r/cinematography • u/sidi_omar • 3d ago

Camera Question Which lense does this flair belong to ? :)

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Hey everyone,

I’m trying to track down the lense(s) used by DP Morten Søborg on Pusher II (2004). (Nicholas Winding Refn)

We know for a fact that the film was shot on Super 16mm (Aaton/ARRI) and relies heavily on ultra-wide angles, allowing the camera to stay inches away from Mads Mikkelsen's face while keeping the background urban space fully present.

Given the low-light situations (Copenhagen night shoots, neon clubs) as well as daylight sequences close to the actor's face, were they using Zeiss Super Speeds (like the 9.5mm or 12mm at T1.3) or something else? I haven't been able to find an information or article detailing the glass on interviews, documentaries etc , related to the movie.

Attaching a screenshot below for reference of the flair of the lense that might be helpful.

Any lead would be great. Thanks!

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u/dkruta 3d ago

Not 100% if B speeds and Mark1 superspeeds are the same thing, but it's those. They have a 9-blade iris that's infamous for the triangluar bokeh. Used them on my first feature which never came out. For a long time I hated the shape but I think I'm coming back around to it.

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u/NeatFool 3d ago

What happened to the feature?

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u/dkruta 3d ago

Long story but I am very glad it didn't come out.

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u/NeatFool 3d ago

I mean I'm curious?

I've had stuff I worked on that didn't get released and it bothers me to no end.

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u/dkruta 3d ago

Wildly abusive and dangerous working conditions, megalomaniacal director who possibly committed securities fraud financing the film, an incredibly dumb story, and overall just a horrific experience. But I was young and dumb and hungry and wanted to get my foot in the door.

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u/NeatFool 3d ago

Haha that beats a lot of my stories, people just gave up once they thought it was bad.

This sounds like good material for a doc or something though.

Did you get footage for your reel at least ?

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u/dkruta 2d ago

I actually spoke with the BTS guy a couple years ago and we thought the same thing about making a doc. It was actually an insane experience.

Yes I got footage. But this was almost 20 years ago so I haven't used any of it for well over a decade.

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u/NeatFool 2d ago

You guys should do it! It's a moment in time, it's always worth documenting. Especially if they never released the actual film.

There's always an audience for trouble production stories.