Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn ridicules Amazon Prime for allegedly burying his 2019 miniseries Too Old To Die Young, which starred Miles Teller. Refn is best known for his neon-soaked visual style, which was impressively displayed in his 2011 movie Drive. For Too Old To Die Young, Refn brought his talents to television, creating a series that followed a detective (Teller) who descends into a criminal underworld filled with some of the worst people humanity has to offer. It received mixed reviews, limited promotion, and only lasted for a single season.

Refn's refusal to tone down the violence for Too Old To Die Young caused friction with its streaming host, as the director himself now speaks with Vulture and accuses Amazon Prime of purposefully burying the project due to its more deeply disturbing elements of violence and exploitation. In line with the visual auteur's usual philosophy surrounding his work, Refn remains a staunch defender of his miniseries and certainly believes it to be a hidden diamond on Amazon Prime's streaming platform. See exactly what Refn had to say below:

Well, they took all my marketing money away because they were afraid that the show would reflect badly on Amazon. They told me that directly. They were so shocked by it. I was like, “What’s so shocking?” They said, “It’s going to make us look bad.” And I said, “But I don’t think anyone’s going to look at you at all.” Certain parts of Hollywood are so self-absorbed that they think they’re at the center of the universe. The rule of fear is very dangerous. Amazon released the show, but they said, “We will bury you.” And so they did. However, you can’t bury a diamond.

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What Happened With Too Old To Die Young’s Prime Video Release

Too Old to Die Young Season 2

Considering how much of a draw Refn's name alone can be for many film fans, for better or worse, Too Old To Die Young certainly didn't become the mega-hit the director was hoping. Ultimately, those few who did give the miniseries a go left largely mixed receptions in their wake. Carried by Refn's usual visual flair of neon-lit locations and flashes of ultra-violence, the series was accused of containing a detrimentally subdued lead performance from Top Gun: Maverick's Teller and very little story to back up an overall shallow aesthetic.

That being said, Too Old To Die Young's focus on nihilistic satire and brief glimpses of self-aware, dark humor do arguably frame it as an interesting counter to more popular modern anti-hero dramas. Many Refn enthusiasts do still defend the series today as a refreshing take on the crime genre, comparing some of its visual techniques to those which made Drive so popular in 2011. Were the series to have been more carefully marketed around these subversive storytelling elements, a different legacy may have come to fruition for Too Old To Die Young, especially in its intriguing contrast to the more mainstream directorial devices adopted by creators like Vince Gilligan for Breaking Bad.

Nicolas Winding Refn Has Taken His Services To Netflix

A still from Copenhagen Cowboy

As a consequence of his rather malicious falling out with Amazon, Refn has recently offered his name and style to opposing streaming service Netflix. In his second attempt at taking the television world by storm, Refn has released Copenhagen Cowboy, a six-part crime thriller, on the platform. It has stirred up some buzz not only because of the director's return, but also because it marks Refn's first Danish-spoken project since Pusher 3 in 2005. With that comes a potential return to his more balanced roots, absent the levels of extremism that weighed on him during his inconsistent time in Hollywood. Early reviews for the miniseries suggest similar pacing and narrative problems to projects including Too Old To Die Young, but Refn properties since Drive have often taken time to sink in. If nothing else, Refn still boasts an intensely loyal fan base, and it is likely they will be expressing Copenhagen Cowboy's hidden qualities on Netflix in the weeks to come.

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Source: Vulture