National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2019
“A hilarious, in-your-face, bawdy-yet-provocative look at two sardonic young slackers (Dante and Randal). One toils as a New Jersey convenience store clerk while his alter-ego video store friend works when the mood strikes him.”
Selected for preservation as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
Directed by
Kevin Smith
Studio
Miramax · View Askew Productions · 92 min
Box office
$3.2M worldwide on a $28K budget
Honors
Sundance Filmmaker Trophy Dramatic — 1 winAll 1 wins · 0 nominations on record
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Clerks arrived in 1994 as a Miramax pickup after its debut at Sundance, made on a shoestring budget by Kevin Smith using his own convenience store as the set. Shot in black and white on borrowed equipment, it became a defining document of independent American cinema in the 1990s, launching Smith's career and the View Askewniverse alongside it. Its raw, dialogue-driven style and low-fi production values stood in stark contrast to mainstream studio comedies of the era, and its success proved that a film could thrive on wit and voice alone rather than budget or spectacle.
This cell marks the opening of the picture itself, the card that announces the film before a single character speaks. For collectors, these frames hold a particular weight: they are the threshold moment, the point where the audience first enters Smith's world of quick banter and everyday absurdity. A title card cell like this one is prized not for action but for context, the frame that sets the tone and identity of the whole work before Dante or Randal ever appear on screen.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour optical-track release print of Clerks.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical release print.
Edge print
Edge print reads, mirrored: 'KU 18 2449 5706+32' with what appears to be a barcode strip along the same edge.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight cool tint; the dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
A vertical bright streak is visible across the right-hand frame, consistent with a base-side scratch or abrasion on a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames show the same title-card graphic, indicating a held or repeated title frame, and the content matches the animated series title card associated with Clerks.
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, saturated colour dye image, and Kodak edge coding are consistent with a 1990s release or broadcast print of the period.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063073
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
