie-obsessed man and a woman he meets, and a father-to-be slowly becoming unraveled by the responsibilities of becoming a parent.
There’s no word yet when this new restoration will cross to the United States, and it will likely need to find a home with a distributor here first. But to get a taste, here’s a trailer for the new restoration, unfortunately, without English subtitles.